Cambridge 2021
9th December 2021
I recently took a trip back to my university city. Back in summer I had a day out in Cambridge and realised that there's a lot more to do now that I'm not living off a student loan. These are my notes, photos and reviews for the trip.
Saturday
Train to Cambridge and booked into the nearby overpriced Ibis.
Nipped into the Price Regent for some posh pub snacks. Every pub is now owned by Greene King (whoever he is) so all the food is the same everywhere.
You're in the south when it's called a "Garlic Ciabatta with Cheddar"
Next we visited The Regal, the only place I used to drink outside college bars. It's so much worse than I remember.
In the evening, I satisfied my BBQ cravings with a trip to Smokeworks.
Few games of bowling in the evening. Can't remember the last time I went bowling but still managed to pull off an impressive comeback.
Sunday
Morning flat white at Urban Larder while trying to book a sunday roast at the last minute, don't recommend.
Recommend the coffee, not the last min planning
Managed to get a walk-in table at The Chop House. Had Roast Beef, Sticky Toffee Pudding, a bottle of wine and a Hazelnut Espresso Martini (not all at once).
Stuffing would take this to 5/5 chickens
Spent the day exploring the beautiful pubs and bars around town. We managed to get The Granta's secret mulled wine recipe: love and brandy.
You can always depend on Gardenia to provide a well earned meal at the end of the night.
Sexy and trashy, now that's hard to pull off
Finished off the day playing chess in the Elm tree. I won!
Monday
Brunch at the Espresso library.
Upgraded our stay from the Ibis to the Varisty which only cost £30 more per night.
Had fish and chips at The Eagle which was okay but the staff were very rude.
Dry waiters and rude chicken
Went ice skating for the first time in years. Fell 3 times but only 1 was my fault.
Tuesday
Tried to do an early morning class but went straight back to bed once we experienced the weather. A few hours later we had breakfast, the highlight by far was the pancake machine 🤯 Took full advantage of the sauna and hot tub, that counts a workout right?
Bould Brothers coffee - tasted so different from what I'm used to.
Had possibly the best pub lunch of my life at The Castle Inn.
The best pub lunch in Cambridge?
Discovered Thanh Binh. Not sure if I've had Vietnamese food before but it was the best Vietnamese food I've ever had.
and it's BYOB so we enjoyed this with a great bottle of wine from the wine merchants down the road. Seriously, how did I go 3 years at uni without these places.
Wednesday
Full english breakfast at the Copper Kettle.
Followed by card games and mulled wine at the Cambridge Brew Hosue.
Pizza at The Carpenters Arms since The Castle Inn's dinner didn't start until 6PM.
Ended the day with some cocktails at The Six before heading back to London 😭
Regrets
Didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted. Here's a few places to visit next time:
- Charlie's Coffee Co
- Grantchester, home of the hit ITV show... Grantchester
- Efes