THE Bungay-based Earsham Street Café has been recognised nationally for a fifth time in The Times' Saturday supplement, 'The Knowledge'. The café, which featured in Saturday's edition, came in the Top 10 places to receive a 'warm welcome' when dining out in London and the South-East.

THE Bungay-based Earsham Street Café has been recognised nationally for a fifth time in The Times' Saturday supplement, 'The Knowledge'.

The café, which featured in Saturday's edition, came in the Top 10 places to receive a 'warm welcome' when dining out in London and the South-East. It is in good company, with restaurants such as The Ivy and the three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck at Bray also included.

The café has featured on four other occasions, all as part of the 'Top 10' for London and the South-East: for child-friendly places to eat in October 2005; best for afternoon tea in October 2006; and for the top deli-restaurant in February 2006 and again in February 2007.

The 'Top 10' is compiled by Square Meal, an independent guide to restaurants, bars and venues in London and the UK. It described Earsham Street Café as 'a welcoming pitstop at any time of the day…it's packed with happy regulars trying unsuccessfully to keep it their little secret'.

The restaurant was delighted to be listed in the Good Food Guide 2008. Of only 22 places included to eat in Suffolk, Earsham Street Café is one of them, with only four achieving a higher ranking in the county.

The venue, which is a 2 AA rosette award-winning restaurant, thinks such accolades are crucial not only for the business but also the town of Bungay in which it is situated.

Owner Stephen David said: “It is great to see local businesses in Bungay doing so well, particularly at a time of such economic uncertainty.

“We are thrilled to have been featured in The Times again, and hope that this will encourage even more visitors to the town'.

Earsham Street Café is now in its eighth year of trading in the town of Bungay.”

He added: "In no short measure, our success is undoubtedly due to support from our staff and loyal regulars in our community in the early days and we are thrilled that despite becoming partly a destination restaurant we very much remain a neighbourhood eatery at heart."

The cafe also runs a successful outside catering business 'Bespoke Events Ltd' which caters for weddings, canapés parties and much more. This year saw the team cater for the visit of the Cardinal of Westminster, when he came to Beccles in July. In November of last year the business added to its portfolio, running the Café @ the Castle, at the visitor centre in the town.

Earsham Street Café is Monday-Saturday 9.30am-4.30pm, Sunday 12 noon-2.30pm.