WELCOME TO ROOTS
A community café with bold flavours, good vibes, and space for everyone to belong.
Step inside for freshly brewed coffee, vibrant vegetarian dishes, and home-cooked food inspired by the cultures that shape Ipswich. It’s warm, welcoming, and full of heart.
Every plate supports local people. At Roots, young trainees learn barista, kitchen and hospitality skills. Our makers bring global heritage to the menu, from comforting dumplings to colourful world-food favourites. Good food doing real good.
TASTY FOOD, BIG IMPACT.
OPENING TIMES
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 9.30am-4.30pm
Wednesday: 9.30am-4.30pm
Thursday: 9.30am-4.30pm
Friday: 9.30am-4.30pm
Saturday: 9.30am-4.30pm
Sunday: Closed
LOCATION
Roots Café, Westgate House, 1 Museum Street, Ipswich, IP1 1HQ
W3W: spots.magma.baking
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try li’s famous
Portuguese
chicken balls.
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enjoy isha's
fragrant and
filling samosas.
Meet the makers behind the flavours of Roots.
At Roots every flavour tells a story of home, heritage and the routes that bring us together. Our local artisans are bringing the world to your plate, one bite at a time.
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OUR ORIGIN STORY:
Roots is a place where people can grow together. A space made possible by partnership, resilience and the belief that every community deserves good food and good company.
Like all good origin stories, ours began quietly. Not with capes or superpowers, but with a simple, very human idea, that food can bring people together...
meet mandy, our café manager
Mandy comes to us with a wealth of catering experience. She's run her own catering business, worked at the Suffolk Food Museum and with our fabulous partners The Phoenix Project, and—the cherry on the cake—for eight years Mandy worked in the iconic Museum Street Café!
Mandy is supported at Roots by a brilliant team of café staff and local makers. Pop in Tuesdays to Saturdays 9.30am - 4.30pm to meet them!
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No events at the moment
WHAT'S ON AT ROOTS:
HELP ROOTS GROW
Roots Community Café is run by Ipswich Community Media, a local charity nurturing creativity, learning and community with refugee and migrant communities in Ipswich.
With your help, here's what Roots will bring to Ipswich:
Young people will learn barista and hospitality skills, and grow confidence for life. Food and culture will thrive through supper clubs, recipe swaps, sustainability talks and seasonal feasts celebrating our community’s heritage. Arts, creativity and wellbeing will flourish through open mics, DJ sessions, craft workshops, exhibitions, mindfulness mornings, parent-and-toddler meetups, and language clubs.
There are so many ways to get involved, through funding, volunteering, or simply spreading the word. Every contribution helps us equip the café, train young people, and create opportunities.
Here are some of the ways you can invest in ROOTS:
ROOT for Us
Giving is it's own reward — for the price of a coffee and a cake you're helping ROOTS to grow.
£5
A Brick in the Wall
Your name on our Supporters’ Board — part of the foundation that built ROOTS.
£20
Plant a Little Joy
Fund a café plant and be featured on our Garden of Supporters wall.
£50
Take a Seat
Buy a café chair with your name — giving others a place to belong.
£150
The ROOTS Blend
A specialty coffee blend named in your honour, served at Roots for a month.
£500
Founder’s Table
Invest in a communal founders’ table with your plaque of thanks.
£1000
Change a Life
Fund six months of paid training for a young person, giving them not just a job, but skills, confidence and opportunity.
£2500
Headline Partner
Your organisation featured on our menu board, website and materials, with 10% off, staff volunteering opportunities and recognition at our launch.
£5000+
donate
Donate below and claim your rewards, or contact nikki@ipswichcm.org.uk for a chat about how you can get involved.
£501 raised
2 donations
5%
ROOT for Us
£5
A Brick in the Wall
£20
Plant a Little Joy
£50
Take a Seat
£150
The ROOTS Blend
£500
Founder’s Table
£1,000
Change a Life
£2,500
Headline Partner
£5,000
Other
A Brick in the Wall
0/100
Please give the name or organisation you would like to be listed on your reward.
Photo by Debbie Jones
want to find out more?
download our BROCHURE
The launch of Roots Café was made possible thanks to generous funding from the Asda Foundation.