The Ship Inn

I loved it it is what a country pub should be, beautiful location right next to the church. The selection of wines was good and not the normal pub chain stock. I was there early after taking a walk along the estuary so built up a good appetite. I had a rib eye that was cooked perfectly. The staff were helpful and pleasant and after dinner recommended the crumble and Ice cream for dessert whish was top marks.
I did read the reviews before going and don't know what some people want from a pub as it ticked my boxes.
Sharon xx

I was given a warm welcome by the owner after a long and tiring drive. This pub/resturant had been recomended to me by a friend and I was not disappointed with the dining room or with the excellent dinner menu. I chose the slow roasted belly pork and it was excellent the concorran mash was very tasty my wife chose mackerel which she loved and was offered a lovely wine to accompany it. The restuarant was not exceptionally busy but it was a thursday and 8:45, the ambience was quiet and I personally needed that after my long drive to suffolk. Would I come back? Yes This is my 1st and certainly not my last visit.

Oh dear. What's gone wrong here? The Ship used to be a lovely place with good food, good service and buzzing atmosphere. It has now joined the ranks of the average. The chalked menu boards have gone and we are back to the standard lamb shank/ belly pork/ veggie risotto/meat pie type of menu. There aren't sufficient front staff, one busy barmaid, and one v.busy waitress. High season should be fun!

Sorry, but I'm now looking for somewhere like the old Ship.

Having been a regular at the ship for many years we found the standard of food reduced considerably when it changed hands around 2009. We ventured back tonight to try it again and found that it has not improved, the starter was poor and the main course (sirlion steak) was not the best you would expect for the price. All in all for us it's not a place we would visit again, very poor.

I came to the ship for a meal a few days ago with a couple of friends and found the food to be of an excellent standard. I had the Cod and it was beautifully cooked, and my friends were as equally satisfied with their picks off the menu. The service was fantastic, all members of staff were welcoming and attentive. The food arrived quickly which is always a plus, and i even managed to find room for one of the lovely desserts. Will be sure to return soon!

My partner and I had a wonderful evening at the Ship last night to celebrate my birthday. We have been dining at the Ship for years and I have to say that since the pub has changed hands the standards have definately been raised, the food is slightly more sophisticated but still delicious and it looks like they are using alot of local produce, which is great considering the prices are very reasonable. The service was absolutely top notch, the staff are always very friendly and helpful and I must say they cope very well when it is busy. I have a gluten free diet and they are always willing to adjust meals to suit my needs. The fact that there are no screaming children running around has always been a big draw for us and we are glad that this policy has been kept. All in all every time we dine at the Ship we have a wonderful evening with good wine, great food and fantastic and effecient service which is why we keep going back!

This is the first time we have been to the Ship since it has been under the current management. I'm afraid that contrary to recommendations, we were very disappointed…

Although the staff were very polite and friendly, the service was poor:- No second plate for our shared starter, being served the wrong dish, twice having to request cutlery after being served the correct food and then having to request serviettes once provided with the necessary cutlery.

Despite the pub being relatively empty, we couldn't help but feel rushed through our meal so much so that we had not even started our bottle of wine. Within minutes of placing the order our starter arrived and the mains arrived upon collection of our starter plates.

In essence, the cost of (what turned out to be) a very brief encounter with the Ship did not warrant the vigorous leg work (on our part), which was required in an attempt to have a pleasant dining experience.

The food was ok – not especially interesting or flavoursome.

With this in mind, we did not feel that the Gastro Pub prices were justified.

We will not be hurrying back to the Ship, which is a pity as the building and setting are fine foundations for what we expected to be a lovely evening.

14th Century pub near to the church. This is a lovely nautical pub, dont know where the bad reviews come from? went there with the wife 3 times and had fab evenings. Prices are reasonable. The owner was chatting to us keeping us amused with some Olde Gags
The food was delicious and ample portions and the staff were great. We had to wait for a table but my Belly pork was worth the wait*****
could do more veggie choices (for the wife) the desserts were top class we will both be back
This visit made our holiday…Its my favourite pub in the area. We had good walks in the area and the River Orwell is nearby.

First visit. Great Atmosphere. Great Menu. Wonderful Setting. Will be back.

Fantastic English pub with Great Food, & friendly staff. Loved the Steak & Chiili Shrimp. Will definitely be back !!

First visit very enjoyable great food and excellent value. will be back soon.

Don't normally post reviews, but read some negative comments, and couldn't disagree more.
I believe the new owners also have The King's Head at Orford, and I'd say that the Ship is every bit as good.
Plan to go back again as soon as I can.

I don't normally write reviews but felt compelled to when my wife pointed out the comments of the previous writers. I visited Levington last summer and had a quick pint in The Ship. It looked very appealing and I made a note to come back to eat one time. I finally returned a couple of weekends ago with my wife and we were both very impressed. We considered both food and service to be excellent and decent value for money. We will certainly be back for more!

I am so disappointed since the lovely Ship has had its new landlord in the past couple of months the food quality has gone downhill and the prices have gone up. This used to be a lovely pub with great quality food and friendly staff. Now the portions are quite stingy and the food is not as seasonal as it used to be and never seems to change. I wont be going back which is a great sadness as I have been eating here reguarly for many years.

Oh dear, what a loss. The food used to be so much better than this. Three visits since the 2010 changes and, sorry to say, very unlikely to return.