The Baron of Beef, Cambridge

A terraced Greene King pub, with rear patio area. The pub is in a Georgian style, with the upper storeys in cream brick, with sash windows the central one sof the three being blind. The lower frontage is in plain brick with stone surround central door and the flanking windows. The interior is effectively one long room, with a part partioned area and a small side area. The main front is in coffee and wood panel, with wood floor. The rear area is in chocolate, with a red tile floor and the side area is in red. Mixed art and pictures are on the walls. The food was fine, so Mrs Soup said - i was feeling rough, so i didn't eat. The TV had silent news on and the music was soft and general. The service was fine and a mixed clientel were in, mostly eating. Beer; usual tap stuff with GK IPA, St Austell Proper Job, Brentwood Gold and Milestone Ruby Rich on handpull. I had half of the Milestone, which was fine. I note other comments about Greene King beer swops in Cambridge, as this place had similat to the Bath House. A straight forward pub.

Cambridge is chocca with Greene King pubs but with a bit of careful research it is possible to filter out the exceptionally good ones (and there are a couple) from the mundane. The Baron of Beef tends to fall largely in the latter category. The long and narrow interior is quite bland, uninteresting and largely featureless. A door half way down is labeled the Smoke Room and I understand the pub was until fairly recently divided into 2 bars until Greene King knocked everything through into one causing a bit of a local rumpus at the time. To the rear is an outdoor patio but on the whole it really is all a bit nondescript. The pub did have its 15 minutes of fame having been featured in the TV mini series Porterhouse Blue and can claim author Douglas Adams as one of its former regulars. There wa a decent selection (by GK standards) of 5 ales available - IPA, Old Golden Hen, Olde Trip, their own (re)branded Baron of Beef ale and a guest in the form of Holdens Buffalo Soldier which was actually available at a few other GK pubs I came across so overall, not too exciting but better than expected. Prices were reasonable with the Buffalo Soldier at £3.15 and there was also reasonably priced food albeit they only had a limited menu available on my visit due to a kitchen problem. It wasn’t particularly busy for a Saturday lunchtime in August (probably not helped the food issue) which did at least make my visit fairly relaxed and peaceful with just some background piped music and a muted TV for company. All in all it’s a pretty inoffensive and tidy enough place, handily located for the City’s visitors and fine to pop in if passing by but it will never make anyones list of essential Cambridge pub visits. I’m not really sure how it ended up on mine!

Yep, easy review this one. Just have to agree, its nothing special in here, which is why I was very surprised to find it full with two hen parties. Same two guest beers as in the Anchor, which began to build suspicion that the publicans in Cambridge lack imagination, or the GK guest ale policy may not be as free as we are led to believe. Fortunately this was a suspicion which was blown away by a visit to the excellent Free Press the following day. The only decent point of the Barrel of Beef is the small courtyard outside garden space at the rear. Any chance that can be moved the Mitre next door ?

Pub is as described in previous reviews , very busy on my visit , staff were efficient if lacking in any character , Five beers on four standard Greene King offerings and Woodfordes Once Bittern which was pretty ropey to be honest , beware the staff leaving half pulled pints under the taps then topping them up when ordered . Its nothing special in here

This is a long, narrow Greene King pub, close to the Magdalene College stretch of the River Cam. The interior is fairly standard with wooden flooring and traditional table and chair arrangements throughout, although there are a few suede banquettes under the front windows and near the fireplace. The bar counter runs almost the whole length of the pub along the left hand wall and should you make it all the way to the back of the pub you'll find access to a decent looking beer garden. The walls are covered with various pictures depicting Cambridge life and I also spotted a small framed notice which explained the pub's unusual name. Only two beers were on when we visited - Old Speckled Hen and Herok and Howell Festival Ale (£3.20). GK IPA and Belhaven St Andrews Ale were both clipped but with a 'coming soon' sign over them. The bar staff weren't the most attentive and seemed to be paying more attention to the TV screens showing the Charity Shield match rather than figuring out who needed serving next. A few punters were eating from the standard Greene King menu and to be fair, the waitress made up for the slack bar staff by working very hard to clear up the tables, resulting in a very clean and smart environment. I didn't really have strong feelings either way for this pub and would concur with previous reviewers that it is a pretty average and inoffensive place.

Despite the name, this was nothing particularly special - another Greene King pub with the usual Greene King range in so-so condition. Long and narrow layout makes for an uncomfortable experience when busy. The bar back was appealing but that was about it. Apparently featured in Porterhouse Blue renamed the Leg of Beef.

The Baron of Beef is fairly close to the river and also next to the Mitre. Once inside this pub had one room that was fairly narrow but was slightly wider at both ends,this was a Greene king tied house and there were no real ales on the bar only GK keg beers i had a drink of keg Gk IPA and this was a very poor drink. Pub visited 17/6/1989

Official Baron of Beef page at a Greene King site - www.gkpubs.co.uk

Official Baron of Beef page at a Greene King site - www.gkpubs.co.uk