Histon, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Everything that a lavish foodie experience should be – just wonderful”. Daniel Clifford’s Victorian villa remains one of the most accoladed restaurants in the country, and under chef Mark Abbott continues to plough a very steady course thanks to his “extraordinarily accomplished and delicious cooking”. It helps that it’s a pretty house in a gorgeous location: set on lush Midsummer Common, next to the Cam and with the backdrop of the university’s many boathouses on the opposite bank. There’s only one fly in the ointment here, and it’s the fact that at £270 per person for the evening (15-course) tasting menu, the price tag is a very large one and even some who say the food is “very good” can still find it “overpriced”. But for most, it’s “unfaultable”, “with a lot of fantasy and love for detail and really worth the journey”.

“Our go-to for breakfast on a Saturday in Cambridge” – with its “beautiful art deco-ish dining room”, this branch of the glossy national chain has a cohort of fans who reckon it’s “always a pleasure” to visit. Worth considering, in this still underserved university city.

A “beautiful setting” in the University Arms hotel, which relaunched alongside this tavern in 2018 after an £80 million transformation, adds considerably to the charms of a visit to this brasserie overlooking Parker’s Piece green. Local chef Tristan Welch, who honed his talents alongside a triptych of star chefs – Roux Jr, Ramsay and Rhodes – is a keen promoter of East Anglian produce, which informs the menu; the latter is usually deemed sound.

“Incredibly inventive vegetarian cooking and lovely staff!” continue to inspire nothing but high praise from the very dedicated fan club of Alex Rushmer’s small, ethically driven and sustainably sourced venue. “It really does not get any better than this place. Who cares that it’s meat-free... it’s just fabulous, tasty food”.

This Grade II-listed city-centre staple (once a coaching inn welcoming travellers on the road to the Big Smoke) has long been a magnet for locals owing to “always reliable” and sometimes “very good” bistro dishes and “excellent service” to boot; visit in summer months to profit from the lovely walled garden.

In a “lovely setting” in the village made famous by the poet of its name, this pub was taken over after our survey by Pascky Benedetto and his wife Laura, who moved in from the nearby Plough at Coton with a new offer including £6 house negronis and a signature carbonara with guanciale – although the menu is by no means all-Italian. We have removed the rating for this year – but reports please!

“Fresh clean flavours, beautifully prepared and presented” are the distinguishing feature of the modern British menu at this two-year-old project in the former premises of long-serving Italian restaurant Don Pasquale. Founders Bill Brogan and his partner Jinzhao Li last year re-launched the basement wine bar as a pan-Asian restaurant.

Despite its out-of-the-way location on Mill Road, Holly & Dan Fancett’s “lovely, local French-style brasserie” is one of the most commented-on destinations in the city in our annual diners’ poll. Why? Especially in this still patchily served varsity town, it’s “fairly priced”, serves “very good food”, has an “intimate” atmosphere and provides “very personal attention to customers”.