Deben Cafe Bar on HMS Vale, Melton Boatyard, Dock Lane, Melton IP12 1PE

Deben Café Bar on HMS Vale

A unique eating and drinking experience on the aft deck of a floating warship moored on the banks of the River Deben. 

Open: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday   (Closed Tues/Wed)   Summer Opening Hours (from Fri 28th April): 9am to 6pm (Galley: 9am to 5pm)

Welcome to Deben Café Bar. We serve freshly made breakfasts, snacks, main meals and the best barista coffee and hot chocolate on the river Deben – so we’re told. We also have a wide variety of hot & cold drinks, ice creams and a licensed bar selling draught and bottled beer, wine and fizz. Our new spring menu is popular with the whole family. We serve: meaty, veggie and vegan food.  We have some gluten free options – do ask about this when you order. We can even offer ‘Over 18’ hot drinks and desserts!

Our bar serves draught Birra Moretti, Amstel Lager, Adnam’s Ghostship, Aspall Draught Cider, Guinness Surger, Adnams Southwold, Adnams Broadside and a selection of wines and spirits including low alcohol options.

We serve food for the whole family: meaty, veggie, vegan. We offer cream teas, breakfast rolls, freshly made hot pastries, ready made sandwiches, homemade bakes and chef specials al fresco on the deck of an ex-Swedish Navy warship.  Our ship is moored on the banks of the river Deben offering spectacular views across the saltings towards the protected grounds of the National Trust and Sutton Hoo.

Our menu changes with the seasons. We source fresh ingredients locally as much as possible. We serve locally grown fruit and veg, free range eggs, Melton Sausages and 100% Beef Burgers. Quality is at the heart of our food and drink provision. 

Menus: Food choices are our passion.  We serve vegan, vegetarian, dairy free and items with no gluten in the same abundance as our other menu choices.  We passionately believe that when eating and drinking with friends and family there should be something for everyone.

Recycling: We serve all our food in takeaway cups, boxes and paper bags which keep our food hot and are all recyclable.  We encourage our customers to use our sorting bins for recycling, glass and general waste. We aim to have a reduced impact on the environment, reducing the need for single use plastics, vast amounts of water and detergents.

Seating: We have a covered seating area with spectacular views over the river Deben.  We  also have plenty of open air seating on the aft deck with a variety of table and seating choices.  Further seating on our picnic benches is available along the river wall.

Our opening days are: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday).  Our opening hours vary with the seasons.  

Popular with bird watchers and dog walkers alike, Deben Café Bar offers a place where everybody is welcome and can be at peace with nature.  Avocet, Oyster Catcher, Red shank, Green shank, Egret, Godwit, Teal, Shelduck, Kingfisher, Red Kite, Kestrel and Cormorant frequent this stretch of the Deben. The views change every moment of every day with the changing light, weather and ebbing and flowing of the tide. Visitors watch the deer grazing on the far shore and lucky ones see our seal passing by.”

Our Customers love it here: “Sitting on the deck of HMS Vale, it is immediately clear that Deben Café Bar is one of those places where time seems to drift by.  Far from the madding crowd, with enviable views over the river Deben, you find yourself simply watching the tide as it ebbs and flows or admiring the variety of wildlife that fills the air and water. Deer graze on the far shore and occasionally a seal pops his curious head up to stare at café visitors. 

Opening hours: In the winter our hours are 10am to 4pm, but in the spring and autumn our standard opening hours return to our usual 9am to 5pm.  In the peak of the summer our closing time stretches with the light evenings and you will find us open until 6pm – watch our Facebook page and google page for regular updates. We also have extended opening hours over the Christmas and New Year period. 

We currently do not open late into the evenings but prefer to allow the river to quieten and the wildlife to relax into their peaceful surroundings. 

“Looking back, it’s hard to remember all the challenges we faced, at the time they were almost insurmountable but now are moulded into the story of the ship and her history.  Once a mighty warship she has her own tales to tell and now we are part of that story.  And it all turned out alright in the end, she is the perfect place for the boatyard and wider community to come together and make their own. Every day we continue to move the project forward and it is a lot of hard work but I expect it’s always going to be this way; she’s settled in now and that’s what really matters.”

Despite all the difficulties we have faced preparing the ship, and everything the weather and Covid has thrown at us, Deben Café Bar has continued to serve breakfasts, coffee and cake to our river wall walkers, since September 2018.

“It’s been a busy time since we made our first tentative steps towards converting our ship’s former wardroom into Deben Café Bar and we’ve not finished yet. Future plans include a pontoon for small craft to moor up while visiting the café or club house.”

“Thank you for your wonderful and continued support, your words of encouragement keep us going.”