Prime Highlights:
- Loca Bar and Restaurant, opened in May, has already been named one of the UK’s top 100 restaurants by OpenTable.
- The restaurant offers a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including gluten-free options and a quiet dining hour to welcome all guests.
Key Facts:
- It is the only Suffolk venue featured on OpenTable’s 2025 top 100 list, with a 4.9-star rating from 84 reviews.
- Owners Daniel Wardle and Leon Richer invested £120,000 to renovate the building and create the Loca brand from scratch.
Background:
A Felixstowe restaurant has earned national recognition just five months after opening its doors. Loca Bar and Restaurant, launched in May by Daniel Wardle and Leon Richer, has been named one of the UK’s top 100 restaurants for 2025 by OpenTable, making it the only venue from Suffolk on the list.
Wardle and Richer, who also run the award-winning La Vida Bar in nearby Beach Street, invested £120,000 into renovating the building after being approached by the landlord to rejuvenate the previously closed bar. The duo renovated the space and built the Loca brand from the ground up.
The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with meals like steaks, burgers, and Eton Mess. It also has gluten-free options and a quiet hour for diners.
OpenTable said Loca Bar and Restaurant is a fun and welcoming place to eat in Felixstowe. The menu has a wide variety of quality dishes, catering to casual meals, special occasions, or a relaxed evening with drinks.
With a 4.9-star rating based on 84 reviews, Loca is already among the highest-rated establishments on OpenTable. The recognition comes from customer and reviewer feedback across the UK, which includes fine-dining restaurants and countryside gastropubs.
Wardle said, “The place was in okay condition, but we decided to take it on. Just over five months later, being recognised nationally is a big achievement.”
Loca Bar and Restaurant keeps drawing both locals and visitors, offering good food and a friendly atmosphere, quickly becoming a popular spot in Suffolk.
