The Free Press, Cambridge

Nestling between the backs of old houses and some new builds it could fool you that there’s no pub up that road. Once found it is a splendid multi room back street pub, don’t be put off by the Greene King signage only Abbot and IPA on sale and clipped with the ancient ceramic clips of yore. The other five pulls have a selection from across the kingdom, Five Points, Butcombe, Oakham, and two from Timothy Taylors. Double clipping with ciders in operation as well. Two bars; one with a hatch the other with a counter and the pumps. The hatch room was being used by diners, the other mainly by drinkers, there’s a tiny cubby hole or snug at the end of the counter used by some diners who looked most put out when I looked in there. No seats available so I stood up resting my pint on a handy mantelpiece, sadly some amateur drinkers thought I was in some sort of queue, to be fair it’s a small pub and queuing in pubs seems to be a thing in Cambridge. I won’t add to the descriptions or opinions already given - they’re still accurate.

The ale selection in here was pretty good - Greene King Abbot; GK XX (a rarely seen mild); Skinner's Cornish Knocker; St Austell Tribute; Woodford Wherry; and something from Redemption. Food is clearly a major player in here, as most people were eating during our Saturday afternoon visit. Ham, egg & chips is £8, fish & chips is £12, and a new one on me was the pulled jackfruit pie (topped with mash) at £12. The barman said that I wouldn't be able to tell the jackfruit from chicken pie - I didn't believe him and went for the cheese & chutney sandwich at a reasonable £4.50. This is also on CAMRA's Regional Inventory of pubs with historic interiors. Even though most of the fittings aren't original, it still retains the tiny snug at the back on the left. All over the pub there are are small shelving units (old print trays according to the Pub Heritage Group) in which customers place messages, business cards, and the like. I've never seen that before. There were also framed WWII newspapers as decor. It's also clearly dog friendly. At one stage a dog hurled itself at the door to open it, ran to the bar counter and placed his paws on it as an indication that the barman should reward him with a doggy treat. The barman duly obliged whereupon the furry missile sat in the middle of floor to devour his treat, until his breathless owner eventually made his way to the pub to reclaim his hairy chum. Even though this pub appears to be food led (at least on Saturday afternoon) it still apears to be a traditional pub. I would be very happy to visit this one again.

On our visit we met a friendly local, along with his dog sitting by the coal fire in the main front bar. The student barmaid was also friendly and chatty and what with a choice of eight pumps including one cider, this was a difficult one to leave. There is a tiny snug leading off the main room, which has a record of holding 64 people in it at one time. Goodards Fuggle De Dum was our choice on the day.

Another one of Cambridge's excellent back-street locals - this one retaining a multi-room layout (including a tiny snug at the back of the compact bar area, and a slightly larger room at the back). Very traditional furniture and decor, as you would expect, and an excellent atmosphere on an otherwise quiet evening between Christmas and New Year. Although a Greene King house, there are several guest beers on the eight handpumps, but I opted for a decent pint of the XX Mild (£3.30).