Where to eat in Cambridge

With everything being so uncertain travel-wise at the moment, it can be a little tricky to try and book a holiday. After postponing our trip to Portugal, we decided instead to go on holiday for a few days somewhere in the UK.

Our logic was – where can we get to from Brighton without having to change trains for a reasonable price. Hello Cambridge! It’s just two and a half hours on a direct train, and it only cost £37 for a return. Perfect. We stayed in a Travelodge near the train station which was the perfect base – we only really needed the room to sleep in. Luckily for us, we went Monday – Wednesday so pretty much all of our food was discounted because of Eat Out To Help Out. As lots of the usual Cambridge activities were closed because of Coronavirus, we spent most of our time eating. The dream holiday!

First up, we got off the train and headed straight to Smokeworks. Their tagline is “slow-cooked. fast” and they definitely lived up to that! It’s all delicious BBQ food and it arrived super quickly after we ordered. We both had the ribs & wings which was awesome. A really good portion size and extremely tasty. For dessert – an enormous milkshake! Sooo yum and such a good size for the price. I’ll be dreaming of that milkshake for a long time.

For breakfast the following day, we went to Espresso Library. It’s a super cool little space that doubles as a cycling cafe, art gallery, restaurant and bar! We went in the morning for brunch and it was a very chilled vibe. Lots of different types of people there – professionals working on their laptop, families with children – it’s a super welcoming space that basically anyone could enjoy. The brunch we had was one of the best I’ve had!

They had avocado on toast with loads of different options for toppings, so you kinda build your own. I had poached eggs, halloumi and a tahini drizzle and it was SO. GOOD. Absolutely delicious. 10/10 making this again at home.

After a day of walking and punting, we were ready for a filling dinner. We went to an Italian place called Stazione. We sat outside which I loved – people watching is so interesting in a new city. To start, I had a delicious sourdough toast with salmon and mozzarella. The portion size was so good and it tasted super fresh. or mains I had a huge bowl of pasta, aka perfection. It was a really good portion size with lots of prawns and a delicious creamy sauce. Exactly what I needed after a long day.

After a nap at the hotel, we went out for a cocktail at 196. It’s very small and a bit out of the way of the centre of Cambridge, but luckily a short walk from our hotel. We absolutely loved it – we sat outside and watched the world go by! The cocktails are around £8 – £10 which is good for a cocktail, especially when the ones 196 serves are pretty boozy. I had a “Pomme Coupe” which was appley and then a strawberry daiquiri. Yum.

On our final day, we went to the Pint Shop for lunch. I was reaaaally looking forward to this because their menu looked insane and they had an excellent craft beer offering. I was not disappointed! They had some really nice options on tap and I had the most delicious raspberry ripple cider. Foodwise, they have a set menu which is £22 for two courses or £26 for three. We had the Eat Out To Help Out discount, but I would absolutely go back and pay full price. I loved the food so much. To start, I had devilled whitebait which had a chipotle dusting. It was super crunchy and delicious with the spicy chipotle flavour.

For mains, I had the coal baked flatbread kebab. It had slow-cooked harissa lamb shoulder with pickled white cabbage, hot chilli and apple sauce, tahini and garlic sauce. It was INCREDIBLE. Like a really posh kebab.

All of the places we ate had social distancing measures in place, with lots of hand sanitizer and track and trace set up. It felt great to be in a new city eating in local restaurants and supporting local businesses. If you’re looking for a holiday in the UK and want to eat your way around the city, I’d definitely recommend Cambridge.

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