Cambridge Restaurant Reviews

Comparitive reviews of 20 restaurants in Cambridge, England.

see also: 1. Cambridge cafes, 2. Cambridge Pub Guide

Year 2003 reviews

Galleria, Bridge Street.

This cosmopolitan restaurant is worth investigating on account of its fairly unusual menu and its rather special narrow terrace at the river's edge. The food is marvelous and the atmosphere one of the best around. Galleria has a similar down-to-earth but slightly posh style to Browns.

Going back to Galleria, I liked it much more than I had the first time, probably because it's less intense at lunch time.

Verdict: have interesting pasta dishes for lunch with friends, and take your date there later on.

Free Press, 7 Prospect Row

A tiny place hidden away in a quiet back street, Free Press is a proper pub with proper beer and good food, which is distinguished by its enlightened smoking policy: you may not. The food is good, and the monthly 'theme' food night is probably worth a look.

Verdict: go for lunch with a couple of friends and have a meal and a couple of pints. Hell, fill the place and have lots of pints.

Year 2001 guest review

Bar Moosh, Hills Road/Station Road

I was totally and utterly disgusted with the whole experience that is Bar Moosh. Having eaten there in the past and enjoyed the food and atmosphere I thought it would be the ideal place to have our staff Christmas party. How wrong can a person be? I received a phone call at 12.30pm from an angry and rude man who ranted about the company not turning up for the Christmas meal, we had in fact booked it for the evening.

When the company arrived at Bar Moosh that evening we found we were sharing the bar with another party, we only booked the meal on the conditions we would have the place hired out for ourselves. The food was Revolting! Apart from the fact they had messed the order up, the food came out cold, soggy and blatantly re heated (obviously from earlier that day when they had expected us). Some of the desserts didn�t turn up at all! The staff were miserable and unhelpful and I'm sure the place could be shut down by health and Safety judging by the pit they called the toilet. I could go on all day about the state that Bar Moosh has slipped into. Don�t waste your time with it. By Victoria Sykes.

Year 2000 reviews

Dojo, Mill Lane

Dojo is clearly too popular for its own good; however quickly they get you through your meal there are still queues. They didn't actually bring the bill before we'd finished eating, but it was a close thing. You have to go to Dojo with the right expectations - if you don't mind the fast pace of the meal you'll love the excellent food. The portions are generous too; you almost certainly don't need a starter, which is a shame in a way.

The atmosphere is quite young and hip, and predictably studenty, given the trendy food and the low prices. This means that to really fit in you have to order a two-litre can of Japanese lager for your meal, rather than wine.

Verdict: Go with your mates repeatedly until you've tried all of the noodle dishes.

The Green Man, Granchester

Sunday lunch in Granchester is something of an institution in Cambridge, and The Green Man has the best pub lunch, having slightly more original food than the Rupert Brooke and more of a real pub atmosphere.

Best of all is the 'Sorry No Children' sign, which makes The Green Man worlds apart from The Red Lion opposite, which has a kiddies' playground area inside that seems to be designed to generate the maximum amount of screaming. I'm sure they're all little darlings, but they tend to spoil appreciation of my pint of beer.

The menu includes some weird Anglicised versions of Mexican food that is actually rather good. My chicken burrito looked more like a lasagna, but it tasted excellent and contained a suitably large quantity of fresh chillies. The Sunday Roast got a general thumbs up, although it was still closer to cheap 'pub food' than the mythical Real Thing.

Verdict: go with visitors to Cambridge, for the walk along the river from Cambridge, and the sheer quaintness of it all.

1999 reviews

All Bar One, St Andrews Street

All Bar One is a pub, but I include it here because it's a better restaurant than it is a pub, with it's posh pub meals. The varied menu essentially contains rather stylish versions of normal pub food, for a bit more money than usual. Fortunately, though, this works just as well for the food as it does for the beer and decor - what you get is excellent.

The atmosphere is clean, light and modern with big tables and plenty of room. This, and the interesting but varied menu, with lots of good vegetarian options, makes it good for large parties.

Verdict: go with lots of your mates, eat a burger, and make sure they pay for at least the drinks.

CB2, Norfolk Street

Like all the best things in Cambridge, CB2 is unusual - as well as being a cafe, it sells books, has Internet access and serves hot food. This homogenous mix is reflected in the chatty crowd, which is very diverse, and a friendly atmosphere.

I didn't try one of the pricey meals; instead I had soup, a toasted salmon ciabatta and carrot cake. All of it was excellent, and worth the above-average price.

Verdict: go with your next-door neighbour and eat ciabatta and cake, preceded by six-hours of coffee.

1997 reviews updated in 1998

7a Jesus Lane, 7a Jesus Lane

This is actually a Pizza Express cunningly disguised as a decent restaurant; which it is. Although the pizzas are pretty good it is the atmosphere, the swanky decor and the live jazz which make this place a must.

A comparison with Browns is inevitable here: 7a Jesus Lane is smarter, cheaper and has better sofas, whereas Browns has a more natural atmosphere and much better food.

Verdict: go with your lover or your mates and have decent wine with your pizza for a change. (5 July)

1998 update: since you can't hear the jazz from the restaurant rooms, you should find somewhere else to eat and only use 7a Jesus Lane for its coffee, cafe and music.

