Where to eat and drink in Cambridge

Last update: 2024-07-21

Periodically, I get asked where's good to eat or have a pint in Cambridge. For convenience, here's my (incredibly subjective) list.

When I arrived in Cambridge in 2001, the food scene was so poor that people went to The Rainbow Café and The Copper Kettle on purpose.

It’s better now.

The horrifying cost of commercial premises in the centre means it's still wall-to-wall chains, but a few decent independents have popped up and survived.

Cambridge: serving edible food since about 2010.

Housekeeping: These recommendations aren't detailed reviews, and they aren't in any order. If a place isn’t on the list, that doesn’t mean it’s shit. It could be new, or indifferent, or that tapas place I keep forgetting to write up.

You can also find a list of specifically vegetarian & vegan places here.

Have dinner at:

• Fancett’s Bistro
  Mill rd. Now, do I put this here, or in the “more fancy” category below? Here on price, maybe below on quality. Modernised bistro French, skewing seasonal and local, and executed very well. Tricky to get a table, worth it if you do.

• Fin Boys
  Mill Rd. Town end. Ok, so the name makes it sound like a Tumblr community for people with strategically placed zippers stitched into shark costumes, but fortunately it’s actually an excellent fish restaurant. The menu is simple and very careful - they’ve found tasty things and cooked them with quiet flair. Lovely service, too. Plus they have those daft glugging water jugs, which is always a mood.

• The Pint Shop
  Town centre. Good simple food, plenty of keg and cask beer. The menu tends to elaborately slow-cooked meats, and fancied-up pub grub. Can be busy. Very out of date review here Still good, not as good as it was.

• SmokeWorks
  Town centre, and one by the station. Dirty barbecue, done right, and a selection of bourbon. Sticky ribs, succulent pulled beef, epic pickles. They keep tweaking the menu, so it's not static or dull. Reviewed here, ages ago The second branch is now a darts bar, kind of?
  Sister restaurant Millworks is nice too, a little more formal (only a little) and out towards Newnham.

• Dumpling Tree
  Perne rd. I bloody love this place. It’s taken them a while to build out a restaurant ambience after relocating, but the food remains great. Fresh dumplings in a range of fillings and styles, very reasonably priced. Fast becoming a favourite. Great Sichuan style spicy beef, love the lamb & coriander dumplings.

• Bedouin
  Mill rd. Try not to laugh at the décor - the food is worth it. It's North African, so expect tagines and stews. Food turns up hotter than the sun, and in portions of similarly astronomical size. Some time in the last year or so they started taking card payments, but stopped serving alcohol, which seems like evidence that the universe has a grimly zero-sum sense of humour.

• Yippee
  Town centre. Noodles. Noodles in soup, noodles fried with stuff, noodles served quickly and inexpensively at large shared tables. It's a noodle bar. It does noodles. Seriously, what do you want from me here? It's a reliable standard. I’ve been eating here for nearly twenty years. Bloody hell.

• Parker's Tavern
  Town centre. In the newly architecturally-vandalised University Arms Hotel.
  Jay Rayner gushed about it. I'd stop short of that but it's good. British-y bistro with a few innovative twists. Pricy in places but tasty throughout.

• Tradizioni
  Mill Rd, and expanding to other sites. Excellent pizza in that square, Sicilian-inspired style. Pasta too. Small dine-in space with pavement seating. Lovely. Get a cocktail at 196 opposite, after.

• Noodles Plus
  Mill rd. Everything is good, but you’re there for the Xiaolongbao.
  (Tim Hayward rates it over Din Tai Fung and I’m not certain I disagree).

• Stem & Glory
  Station Rd. Vegan. Small plates, larger main, and pizzas. High quality globally eclectic vegan food at a nice spread of price points. A little bit of everything, really, and beautifully executed.

• Fu
  Norfolk St. Chinese, with an accent on Sichuan. They’re really good at spice, but the milder end won’t be a wasted journey. Don’t expect luminous takeaway standards. Or carpet. But the austere vibes are more than made up for by the food. Unusually good egg fried rice. I think it’s the extra dash of sesame.

