Champion of the Thames, Cambridge

GBG 2022 listed Greene King pub, Abbot and IPA on plus Oakham JHB and Taylor’s Boltmaker, I just missed the Green Devil. Two old fashioned woody rooms with low ceilings, bench seating and square wooden tables, although with a laminate floor. Pumps are in the larger room, there’s a smaller room to the right with just a small hatch like counter. A good mix of customers with a group of rugby types in the big room and mostly middle aged couples in the smaller one, the reason may look obvious but a lack of seating shouldn’t be ruled out. More younger people arrived later and the staff were very good, I liked the place. I couldn’t remember if I’d been there many years before or not, it didn’t look familiar and it’s the kind of place that probably doesn’t change much over the years.

A very authentic small boozer tied to Greene King but with an interior worthy of inspection.The apex door gives access to a square tap room with a real fireplace,wooden floor,attractive carved wooden bar and lots of etched glass windows.There is also a side snug with it's own small bar access ,very charming with a couple of alcoves where you can settle in.The small size means conversation can flow easily and the barman is an engaging figure creating a friendly atmosphere. I was in just after the 3pm opening but telephone bookings were coming in thick and fast ,this maybe necessary as the evening wears on,there are just 11 tables of sizes up to 6,overall theoretical capacity 35 but a single person on a 6 seater will reduce actual capacity . GK Abbott and IPA with a single guest in St Austell Tribute (NBSS 3) with a couple more pulls unused,so not an exciting range from this 2021 GBG entry.However worth a visit for the listed interior and boozer vibe.

This is still a Greene King pub, so the ale choice wasn't as exciting as some Cambridge pubs, but it did have on GK Abbot, Black Sheep Bitter, Hogsback TEA and Brain's Rev James. That's not too bad. I didn't see any sign of food on Saturday afternoon, but they apparently do food, even though I gather that the menu's a bit limited. This pub is on CAMRA's Regional Inventory of pubs with historic interiors. This is mainly because of the separate room on the right, separated from the main room on the left by some original (if fairly plain by Victorian standards) glazed screening. The bar counter's Victorian as well, but the bar back looks a more modern piece of work. The pub itself is still fairly unpretentious I'm glad to say, with plain normal tables and chairs, and the panelling on the walls still it's proper brown wood colour and not painted gastro grey. The one stand out thing about my visit was the presence of a ferret sitting in a chap's lap at the counter. I've never seen that sort of thing in London pubs. You will find many pubs in Cambridge with a better ale selection, but this still seems to be a fairly down to earth pub. I enjoyed my brief visit here.

Official site of Champion of the Thames - thechampionofthethames.com

Official site of Champion of the Thames - thechampionofthethames.com

Not a bad pub, but just bear in mind it is a Greene King place, so nothing very exciting on the ale front. Five cask pumps at the time of my visit offering Greene King IPA, St Austell Tribute, Gem by Bath and can't remember the others. I had the Gem which set me back £2.30 for a half - a bit on the expensive side I thought. The left hand room as you come in is where the bar is, and is quite traditional. I didn't go into the room on the right. A real fire was going, which was perhaps a bit unnecessary on a bright day in May, but nice nonetheless. A couple of chaps at the bar were having pork pies and the barmaid was hand washing pots under the bar. Service was friendly and welcoming. Nice and traditional but more expensive than the Cambridge Brew House that I had just come from. The beer was possibly a bit on the warm side, and the selection was not that great. Worth a look if you like old traditional pubs, but probably the kind of place I would go to once and not feel a need to go back to.