Best places to eat/drink in Cambridge!!!

At least its a change from all the worried applicant threads... and its gotta be useful for some people (like me) :rolleyes:

Come on, I've been here three weeks and I still don't have a clue! Like, where would you go with family, kid sister/brother, friends, boy/girlfriend? And why? good food? good atmosphere?
tell me!

Reply 1

Illusionary

19

I've found Resaurant 22, on Chesterton Road, to be fantastic for when family have come to visit - great food, and a very personal atmosphere, due to it being really quite a small place - book in advance if you want to go!
http://www.restaurant22.co.uk/

Reply 2

Helenia

20

If your family really want to splash out, the obvious choice is Midsomer House, although that is NOT cheap!

Magdalene St/Bridge street and Quayside has the highest concentration of restaurants although there are quite a lot of others. La Galleria is good, though a bit out of normal everyday student price range - I went on Valentine's Day with the boy though. With friends or my sis, somewhere like Pizza Express/Ask/the Maharajah/Dojo's/any pub but especially the Castle, if we don't just go to formal. If I just wanted a meal as an excuse to get wasted, then the Curry King/Bombay Brasserie. I'm afraid my experience is rather geographically limited though as we tended to stay near to home.

Reply 3

FadeToBlackout

15

Gardies, Gardies, Gardies. Simple.

Reply 4

crafty bison

14

The Vaults is pretty decent for a reasonable meal with either family or a boy/girlfriend.

Reply 5

musicbloke

17

FadeToBlackout

Gardies, Gardies, Gardies. Simple.

TBH it's a bit lame. I mean, yeah, it's a kebab house. Great?! It's overpriced, and the food is nothing special. So yeah, when your hammered and it's on your way home and you can't face either of the vans, it's the place to go. Apart from that, it's not really worth it. The only reason it's popular is because cambridge is full of provincial geeks who've never gone out and who think that a kebab house is the greatest novelty ever.

MB

Reply 6

Annie Hall

1

musicbloke

TBH it's a bit lame. I mean, yeah, it's a kebab house. Great?! It's overpriced, and the food is nothing special. So yeah, when your hammered and it's on your way home and you can't face either of the vans, it's the place to go. Apart from that, it's not really worth it. The only reason it's popular is because cambridge is full of provincial geeks who've never gone out and who think that a kebab house is the greatest novelty ever.

MB

too true.

I like clowns, personally. It's good for socialising with casual food and a pleasant atmosphere. And no smoking!
Sometimes people tend to get a bit vocal and opinonated and there's the odd loser in there, but mostly it's a great place. Went there for a coffee date once and it was fine.

Reply 7

minimo

15

musicbloke

TBH it's a bit lame. I mean, yeah, it's a kebab house. Great?! It's overpriced, and the food is nothing special. So yeah, when your hammered and it's on your way home and you can't face either of the vans, it's the place to go. Apart from that, it's not really worth it. The only reason it's popular is because cambridge is full of provincial geeks who've never gone out and who think that a kebab house is the greatest novelty ever.

MB

For once, I agree with you.

subway?

musicbloke

TBH it's a bit lame. I mean, yeah, it's a kebab house. Great?! It's overpriced, and the food is nothing special. So yeah, when your hammered and it's on your way home and you can't face either of the vans, it's the place to go. Apart from that, it's not really worth it. The only reason it's popular is because cambridge is full of provincial geeks who've never gone out and who think that a kebab house is the greatest novelty ever.

MB

There's nothing wrong with being provincial :p:

But then, I am and I am not a huge fan of Gardies. Their chips are ok, but I never eat there late at night, I just don't get the hunger at that time! I also miss the presence of any decent fish and chip shops near the town centre, although I have one just down the road now.

As for subway, iceman_jondoe, if I wanted a sandwich I'd make one. Or get one from Choices on Trinity Street which is cheaper (I think).

Reply 10

N9ne

7

Go to Nando's! It's near Downing College.

Reply 11

Annie Hall

1

N9ne

Go to Nando's! It's near Downing College.

Nando's is such a rip off. And all they serve is chicken. It gets really old really fast.

It's a bit far out, but the green man in trumpington is good if you want to take visiting relatives. Very nice food there.

