An insiders' small essential list of food and drink venues in Cambridge 2010

Horningsea is a 5 minute drive out of Cambridge through Fen Ditton, or literally a 2 minute hop off the A14 at junction 34. A gastropub that is very slick in every respect. Set off the quiet High Street, the busy owners also provide accommodation and run outside catering. Interestingly I have been to an event that they catered for on a large scale and the food was excellent.

I have eaten here lots of times, and keep coming back for more. The menu is modern and the dishes immaculately presented. The building has character and is pleasant to eat in. There is unfortunately not really any pub feel left. More like a proper restaurant now.

If I think back the only black mark was a particularly bad coffee they once served me. Apart from that a clean slate. Sometimes I feel it is almost too clinical and slick with a slight lack of human fallibility, the customers just oiling the machine. But at least you know that you will not be disappointed with your meal. It all goes back to the pub identity crisis, gastropubs shifting the landscape and changing perceptions. Such is the modern way if you want to 'make a buck' in the pub game.

Verdict

Top notch restaurant food served efficiently in great surroundings. For me, not a place to pop in to for a pint

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A new patisserie has just opened in central Cambridge. The premises used to be Halfords, so a vast improvement on the previously fairly drab unexciting facade. In the future when a bulb blows in my car, I suppose I will just have to be happy with cake instead.

Patisserie Valerie is one of just under 30 cafes, mostly in London.

I have popped into the I quote "haven of self-indulgence" recently. The cakes look amazing. A beautifully crafted colourful array of precise looking pastries and sweets adorns the window, with lots of efficient smartly dressed staff inside, eager to help. Unfortunately the romance is spoilt by the fact that all the cakes and pastries are not made on site, and shipped in from Soho branch. The bread is also not baked there. The menu online is misleading and unbelievably expensive in parts. For example -

Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Onions with a wedge of Lemon on a Toasted Bagel £7.75

This according to the online menu should be served 'Salad Garnish and French Fries'. In the Cambridge branch at the time of writing they have no license for cooking chips so they serve the bagel with crisps at the same price! Daylight robbery in my opinion. A friend recently ordered this to eat in, and was presented with basically a smoked salmon bagel with a few crisps and some garnish.

Thankfully the new take away menu is much more reasonably priced.

Verdict

Just go for the obvious strengths in their delicious pastries and cakes. Watch out for the expensive eat in sandwiches.

A welcome addition to Cambridge.

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(updated review...see verdict)

I have finally made it to Jamie's Italian, in its opening week.

I have never, repeat never queued (in the rain) to eat in a restaurant in Cambridge before. About 15 people were patiently waiting at midday to sample some 'pucker' Italian.

A rather grand front entrance opposite the Corn Exchange reveals a desk from where you are seated. Straight ahead is the main dining area, an enormous parquet floored room lined with cushioned banquettes, filled with tables and accompanied on one side with a kitchen servery. The roof is very high with a domed center all supported on marble pillars. Extremely grand in a casual, friendly way. To the left is a bar area with more covers and upstairs is yet more seating, ideal for private dining or parties.

We were placed in the main dining 'hall'.

Soon after we arrived the place filled up and there was a buzz, a noisy babble much like Browns , except the inherent acoustics made it softer. This gives the place immediate character, and a sense of being alive, amazingly before it has had time to find its feet in Cambridge.

So far so good.

The staff are immaculate in manner, dress and attentiveness. The menu looked really interesting. I found it very hard choosing. While I was waiting for my food I noticed a selection of hams hanging down along the side of the servery. There were surely almost too many, too well placed to be real. I asked the waitress, and yes they are not just there for eye candy (the hams that is). They are real enough, plucked out and used by the chefs. Nice touch.

We ordered a selection of small bites which were not only interesting in conception but delicious. We both had a pasta dish, I chose the carbonara (which would do well to beat the ones I have eaten in Rome in the past). The pasta itself was very good, but it was perhaps lacking in pancetta (considering the gratuitous display of meat on the servery I felt short changed) and the top heavy greenery was abrasive, slightly lodging in my throat.

I had the tiramisu for pudding which was good, but on reflection a bad choice following a rich carbonara. My espresso was eccellente. Illy perfection in a cup.

Verdict

A stunner of a building, decorated superbly (even the gents loo). This place is going to be a winner in Cambridge. The food has clever interesting combinations at a good price. I am looking forward to going back and working my way through the menu.

Update... The comment (see comments section) and recent friends visits have highlighted the unacceptable wait at certain times. I have luckily not experienced this yet, but I suspect it is 'new restaurant teething problems'. Sort it out Jamie!....or you may slip into my 'Could Do Better' section...

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There are times when a place is much more interesting than the food served inside.

Browns Restaurant was fashioned out of part of the Old Addenbrooke's hospital back in the late 80's. A grand entrance , high ceilings, and about 200 seats. Very colonial in style.

It is nearly always busy, but you will mostly find a table quickly due to its size. If not there is always the impressive bar to wait at which offers really good cocktails.

It may be a chain, but it has a special ingredient (which unfortunately is not the food) that generates a feeling of fun and enjoyment when you are eating here. The constant hubbub of conversation and cutlery echoing around the place provides its pulse. The efficient staff make you feel at home, and offer a very personable service considering the amount of covers they have to deal with.

The food though of late has for me been worse than appalling. I have eaten here three times this year with various friends and can honestly say it is embarrassingly bad. Basic errors like cooking a steak 'not to order' are small fry compared to the stuff served up to me, and are too numerous to mention.

Verdict

This beautiful venue is not enough to temper the dramatic drop in the standard of food. I would only consider going here for a drink at the bar to soak up the atmosphere before moving on somewhere else to eat.

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This German owned (the clue is in the name) lunchtime cafe is a long running independent, producing a winning formula exceptionally well since 1992.

You almost have to know it is there despite being in the town centre, tucked away on a narrow pavement of Pembroke street, more of a car than a pedestrian thoroughfare. There is always a crowd of people descending on it a lunch, but don't let that put you off. No matter how big the queue, you will not be kept waiting long at all. You may well need this small window of reflection to choose between three delicious vegetarian (sometimes vegan) soups that are boiling away behind the counter. As an accompaniment there are filled baguettes, prepared in front of you in the open kitchen. There are also some very tempting cakes and various other offerings.

For a few extra pennies you can opt to eat in, on one of the multi-coloured tables, and join the excitable intimate lunchtime atmosphere. A place where conversation with strangers is almost inevitable.

Verdict

Trockel, Ulmann & Freunde is an institution and well worth visiting. Do not leave it too late in the day as they often sell out very quickly over lunch.

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