While not everyone at the Cheers Steakhouse in Bury St. Edmunds will know your name, the staff does provide a memorable experience for beef connoisseurs with self-cooked steak on a hot stone.
For 22.50 pounds per person, diners can enjoy a continuous parade of bread, olives and chorizo sausage as an appetizer. For the main course, rump steak with rice, black beans, fries and coleslaw or salad comes with sangria, house wine or soft drinks.
Some of the restaurant’s visitors fill up on the appetizers, which I think is a huge mistake. I wave them off and continue sipping from a small carafe of sangria.
I also ignore the fillers brought with the main course and focus solely on grilling thinly sliced beef seasoned with salt and olive oil. I eat it like I’m trying to set a world record.
As the meat sizzles atop the hot stone slab, tiny flecks of grease rain down on the table. The savory smell of cooking beef dominates the restaurant interior.
Yes, you can order fish, chicken and even vegetarian dishes. But why come here for that?
Owners Andrea and Mario Marinho came up with the idea of offering the traditional Brazilian beef dish in 2010. Andrea, from Brazil, and Mario, from Portugal, opened the Thetford location in 2008 and added the branch in Bury St. Edmunds this year.
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Cheers Steakhouse Location: 24 Angel Hill, Bury Saint Edmunds, IP33 1UZ. The restaurant is a 30-minute drive along the A14 from RAF Mildenhall and paid parking is available nearby in front of the abbey gardens.
Hours: 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Dress: Casual and business casual
Prices: Appetizers from 3.50 to 7.50 pounds ($4.69 to $10.05); soups for 3.50 pounds; vegetarian, fish and meat dishes from 10.50 to 17.50 pounds; and self-cooked steak on a stone from 15.50 to 17.50 pounds. The all-you-can-eat menu costs 22.50 pounds per person. Mussels and king prawns are added to the all-you-can-eat for an extra five pounds per person.
Information: Phone: (+44) (0) 01284 768798, website: www.cheersrestaurants.co.uk, email: admin@cheersrestaurants.co.uk