• The Chop House
  Town centre. There were two, one closed. Big bits of meat done well, a classic in the "where do I take visiting relatives?" genre. See also, The Oak Bistro. Note: might be shit now? I’ve not been back in a decade.

In the centre itself you’ll be beset by chains. I’m not reviewing those. But I’ll stop to note that the branches of Giggling Squid, Honest, and Flat Iron are yet to slide into the full indifference of spreadsheet cuisine and are currently perfectly serviceable.

For lighter bites, lunch, and brunch:

• Urban Larder
  Mill Rd. Amazing toasties. Good coffee and lovely staff, too. Not much sit-in space.

• Scott’s All Day
  Mill Rd. Pizza, brunch, and cocktails are where Scott’s shines but it’s a perfectly sensible dinner choice too. Interesting pizzas, two of which have brunch on them. Fair warning - it’s uncomfortably loud when it’s busy, which is most Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes. This may have to do with the bottomless brunch. Also good for dinner!

• Charlie Chan
  Town centre. Dim sum! The only dedicated place in town, and not bad. They have other dishes too. Get the clay bowl tofu vegetable thingy and gorge yourself on cheung fun.

• Aromi
  Town centre... and expanding. Sicilian bakery with good coffee. Arancini, pastries, tasty pizza by the slice. It's bloody delicious. You won't get a table in the main branch, but that's fine, because they're adding a new one every week. Good Gelato.

• The Wrestlers
  Newmarket Rd. Pub with a Thai kitchen. Filed under lunches because I’ve been going for over a decade and just can’t picture it as dinner. Solid, reliable, generous.

• Gorilla and Lamb (at The Cambridge Blue)
  Yes, we’re all bored with “dirty” burgers, but they do them so well. The topped fries are excellent, and they will sell you an ice cream sandwich made out of a glazed doughnut. Probably a bit heavy for lunch, tbh, but to my capricious and arbitrary tastes the Blue doesn’t have “going out for dinner” energy.

• Cambridge Cookery
  The bistro at Cambridge Cookery School, off Hills Rd. Fantastic, indulgent brunch. Classics, plus some Scandi/Italian twists, and one of the best poached egg dishes I've eaten. Decent replacement for the lamentably closed Afternoon Tease. Reviewed here, pre-pandemic. Note: not been back for a while.

To go a bit more fancy:

• Midsummer House
  Midsummer common. Two stars, and food-wise rightly so. Elaborate and theatrical without compromising on actually being food. But honestly the service can feel quite dated and snobby. Last time I was there the wine list was like the punchline to a joke about rich people. Review here (quite old)

• Restaurant 22
  Chesterton Rd. Stunning. Possibly the best in town?
  This used to be a great value fixed price three course affair in a tiny intimate setting. It’s still tiny and intimate, and I’d argue it’s (contextually) good value, but it’s now tasting menu only. Delicious, innovative, and booked up a fair way in advance. A great focus on produce with some well-deployed touches of flair. Recently got a star and earned the shit out of it.

• Vanderlyle
  Mill Rd. Good. So very good. Mostly plants, all panache. The food here is just so utterly polished and thoughtful. Tasting menu, and set-menu takeout through lockdown.
  Vanderlyle served me the best salad I have ever put in my mouth, and the potato terrine that little hash browns dream of being when they grow up. The cashew parfait gives me feelings.
  The problem is that it’s almost impossible to get a table. Reservations are released in monthly blocks, and sell out in about six minutes. That is not a joke. I timed it last time. You’ll need to join their mailing list to stand a chance. Do so.

Places to drink

Pubs! Come on, Cambridge, you can do this one. Cambridge has a serious ale scene, and one of the biggest, most diverse beer festivals in the country. As a rule of thumb, it's simpler to assume there are no pubs in the dead centre, and that any you think you may see have merely been painted on by the council to add a little colour.

No matter how twee or pleasant it may seem, do not have a pint in The Eagle. Go in, take that bloody photograph of the ceiling, and leave. Do not, under any circumstances, eat there. In fact, why not take pictures of The Chronophage instead, then go straight to the Pint Shop.

