Stowmarket café Passione D’Amore brings the taste of Italy to town

We stopped for lunch at a town’s new Italian-inspired café and this is what we thought.

Passione D’Amore in the Old Fox Yard, Stowmarket, is the second store from Tom and Sylwia Polnisiak who are the husband and wife duo behind Biga Napoletana pizzeria in Bury Street.

Tucked away off Ipswich Street, the café has proven popular with customers in its first opening weeks by offering a wide menu of Italian favourites of pizza, coffee and desserts.

Sylwia said: “We’re so happy to be open and serving our customers.

“The recent Food and Drink Festival was so busy - it was great to see the Fox Yard full with people.”

Walking into the café, which was formerly Pickwicks, I was blown away by the lovely atmosphere Sylwia and Tom had created in such a short space of time.

There are so many seating options available with spacious seating upstairs, downstairs and outside - I decided to eat my lunch under the wonderful Stowmarket sun in the courtyard.

I ordered a black coffee, the teglia sandwich filled with burrata, salame and truffle pesto and I also wanted to try out one of the mysterious scotch-egg looking rice balls called arancini.

I had never had arancini before and after my first bite, I fell in love with gooey mozzarella and rice combo - it’s just a little explosion of Italian flavour and the texture was amazing.

Have you ever been stuck between having a slice of pizza or a sandwich for lunch? Well the teglia sandwich brings the best of both worlds together in one delightful package.

The bouncy, pillowy bread was cooked to perfection and the truffle pesto packed a fantastic punch; hitting my taste buds with every bite.

Food aside - the Italian style coffee was incredible and would be a welcome addition to my list of the best coffee available in Stowmarket.

Sylwia said she was really proud of the coffee available at the café as she had spent weeks experimenting with different blends to create the perfect cup.

After finishing my lunch and sipping the rest of my coffee, I looked around at the surrounding buildings of the Old Fox Yard and felt completely transported to a cosy, rustic corner of Italy.

The café is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm, Sunday from 10am to 3pm and closed on Mondays and you can find out more by clicking here.

Passione D’Amore is a hidden gem in Stowmarket and if you are yet to visit - you need to check it out.