CONCIOUS FOOD SPOTS IN CAMBRIDGE
I’ve been lucky enough to live in Cambridge my entire life, but next year I’ll be moving to Bath for my fiancé’s job. I’ve been busy researching places to eat, visit and things do in Bath and thus I thought it might be nice to do the same for anyone moving to Cambridge.
These are my absolute top eateries in & around Cambridge, set in beautiful locations, with a focus on local produce and sustainability.
Flock
Café Breakfast, Burwash Manor
Around 10 minutes south of Cambridge is Burwash Manor, a small set of independent shops set in converted arable buildings on a working organic farm. There’s a spa, deli, gift shop, florist and more - it’s just very sweet, and a staple afternoon out for the local community.
Flock is their cafe, with everything on the menu made fresh in their kitchen that day - from cakes to brunch. They prioritise local, seasonal produce and everything I’ve had there has been delicious. The staff are also always lovely.
Bread & Meat
Sandwich Lunch, Benet Street
Located just off King’s Parade, if you’re feeling like a sandwich this is the place to go. Everything is handmade on site, from the ciabattas to the mayonnaise, with locally sourced ingredients and 100% British meat. I am slightly biased towards this one as I went to school with the son of the local couple that own it, but its been going for over a decade now and still manages to have a queue out of the door at lunchtime - enough said.
If you’re visiting in summer I’d suggest following the locals’ suit by getting your meal ‘to go’, then wandering 5 minutes down the road to Laundress Green and eating by the river. Midsummer Common and Jesus Green are also lovely parks for a picnic lunch, although not by the river.
Fitzbillies
Afternoon Tea/Café, 3 locations: Trumpington Street, King’s Parade & Bridge Street
Probably the most famous eatery in Cambridge, if you’re visiting Cambridge you’d be remiss not to take one of their Chelsea buns home with you. Fitzbillies began serving up handmade traditional English buns, pastries, bread and cakes from their Trumpington Street bakery over 100 years ago. They now have a shop on King’s parade and another by the river which tends to be a little less busy.
In writing this post I’ve discovered they deliver nationwide, so you can best believe I will be ordering their ‘bake at home’ Chelsea buns to have on-hand in my freezer for days where I’m missing my hometown.
If you’re not sure what Chelsea Buns are, think similar to a cinnamon bun but filled with an array of dried currants, raisin and spices instead of cinnamon, and topped with a sticky glaze.
Mercado Central
Dinner
Located in the heart of the ‘old town’, Mercado is a another Michelin Guide restaurant. It might seem odd to have a Spanish restaurant on a list discussing the best of an English City, but nearly 10% of Cantabrigians speak Spanish as their first language so it would, arguably, be remiss of me not to mention it.
Their ingredients all come from small-scale, specialist suppliers across the UK and Southern Spain, utilising sustainable & high welfare produce (think wild fish and grass-fed beef). The restaurant places focusing on seasonality, reflected in their everchanging menu.
The idea that British food is simply ‘meat & two veg’ is beyond outdated. A melting pot of cultures has made the UK, in my opinion, one of the most diverse food cultures globally; Fish & Chips may be our most iconic dish, but Tikka Masala is the nation’s favourite.
The Tickell Arms
Dinner
This is my mum’s favourite restaurant, and where we often go to celebrate achievements & milestones.
Set in a little village around 25 minutes south of Cambridge, The Tickell is a beautiful country pub serving up modern British food alongside traditional Sunday roasts. I particularly like their fish courses (the owner’s wife if pescetarian and I fell this really shows), preferably whilst seated in the rose garden overlooking the pond in summer.
The pub is part of ‘Cambs Cuisine’, a small chain of eateries in Cambridgeshire including ‘The Chophouse’ on Kings Parade, Millworks (BBQ) by the river and a number of country pubs. The entire chain has a real commitment to sustainability, using regenerative locally reared lamb, organic wines, fruit grown in their gardens etc. They plan for all of their fruit and vegetables to have been grown in East Anglia (our region of the country) by the end of the year.
Jacks Gelato
Sweet Treat
Of everything on this list, Jack’s is the one place I think every Cantabrigian would agree had to be here.
They serve handmade, organic ice cream with an everchanging menu (normally around 15) of both classic and whacky flavours, often featuring locally grown ingredients, many of which come from their own organic farm just north of Cambridge. There’s a secret flavour daily (check their Instagram story to find out today’s), multiple styles of cones and a ‘try before you buy’ system to help you decide.
Such is the popularity of Jack’s that they’ve come out with their queue jump system, available on their website and an app, to reduce the lines of people blocking the pavement outside. Before the app I had a friend who worked there in summers whilst we were at university, handing me free cones out of the windows - I was gutted when she left, but this makes up for it slightly even if I have to pay for them now! For true Cantabrigians, no meal out in town is complete without a cheeky ‘Jack’s?’ - at which point you all wander round, collect your cone and then perch on the wall outside of King’s College just round the corner no matter the weather. The parlour is open year-round from midday, even through the winter, and until midnight on weekends.
The Granta
Pub
The start of many a night out, a quick drink of two with friends on the terrace overlooking the Mill Pond is classically ‘Cambridge’. In honesty I don’t know how much of a focus they have on sustainability but I couldn’t not have it on here, for nostalgia if nothing else.
If you think I’ve unfairly excluded somewhere, or visit anything here after reading this post, please do email on rosesandreverieinfo@gmail.com.
