Hi we suffered with a rather severe storm on Tuesday night and the result is that we have no telephones at the Jolly Sailor currently, in fact most if not all of Orford has been affected. We are told by BT that it could be as long as a week before we are reconnected so in the meantime if you need to contact us call Gordon on his mobile 07966 171475 or you can email emma@thejolly-group.com

Emma, Gordon and Judi landlords of the Jolly Sailor, Orford

Yes you may have heard we’re off to pastures new sadly, however that doesn’t stop us going out in style with three more great events which we hope to see you at.

Firstly we’ve got

29 October The Whailers join us one more time and this time featuring Dave on acoustic! (you should really come along and see them) all starts from 9pm.
Then on 30 October From midday – Pinatta Fun for the little ones – £1 for 5 hits – proceeds to the Orford Pavilion Appeal which is going great guns! Come have some fun and raise money for the village at the same time. At the beginning of November on the

4th we will be welcoming back Nick Raison for a forties sing along!
It will be a lovely chance to say thank you to you all for your support and friendship since we’ve been at the Jolly. Don’t forget to keep in touch via facebook or on twitter to see what we’re getting up to over in Cambridgeshire.

Just a note to say our email has gremlins in the works currently so we have a new email address from September 2011 – if you’d like to contact us regarding the Jolly Sailor or our sister restaurant the Jolly Scholar in Cambridge our email address is emma@thejolly-group.com. If you’d like to call us our numbers are;
Jolly Sailor 01394 450243 & Jolly Scholar 01223 526268

We look forward to welcoming you soon

Crabbing fun off the Quay

Here at the Jolly Sailor we have some exciting events this August for you to get involved in.
On the 12th and 26th of this month at 7.00pm we have the much-loved pianist Nick Raisons back at the Jolly Sailor .So come and sing along to his nostalgic tunes or just relax with a drink and our great British cuisine.
Also on the 29th of August we are holding a crabbing competiton at Orford Quay to raise money for a fund we are very passionate about -the Orford Pavillion Fund.We at the Jolly have already donated £100 to the cause and we hope to see you there at 11am to have fun and raise as much as we can for this worthwhile, local charity.

Back by popular demand – our Opera in the Garden is due to be held on Saturday 9th July here in the gardens of the Jolly Sailor in Orford. This year we will be raising funds for the St Elizabeth Hospice.  The candlelit performance starts at 7pm, bring blankets and a picnic or pimms and picnics can be supplied.  Why not arrive early and enjoy supper beforehand?  The Sudbourne Ensemble with Jim MacLeod will be performing Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas by candlelight in the garden at the back of the Jolly.  Tickets are just £20 and bookings are now being taken on 01394 450243, we look forward to seeing you.

Regards Judi

Spring has finally sprung at the Jolly

It’s so nice to hear the birdsong over the estuary and be able to stand and enjoy real warmth from the spring sunshine outside on our new large patio area. We’ve got plenty coming up in the next four weeks so we hope you can join us for; Sat 16th April pm The Whalers are back! By popular demand its the Quay Street Whalers providing plenty of song and mirth for you to enjoy and even take part in if you wish. Then Easter Sunday we have lambs in the garden for the little ones to admire, plus theres play equipment to run off a little of that excess energy and we’re also dog friendly too although we’ll need to keep the dogs in the bar on that day I feel away from those lambs! We’re back to more music on Friday 29th (Royal Wedding Day) as Nick Raison our resident pianist joins us for some familar favourites and the word is there will be a Street Party Supper in Quay Street – more on that soon. We’ll soon be launching the Jolly Art Getaways – a nights stay in picturesque Orford with instruction from renowned Suffolk Painter the following Day, more details I’ll post as soon as they are finalised but you’re welcome to email or post your interest and we’ll be sure to let you know full details first. Finally for this week a huge thank you to those of you who kindly attended our VIP Kitchen Launch night with Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi – the evening was a huge success and we raised just over £270 for our chosen charity this year – The Thomas Marshall Education Fund, helping children in Africa to have an education. Our next charity event will be an open mic comedy/limerick night, watch out for dates etc via our Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi entertain the guests

In the words of Frankie Valli oh what a night! Our kitchen opening last night with the Caldesi’s Giancarlo and his lovely wife Katie was a roaring success. Gordon, Danny and the rest of the Jolly Team worked seamlessly together with Katie and Giancarlo to produce some excellent dishes in a one off, cook off last night. Gordon and Giancarlo in the same kitchen for one night only. The Jolly was virtually bursting at the seams as people poured in to sample the nights cuisine. Thank you if you were one of those people who came along and supported us. Thanks also to our VIP guests who found time at the end of a busy week to celebrate with us. Special thanks must go to the Caldesi’s and their boys who jumped in a car and came straight to Orford after a hectic week in the City. Giancarlo and Katie literally arrived, dropped their bags, put on their chef whites and started cooking – thank you so much both of you. If you’d like to see if we snapped you take a look at our facebook page for the full album of photos, you can also check out the next issue of Places & Faces magazine which features the Jolly in their society pages. We do it all again next month when our sister restaurant The Jolly Scholar in Cambridge reopens after is massive rebuild and refurbishment. If you’d like to be included on the guest list for that night, email hello@thejollysailor.net. Big thanks to all the Jolly front of house team, who worked their socks off all night, ferrying dishes and drinks back and forth through a very large crowd of people, and still managed to smile throughout! Thanks finally to Nick Raison for providing the musical ambiance throughout the night and for those of you who kindly donated to our chosen charity this year The Thomas Marshall Education Fund, your contributions will help literally 100′s of children in Africa enjoy education.  If you’d like a personal tour of our new facilities or just to join us for lunch or dinner to sample our award winning menu in a relaxed and friendly environment, do come along and visit us. Warm welcome always assured. Dogs and children welcome if accompanied by well behaved adults.

TV Chef Giancarlo to 'christen' our new kitchen in March

With the roof going on our brand new extended kitchen, we’ve invited top London Chef Giancarlo Caldesi (BBC TV’s Return to Tuscany) to cook at our special launch event in March.

Everyone is welcome to attend although advance booking is advisable – Friday 11th March from 7pm you are invited to sample some of Giancarlo’s cuisine cooked using our newly opened Jolly Kitchen.  There will be a host of guests some faces you may recognise too, so pop along and see what made us EA Good Food Finalists for 2010 and meet the mighty Giancarlo for yourself.

Nick Raison our resident Pianist

Nick Raison our resident pianist is with us again on Friday night (28th Jan) with some popular songs to sing along to, plus we’ve got an wonderfully warming menu to tempt you plus plenty of logs for each of the log burners to keep us all snug. Join us from 7pm just for a drink or stay for supper.  Children and dogs welcome too.