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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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The Kingston Arms, Cambridge
Cambridge
CB1 2NU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Kingston Arms
A very good pub this one and well worth a visit. This small backstreet pub had a choice of 13 hand pulled ales on our visit. The interior consists of an L shaped room, with mustard coloured painted walls and dark green ceilings. The servery had a pine cladded front, with mahogany counter. There was a lit coal fire in front of the bar on this visit, very welcoming indeed. Seating consisted of tables and chairs along the front windows and some settees dotted around the back. We sat at the front where we noticed a small cardboard box with a cat inside having a snooze, the box said his name was Bear. We went for the Tydd Brewery Neanderthal. Opening times 12-3 5-11 during the week.
On 12th March 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Kingston Arms
This is another back street ale house that has been knocked into one room.
There were what looked like carpet tiles on the floor for a change and bare wooden tables. There was a TV screen but it was turned off. The bar sported twelve hand pumps and a black cat fast asleep at one end of it. There were two ciders available and the beers on offer tended to have a slant in favour of larger micros. I went for a Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (£4.10) which tends to be pricey even in a Spoons. It was in excellent nick.
For the third time on the day I missed out on the CAMRA discount.
This was a much better place than the manic Cambridge Blue around the corner.
On 23rd December 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about Kingston Arms
Sat at the bar amongst the 10 hand pumps feeling all of my 47 years as the pub was packed with what appeared to be the more affluent of cambridges student collective. Nice pint and a good chat with the barman who had just come back from New Zealand and was expressing some shock that so many females in cambridge drink real ale. I do hope it's not just a fad. Excellent pub, well worth a visit.
Second visit 21/09/13. This time with wife and friends. Ate Sunday lunch and sampled 4 of the best beers in town. Superb food, hot and well cooked. Really good beer and nice staff, only too happy to cater for the small child we had in tow. Great pub, will be back.
On 28th September 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Kingston Arms
Another of Cambridge's back street gems; smaller than some of the others we visited on the day, but still managing to pack in a dozen or so ales. Keener than some of the local free houses to promote their food, which seems to have a good reputation locally. If it hadn't been for the lure of another pub on a busy pub crawl, I'm sure we would have stayed for longer to sample a few more of the ales.
On 19th September 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 554 recommendations about 516 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Kingston Arms
I think I counted 13 pumps now, including the cider ones, and a good balanced choice available. A couple of Hop Back beers, an Elgoods Mild and a couple of Oakhams, but right bang in the middle of the counter was Mighty Oak Oscar Wild, completely living up to its 2011 Best British Beer status.
Again, this Cambridgeshire Ale house tucked away in the narrow streets east of the City Centre is not the biggest of places internally being mainly a thin L shaped room around the serving bar, but does benefit from having a decent outdoor space out back, with an eclectic jumble of mixed tables and seating underneath two large Jumbrellas.
Good pub internal décor, and although there is a flat screen tele now on the wall in the short side, it was tuned to a radio station for the test match cricket, which I thought was a nice touch.
Quite busy on the weekend lunchtime visit and most people were eating the roasts. They looked very good , but we were only here for the beer, and very good it was too.
On 2nd June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Kingston Arms
10 pumps on the bar serving mostly non mainstream ales, but also yesterday another 6 in the rear yard as the pub was celebrating the Mill Rd Winter Fair by hosting its own Old Ale Festival. A gazebo affair was a good idea as the weather was particularly inclement.
The bugbear is still the reserved table policy which results in a number of empty tables while punters stand in what is a very narrow space. We chose to ignore the reserved sign and sit down anyway.
27 January 2008
Fine backstreet local, ten real ales on tap, five each side of the bar, mainly from local or micro breweries. Busy in the early evening, unfortunately though the pub has a policy of reserving tables so it ended up a bit crowded. Garden to the rear took up some of the punters but it was a bit chilly after dark so we moved on, the pub has tough competition nearby! Still an essential stop on any Cambridge crawl and at 20 mins brisk walk, probably the best venue for a beer drinker's pre match pint before heading for The Abbey Stadium. The side area facing the bar is very narrow and can get almost impassible, especially if the strangely located computer terminals are in use.
On 6th December 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Kingston Arms
An attractive exterior with blue and white window arches, this pub aims itself more towards the lefty academic crowd, what with wi-fi terminals and Palestinian food (very yummy, I might add). Ten ales on from smaller breweries alongside a real cider, the two I tried were in pretty good shape. The foreign chap behind the bar was a bit surly though. As noted elsewhere, the ratio in height between settles and tables is way out. Interior is colourfully decorated and there’s a decent garden to the rear. Should be a default visit if you like your ale.
On 10th October 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tony Langley left this review about Kingston Arms
Really good choice of real ales. Nice looking food. Gets very busy.
On 29th October 2008
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 38 recommendations about 38 pubs]