Backstreet bistro and backstreet brasserie are both good. One's on victoria road, but i can't remember which and i can';t remember where the other one is at all.

Reply 12

groovy_moose

1

I also miss the presence of any decent fish and chip shops near the town centre, although I have one just down the road now.

Where is this illusive fish and chip shop?! I never really go to them at home, though we're surounded by them, but i really miss not being able to get proper chips here...
And with regards to gardies, a kebab shop per sae is not at all interesting, but it's much better than any of the ones we have at home (albeit rather too expensive)

Reply 13

Cexy

I consider myself something of an expert on where to eat and drink in Cambridge, having visited every bar, pub and club and almost every restaurant.

My favourite restaurants are Midsomer House (obviously) Loch Fyne and Restaurant 22. All are a little bit on the expensive side, though. Moving down through the price range, you can get excellent food in La Galleria (by Magdalene bridge), Teri Aki (Quayside) and Chez Gerard (on Bridge Street). There's a new place on Bridge Street called Edwinns. The food there was excellent, but the service was absolutely awful - there's always the chance for that to improve, though. If you want something cheap then go to Dojo (Mill Lane), Bridge's Patisserie (on Bridge Street) or Peppercorn's, which is like Subway, only better. Excellent pub grub can be found in The Maypole and The Castle. If you want a curry I recommend The Maharajah on Castle Hill. The food is better than either the Bombay Brasserie or the Curry King, although you can't be as rowdy.

Where do I drink? The Maypole is the obvious choice for me, because it's about 45 seconds from my front door. Other than that I tend to favour The Mitre, The Castle, The Sino Tap (soon to close :frown:

), The Anchor and The Eagle. They're all perfectly serviceable, though not always cheap.

My favourite pubs are the ones with a bit more character, but there's the disadvantage that not everyone likes that, and that a lot of them are further out. The King Street Run is gloriously dingy, and plays rock and metal music. The Radegund is absolutely tiny and isn't studenty at all, but they're always really friendly. The Live and Let Live is a bit far out, but has an excellent selection of beer. The Free Press bans mobile phones (as does the Rad, actually) and has excellent food. In the summer we go to the Fort St George, as it's right by the river and it has a great beer garden, or The Mill, since you can take your drinks to the nice grassy area next to it and sit by the river. If you're feeling brave you could try The Cross Keys - it's small and the barman's a bit pervy, but at least it's different. The Earl of Derby does fantastic sausages, but again it's a bit of a trek (out past the train station!)

Reply 14

Helenia

20

groovy_moose

Where is this illusive fish and chip shop?! I never really go to them at home, though we're surounded by them, but i really miss not being able to get proper chips here...
And with regards to gardies, a kebab shop per sae is not at all interesting, but it's much better than any of the ones we have at home (albeit rather too expensive)

The one I'm referring to is on Wulfstan Way - I live a long way out now though (look at the TSR map!) There's one at the start of Milton Road though, not too far from Clare Colony.

I'm yet to explore the pubs this end of town. I should put in a word for the Penny Ferry though - nice beer garden by the river which is fantastic for watching Bumps in the summer! And they top up all our water bottles for us :wink:

Reply 15

Cexy

Helenia

I'm yet to explore the pubs this end of town. I should put in a word for the Penny Ferry though - nice beer garden by the river which is fantastic for watching Bumps in the summer! And they top up all our water bottles for us :wink:

Is that what they've renamed the Pike and Eel to?

Reply 16

Helenia

20

Cexy

Is that what they've renamed the Pike and Eel to?

Yes, although in reality all the boaties call it the P&E still. The Plough at Fen Ditton is also a good spot and they do lovely puddings, but it's a bit pricey as pubs go.

Reply 17

Cexy

I used to go down to the Plough whenever I wasn't involved in bumps just to watch the races, until I realised that bumps isn't actually that exciting as a spectator sport.

Reply 18

N9ne

7

harpy

Nando's is such a rip off. And all they serve is chicken. It gets really old really fast.

It's a bit far out, but the green man in trumpington is good if you want to take visiting relatives. Very nice food there.

Backstreet bistro and backstreet brasserie are both good. One's on victoria road, but i can't remember which and i can';t remember where the other one is at all.