Bangkok City, 24 Green Street

This Thai restaurant manages to serve excellent food without being too dear. The service is very good and the atmosphere is more relaxed than in most oriental restaurants, which is a pleasant change.

Verdict: go regularly, either to eat in or take away. (16, 20 July)

1998 update: yep, it's still excellent!

Browns, Trumpington Street; tel. 461655

Busy English colonial style restaurant complete with big fans and jazz pianist. Browns is bright and fun, always filled with bustle and attracts a varied crowd. The food is mostly English and rather good; the menu is large which is handy when you go back for the sixth time. They do not accept reservations after 6 p. m. so you may have to sample the cocktails at the bar while you wait for a table.

Verdict: go with anybody and everybody, and eat one of the fish specials or the excellent steak and Guinness pie. (4 July)

1998 update: Browns is still justly popular. If you haven't already, try the fairly original pasta dishes followed by every single dessert on the menu.

No. 1 Kings Parade, Tel. 359506

English restaurant hidden away in an intimate (i.e. cramped) cellar. The quality of the service is surpassed only by the excellent food. The carrot and orange soup I had was very tasty and the salmon en croute sublime. The atmosphere is full of the character of the place, which makes it easy to relax.

Verdict: go with your girlfriend, who should be well-off and willing to pay, and eat the soup of the day followed by the salmon special. (26 July)

1998 update: although this restaurant isn't as special as I had first thought, the food is certainly still good, right across the menu.

Pierre Victoire, Regent Street; tel. 570170

Despite being one of a chain, this French bistro's easy-going atmosphere is unexpectedly authentic. The food is reasonable, but the menu is pointlessly adventurous and lacks the classic dishes that you find in real Parisian bistros.

Verdict: go with an intellectual who is missing Paris and stay for hours. (27 July)

1998 update: I popped in for coffee and cake the other day and the service was terrible - beware.

Pizza Express, St. Andrew's Street

Like most examples of Pizza Express around the country, the decor is all black and white and chrome. The tables are packed together and the service is not great so it can be difficult to relax. The pizzas are good, but uninspired and only come in one smallish size.

Verdict: go to Pizza Express, 7a Jesus Lane instead; or, if you have no taste, Pizza Hut. (31 July)

1998 update: no change here then.

1997 reviews

Chilies, 164-167 East Road; tel. 505678

Yet another restaurant that serves American pop-food, distinguished by food that is actually rather good. Chilies is a huge place, which makes it ideal for large parties, and has much more convincing decor than Footlights, say.

Verdict: go with at least a hundred people and eat lots of hot food. (10 December)

Chopsticks, Bridge Street

While this Chinese restaurant has plenty of character; the food suffers from being too greasy, as if it were a below-average take away.

Verdict: go to Tai Cheun or get a take away instead. (15 July)

Footlights, tel. 323434

This 'pop mex' place almost escapes from the fact that it is in a shopping centre, but not quite: the atmosphere is rather flat. The food and service suffer similarly; the cocktails are all right though.

Verdict: go to Sainsbury's instead, and do it yourself, or go to Chilies. (13 July)

La Margherita, Magdalen Street (Bridge Street)

This refreshingly unpretentious Italian restaurant serves good, but not outstanding, food. The pasta is probably better than the pizzas, and the best time to go is on a Monday or Tuesday evening when there is a very good folk guitarist who strums his stuff unobtrusively in the corner.

Verdict: go with your best friend and try the seafood risotto. (9 December)

Old Orleans, Mill Lane

More bland pop-food - this time supposedly Cajun-style, for all the difference that makes here. My 'Cajun grilled chicken' turned out to be a piece of plain grilled meat with no seasoning or spices whatsoever, served with some vegetables cooked in the chip fryer. Neither the poor service nor the fake atmosphere made up for this.

Verdict: go to Chilies instead. (10 July)

Tai Cheun, 12 St. John's Street; tel. 358281

This is my favourite Chinese restaurant in Cambridge, where the surprisingly decent food is relatively grease-free and the vegetables refreshingly fresh. The decor in the large back room is rather banal, so you should try to get a table in the front, which is stylishly modern. The service is faultless and the menu reasonably varied, but not particularly cheap. My shark's fin soup with crab meat was worth every penny though.

Verdict: go with a mate and eat with chopsticks. (14, 28 July)

Shao Tao, 72 Regent Street; 353942

Even though it is not especially cheap, this Chinese restaurant served up truly awful food when I went there. Unfortunately, there was nothing that made up for this.

Verdict: go to Bangkok City instead. (21 July)

Charlie Chan, 14 Regent Street; tel. 359336

Top quality Chinese restaurant which narrowly misses being My Favourite. The menu is interesting, the food good and the service attentive. The decor is understated, unless you eat in the upstairs room which goes beyond naff with its black walls, chrome, strip lights and mirrors.

Verdict: go once to try it out and eat the crispy duck of course! (26 July)

Michel's Brasserie, 21-24 Northampton Street; tel. 353110

The interior and atmosphere here suggest an English country restaurant, but it is the excellent French food which is this restaurant's raison d'être. The only culinary concessions to English tastes are the extra vegetables, served on the side, which were perfectly cooked rather than mushy à la française.

Verdict: go with plenty of money, as it is not cheap, and eat the duck confit. (27 July)

see also: 1. Cambridge cafes, 2. Cambridge Pub Guide