Dining in Cambridge

April 3, 2010 4:37 AM

Best place to eat in Cambridge, UK?

I am going to be in Cambridge tomorrow night and looking for somewhere to eat. I'm open to all types of food and not bothered about price but I won't have a car so walking distance of the town centre appreciated.

posted by ninebelow to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

There are so many places catering for all kinds of culinary preferences you'll have trouble choosing and pretty much everywhere in the centre of Cambridge is walking distance as it is a small place - just go and walk until you find somewhere you like the look of :)
posted by koahiatamadl at 4:56 AM on April 3, 2010

I don't know about "best" but, in order of preference:

1. The Varsity (35 St Andrew's Street) - Traditional Greek Family Restaurant
2. Galleria (33 Bridge Street) - Italian, Family Restaurant
3. La Margherita (15 Magdalene Street) - Italian, Family Restaurant

are all good.
posted by gadha at 4:56 AM on April 3, 2010

My recommendations are:

Loch Fyne : An excellent fish/seafood restaurant which prides itself in fresh produce and does a very god job at it.
and
Browns: A general modern european cusine restaurant with lots of options. Again, always been satisfied.


Both very good but then I dont know what 'best' means in your dictionary
posted by london302 at 5:33 AM on April 3, 2010

I have no idea what the locals think of it, but I love the Italian food at Don Pasquale.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:56 AM on April 3, 2010

Best answer: Well, the best is probably Midsummer House, with its two Michelin stars and all. But they're closed Sunday, and you would have needed reservations anyway. Restaurant 22 is also very good, but also closed Sunday. I've never been to d'Arry's Wine Shop or the Hotel du Vin bistro but I have heard lots of good things. Loch Fyne is an excellent choice, Brown's is a good one, Galleria is okay. I wouldn't necessarily go back to The Varsity, La Margherita, or Don Pasquale myself. If you want a curry, Panahar is my favorite.
posted by grouse at 7:59 AM on April 3, 2010

The Eraina Taverna is a local treasure in Cambridge.
posted by jb at 8:31 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Another shout for "best" is now Alimentum, a bit of a hike out past the train station from the city centre. I haven't eaten there, but A. A. Gill has. (I don't like jazz in restaurants either.) However it looks like it's only open noon to 4 p.m.

Try The Kingston Arms or The Cambridge Blue for pubs. The Kingston probably still has the best food, while the Blue is more of a drinkers' pub but has reasonable food.

I recommend Cocum, which is an Indian restaurant serving food from Kerala, and it's excellent. You can walk a minute for a drink afterwards at The Castle Inn, which is one of the best real ale pubs in town.

Not to bash anyone's tastes but I would stay away from Eraina, Don Pasquale, and even Brown's.

I would like to suggest The Wrestlers on Newmarket Road, which has very good Thai food, but it's not walking distance really, and they don't serve food on Sundays according to the Charles Wells page for them. (In my experience, they go through periods of serving on Sundays and periods of not.)
posted by galaksit at 8:42 AM on April 3, 2010

I meant to say about Cocum: it's completely different food from typical British Indian restaurant fare, and made to a higher standard, while still competing on price.
posted by galaksit at 8:44 AM on April 3, 2010

Thirding Cocum, not sure why I missed it. It's Indian food, but from Kerala and so is completely different from the normal fare. Very very very tasty and excellent prices.
posted by gadha at 8:47 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Last time I was in Cambridge I noticed that Fitzbillies, formerly just a bakery and cafe, has now opened a restaurant as well. I didn't go in, just peered through the window, but it looked quite promising and not too touristified.

If you like Thai food, you could try Sala Thong. I've eaten there several times and never been disappointed. Thanh Binh (Vietnamese), in Magdalene Street, is also good.

Loch Fyne would be a sound choice. I'm not so sure about Brown's, though; I've found the food there rather heavy and boring, but maybe I was just unlucky. I'm not a big fan of Eraina, either; this review ('cheap and cheerful, plus everything comes with chips') sums it up pretty well.

Or if you want the true Cambridge student experience, try the kebab van in the Market Square .. before vomiting blindly into the gutter.
posted by verstegan at 10:36 AM on April 3, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for all these suggestions, I will investigate. I'm a big fan of Keralan food so it may well be Cocum.

I'm a bit surprised by all the recommendations for Loch Fyne, it is decent enough but surely it is a pretty standard chain restaurant?
posted by ninebelow at 4:39 PM on April 3, 2010

There simply isn't much great food in Cambridge. That "standard chain restaurant" is one of the better restaurants in town.
posted by grouse at 4:44 PM on April 3, 2010

Response by poster: Another suggestion we were given when we arrived was Cotto, although that was shut for Easter.

In the end we did go to Cocum and a very good meal it was too (apart from the bizarre stale sugar rice that came with the bill). It's funny, I was looking for somewhere decent to eat in Hemel Hempstead a couple of weeks ago and the answer was Keralan then too. It seems to be the saviour of small town dining.
posted by ninebelow at 7:35 AM on April 6, 2010

(Though it was a few months back...) thank yous for all the recommendations of Cocum. Found it pretty much by chance (just a few hundred yards down the road from where we were working) but remembered the comments here, and would concur - great meal and a nice place and staff too.
posted by opsin at 6:36 AM on August 25, 2010