(For a kinder view, check out Adam's project to visit every pub in Cambridge)

Pubs:

• The Rad
  King St (just off the centre). Revived, refurbished, and largely rebuilt the St. Radegund now boasts both 20-odd keg & cask lines, and structural integrity! This much beloved micropub was shut for years pending an extensive rebuild and now it’s a contender for the best in town. It’s still small but the beer selection is amazing.

• The Pint Shop
  Town centre. As above - 10 keg beers, 5 cask, and well north of 40 gins, with a small, considered wine list. Stylish basic décor, reasonable ambiance. London-ish pricing. Like a louder, larger, less considered but more central version of The Rad.

• The Live and Let Live
  Has closed, and I am very, very sad about it.
  Has reopened (Mill Rd), and I am very conflicted about it.
  On the one hand it’s a broader, more modern beer selection and a much friendlier and inclusive atmosphere. On the other hand - no, wait, I’m just being pissy and nostalgic about my old local changing. It’s good, just different.

• The Cambridge Blue
  Off Mill Rd (Gwydir St). Great cask selection, and a lot of European and American bottled in the fridges. It can take a while to get served. Kitchen currently operated by the excellent Gorilla and Lamb.

• Calverley’s Tap Room
  Off Mill Rd (Hooper St, right at the end). Recently-refurbed outlet of the excellent Calverley’s Brewery. Food available biked over from Scott’s. They brew well, and this is the best place to drink their beer. Takeout available. Can get noisy.

• The Haymakers
  Chesterton. Should have been in the food section for having the best pizza in town. They stock a good selection from Milton Brewery, plus rotating guests. Also: lovely staff and a sporadic atmosphere of light derangement. It's my favourite.

• The Royal Standard
  Mill Rd (Over The Bridge™) Reopened in 2016 with a really solid selection of cask and keg ales and a mighty stock of gin. There's a good list of bottled Belgian beer, and food from Tzatziki Greek Kitchen which is cool.

• The Elm Tree
  Town centre-ish (Orchard St). Bottles from Belgium, and a vibe like you're having a pint in someone's living room. Navigationally non-obvious but worth the effort. (The Free Press nearby is good, too).

• The Old Ticket Office
  Literally at the station. It's fine. It’s here because when a station pub is actually decent, I think that’s worth mentioning. It’s a City Pub Group outpost so you know what you’re getting.

• The Champion of the Thames (The Champ)
  King st. Here’s your archetypal English Pub. Small, good cask selection, slightly old-man CAMRA, but friendly.

Bars:

• 196
  Mill rd. Cocktails. Really, really good cocktails. What? Just go. It’s great.
  The bourbon-based ones are my favourites. Best in summer when you can use the outside seating.
  They have a second branch called Dutch, across town in Eddington, if that’s a place you feel the need to be at some point.

• Cambridge Wine Merchants
  Various. Two in the centre (Bridge St, and at the University Centre off Mill Lane), and one on Cherry Hinton rd. There's wine by the glass, or you can take something off the shelf and add reasonable corkage. Two words: sherry, motherfuckers.

I’m sure Cambridge has more bars, I just don’t go to them. The one on top of that hotel is meant to be good? I’ll be honest, I gave this its own section to big up 196.

In the centre if you absolutely must, and the Pint Shop is full:

• The Maypole
  Sports, mediocre cocktails, overpriced good beer.

• The Grain and Hop Store
  (formerly "Grainstore") Greene King's mass-market repackaging of "craft". Hipster as an agency brief, but huge, central and actually pretty nice when it's not too busy.

• The Mill
  Town Centre (Mill lane). Ale in the centre, with a cask emphasis. Good selection, and glorious in summer when you can sit out by the mill pond and watch people fall off punts.

....and what about <place> in <village>?

No.

I have high-handedly decreed that “Cambridge” stops about an hour’s walk from the market square, and will not be reasoned with.

What have I missed?

New places are opening, quality is rising, but the pandemic kicked the hospitality trade squarely in the todger, and plenty old favourites have closed too.

If you like a place and it isn’t here - tell me about it!