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Devonshire Arms, Cambridge
Cambridge
CB1 2BH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Devonshire Arms
This is a strange looking pub on approach, tacked on to the end of a row of residential houses, at two thirds of the height of the rest of the terrace. But once inside, you find yourself in a lovely, cosy two room pub with a real traditional feel to it. The front room has scuffed floorboards, tongue and groove panelled walls and a very high red ceiling and has been furnished with some nice, but not entirely comfy, fixed bench seating. These benches have been formed into booths and are supplemented by a couple of pews with tapestry style backs and cushions, all of which allows for a degree of intimacy wherever you seat yourself. A fairly small, angular servery is tucked away in the rear corner and has a few pewter tankards hung on the bar back alongside some prominent jars of pickled eggs. The rest of the room is decorated with a large Milton Brewery mirror and some technical drawings of college porches and doorways. A drinking shelf opposite the bar was liberally lined with flyers and listing magazines for a whole range of events across the city. A door here leads you into the rear room where plenty of additional seating can be found, including a few tables that are partly screened by short sections of partitioning wall. The décor here is mostly breweriana plus a high shelf stacked with a large collection of books. The room has its own, ale-free, stretch of servery and doors to the rear lead out to a decent looking garden.
The pub is run by the local Milton Brewery and accordingly there were five of their beers on when I arrived - Nero, Pegasus, Lanterne Rouge, Sparta and a very nice drop of Jupiter which set me back a very reasonable £2.90. Portobello Market Porter and Milestone Sherwood were also on as guests. The bar staff seemed very friendly and a few punters were enjoying food from the decent looking menu.
The back streets of Cambridge between the station and city centre are full of interesting pubs and this place is up there with the best of them. I immediately felt at home in here and could've happily stayed much longer. Well worth including on any crawl of the area.
On 16th September 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Devonshire Arms
Milton Brewery owned place, offering 5 of their own as well as 3 guests (as seems to be the Cambridge way). It's a lively place of an evening, and the friendly regulars are tolerant towards those of us completing a day's tour of the city's fine pubs.
Definitely worth a visit and maybe next time I'll start here instead, to get a fuller impression.
On 23rd September 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 554 recommendations about 516 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Devonshire Arms
This building is a bit of a mystery.Probably Georgian or early Victorian,the high ceiling and very high set side windows give the feel of a chapel,no one would design a pub like this.The front wood floored room is where the bar is situated and around the front space there are a lot of high backed settles,creating the impression of semi private drinking booths.The large back room is more open plan,with wooden tables and chairs.There is also a small rear garden area.
Owned by Milton Brewery and featuring five of their ales,we were told by a regular seated at the bar that there are always two dark option from Milton (I spotted the knockout Marcus Aurelius 7.4%) and three of their lighter coloured brews.My Sparta was on fine form.Last pub of an extensive crawl I failed to note the three guests ,but none seemed superior to the house beers.
A drinkers pub,some spilling onto the pavement outside,with a lively ,chatty bunch of locals this was a fine end to our crawl and not far from the station.
The only outlet for Milton beers that I noticed in Cambridge,worth spending a bit more time in than my brief crawl visit.
On 15th September 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Devonshire Arms
We was not going to bother with this one but had to include it in the list after seeing in the local Cambridge and District branch newsletter in an earlier pub that ‘The Dev’, as it is known locally, had just been voted the branch pub of the year for 2012.
Two room set up as described by previous reviewers, a front bar with a high ceiling, wood panelling, some comfy seating and a bit of an extravagant chandelier, and then a larger, more comfortable back bar with a wood burning stove and doors which lead out to the small garden space beyond.
As mentioned, a former keg only outlet that was purchased by the Milton Brewery, done up and reopened in January 2010. 8 beers on offer, five from Milton and three guests and a lone cider including a couple from Buntingford and Humpty Dumpty breweries. But had to have a Milton Ale and the Saturnalia was a really good pint.
The Landlord and Landlady are apparently part of the team that ran the Hobgobblin in Reading a few years back, so no surprise they’re running a decent pub here.
On 2nd June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about Devonshire Arms
Excellent Milton pub, very quiet on the Monday evening that I popped in. just a few poor students cuddling pints. Visited as part of a mini crawl whilst on business in the city.
On 21st December 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Devonshire Arms
This is a rather curious looking pub tacked onto the end of a row of houses, clearly an old building however, with a double height ceiling in the front area. I'm unsure (and doubt) therefore if the building was built as a pub, but I confess to being unsure as to any previous use.
I believe that this was once a rather downmarket pub serving no real ale, however the place has now been acquired by the local Cambridge Milton Brewery and has clearly become a welcome addition to the Mill Rd area which is already strong with the likes of The Cambridge Blue, Live and Let Live, Kingston, Empress etc.
Two rooms, the front area has the bar, the back room leads onto a very small outdoor area with a warning that the chairs are a bit iffy! Wooden floors, white walls and a red ceiling, much of the seating is at high backed wooden settles. Decor is minimal but of interest including Architects drawings of Temple Bar in London...not sure if there is any form of connection, very high and in some cases unreachable shelves contain hard backed books.
The general vibe is chilled, ceiling fans whirr away, the clientele on a Saturday evening being mature drinkers, families and groups of friends rather than the student set but this is based on one visit however with mainly hard surfaces could get noisy.
Excellent friendly and informed service, as said mainly Milton beers, five on including the 7% Mammon which I'd say is for the more intrepid drinker.
Guests in addition to the Milton range were Iceni Fen Tiger, Green Tye Hadham Gold plus a real cider from Checkley Brook. All sampled were first rate.
The food menu looked very good too and certainly more interesting than the standard pub grub fare.
A very pleasing first visit here and as an added bonus there is direct access at the bottom of Devonshire Rd to the station through the car park within about 8-10mins making the pub a very good stop for that last one or three if you have to catch a train home.
On 10th October 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]