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Cambridge Brew House, Cambridge
Cambridge
CB1 1LH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Graham Coombs left this review about Cambridge Brew House
A designer brewpub aiming squarely at the student market with various offers and discounts, and even table football. The on-trend interior is furnished much as you might expect, with the brewing section behind glass at one end and the other end set out for diners. The cask offering was five of its own ales plus one guest in Barsham Oaks: the beers were well-kept but seemed a bit lacking in flavour and I found them disappointing.
On 7th April 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rob Hunter left this review about Cambridge Brew House
Visited a couple of weeks back while staying in Cambridge. Made this my first visit of the crawl as I was keen to try their own ales, being a brew pub. There were 7 or 8 cask pumps plus several keg taps. At the time of my visit they had two of their own beers on cask plus a cider. I had a Night Porter at £1.90 for a half, a delicious fresh porter.
The brewery is visible from the bar area. Loads of old cans decorate the bar and other knick-knacks including a jar of old cigarette playing cards and another of empty matchboxes. Pleasant décor and atmosphere to match, bare boards, music playing, sacks of malt stacked up near the brewery door. Definitely worth a visit!
On 17th May 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 750 recommendations about 598 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Cambridge Brew House
Eight ales on handpump on our visit, the majority of which were from their brewery, only a couple of metres away from the bar and a couple of guest ales on also. The restaurant end of the Brew House was very busy on our visit, still we managed to get a small pew near the bar, which gave a good view of the brewery operation whilst supping a pint of their Brew House IPA, which was extremely good.
On 9th March 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Cambridge Brew House
The Cambridge Brew House opened its doors in February 2013, becoming Cambridge's only brewery and the city's first brewpub since the 1990's. There has been a pub on this site since the 1830's, although the present incarnation is a grim looking example of 1970's brutalism. The current pub has gone under several guises over the years including Kings Arms (a nod to the name of the original pub on this site), The Bun Shop and more recently, The Jolly Scholar. Today we find a modern brewpub and restaurant in a large, bare boarded single room format. You enter to a smart seating area with lots of comfy options including some unusual stools made from old kegs given a padded top. Table football takes up space in one corner underneath a TV screen that was showing the late Premier League fixture and to the rear you can view some of the brewing plant. Further into the room, the servery appears on the back wall with some limited high table and stool seating opposite. Craft beer cans are on display along a high shelf, as well as keg font inserts and I also noticed some strange looking keg taps on the left hand side of the bar back. A large poster opposite the bar shows a map of the UK from 1978, marking all of the country's breweries, which is worth a look if you fancy a bit of nostalgia. Nearby, a large barrel was being used to pile up the day's papers. The rest of the room, over to the right hand side, is set up as a restaurant, with friendly waiting staff ready to find you a table. Padded bench booths run along the front wall, whilst standard tables and chairs fill out the rest of the space in an area with rustic wood panelled walls and a tiled area dominated by coffee making facilities. A curved staircase leads up to the toilets and two first floor rooms. To the left is the 'Tank Room' - a conference style room with a single large table and access to the brewery and in-house smokery. Meanwhile, to the right is the 'Locker Room' - a second bar with a large screen for live sports coverage and long rows of neatly ordered tables and chairs.
The brewery was set up by a former Hop Back employee, so I was hopeful for some good quality beer. Two house ales were on - Kitchen Ale and Cherokee - with the core range also available in bottled format. I tried the Kitchen Ale and absolutely loved it; easily the best pint I found on my Cambridge crawl. Also available on handpull were Saffron Brewery Black Jack, Tring Kiwi and Bishop Nick Heresy with one pump clip reversed and another pump dispensing a real cider. A diverse keg and bottle range was also in evidence. The dining area was full on my visit so I grabbed a table near the bar and ordered a couple of tapas style dishes (calamari and lamb meatballs), both of which were excellent. The staff were all really friendly, patient and helpful, going out of their way to assist customers.
I was a little unsure if I'd like this place but figured it would at least be worth a look for their own beers, but as things turned out, this was a really enjoyable visit and I had to cut my crawl short as I ended up spending much longer here than intended. A great addition to the city centre beer scene and well worth setting aside a bit of time to visit.
On 18th September 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Cambridge Brew House
Had a brief visit as we wanted to try the beer they brew here, and there were a few of their own beers on. We tries the Kings Parade and the Rein-beer, both of which were very good. Would love the time to spend here as it looks like a grand addition to the Cambridge real ale drinking scene.
On 29th December 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
A B left this review about Cambridge Brew House
As the name suggests, this pub brews its own beer. I tried the Kings Parade and found it very good. There are also 2 or 3 guest beers on cask and recently a selection of 4 or 5 craft keg options have been added. The pub does food, specialising in smoked platters that it smokes itself. Downstairs there is a smart bar area with "eclectic" furniture and a restauranty bit, upstairs there is a large room that shows sports and a function room.
Well worth visiting, the only downside is that there are not nearly enough seats for the casual drinker and hence it can be difficult to find somewhere to sit at busy periods.
On 12th November 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 27 recommendations about 26 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Bun Shop
Not much to look at from the outside; and with its name, it takes a second glance to work out what's inside. In fact there are several things within - bistro, tapas bar, live music/function room and a 'pub style' bar (which is actually rather better than it sounds).
On 8th December 2007
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Bun Shop
Modern looking outside, olde worlde inside. Sells real ale. Has a punt hanging from the ceiling, which sank on its first outing. Also a bike.
On 26th February 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Bun Shop
When i went in this place it was a proper pub called the Kings Arms.
This pub was a box like building and by far the ugliest on king street,once inside we went in a smartish room there may have been other rooms but we did'nt look.
This used to be a Tolly Cobbold tied house and there were three real ales on the bar i had a drink of Tolly Cobbold Original and this was a decent drink the other beers were TC bitter and TC Old Strong,this pub was a lot better inside that it looked from the outside.
Pub visited 17/6/1989
On 17th June 1989
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]