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Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
NOVI, Cambridge
Cambridge
CB2 1DB
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about NOVI
A huge disappointment to find The Fountain had been taken over as a rather unappealing trendy lounge bar selling overpriced food and no real ale. The ground floor is a European-style cafe bar, the other two floors not really remarkable other than conforming to the building’s original layout. The staff were not pleasant, the clientele were a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals and the craft beer selection was hideously over-priced. What a waste of such a splendid building and a piece of history lost.
On 7th February 2020
- rating: 4
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
A B left this review about The Fountain Inn
The Fountain Inn has been revamped and I'm very impressed with the results. The decor is modern, with wide open windows to let the daylight( and fresh air in the summer) in during the day, and the place gets quite lively in the late evenings. The beer is top notch: 5 handpumps selling local cask ale from Elgoods and Grain amongst others, and good craft beer including both German imports and a really moreish Black Isle Organic Porter. A good choice of bottled beers also available.
A good place to sit with a pint and read the paper, a much better choice than the Wetherspoons next door.
On 20th December 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 27 recommendations about 26 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Fountain Inn
The Fountain Inn is quite an old historic Inn situated on the main Regent Street / St Andrew’s Street route into the centre of Cambridge.
The outside view still has a bit of historic character, but anything inside has long since been removed by several successive makeovers, designed to make the Fountain blend it in with all the other party nightclub places on this stretch and take advantage of the evening crowds that flock to the Regent Street / St Andrew’s Street drag. The last one of these apparently, according to the barman was very recently, when it was shut for several months before opening about 2 months ago.
I’m told the main things they did was to move the bar from the left side to the right side to reveal the windows behind the old bar to make the place lighter, remove the character 1930’s windows shown in the various photos attached and replace them with large bits of glass, to make the place lighter, put in a polished cement floor, to make the place lighter, and paint the walls Mauve and Green, to make the place one I wouldn’t normally set foot in.
But the reason I did enter in is because they have also put in on the right hand side a large stainless steel bar counter which has a row of six ale pumps on it, with local brewery beers. These included beers from Elgoods (Cambridge Bitter), Oakhams (Bishops farewell and Inferno) and Adnams as well as a cider. And there is a fairly decent collection of bottled beers as well.
Virtually had it to myself on the Saturday lunch time for a quick one and when the bar web site refers to it being a quiet venue during the day, that’s because it’s empty and doesn’t come alive until after 6.00PM when doorman control the entry policy and the place is open till 3.00AM with resident DJ’s from 10.00PM onwards..
When passing at around midnight later that day the resident crowd did seem to be more mature that the queue of youth and oiks waiting to get their ID checked by the door keeps at the The Regal and The revolution just up the road, so perhaps they can sustain five ale pumps as well as all the posh Lagers.
Will not leave a rating as this is best left to those a lot younger than me who should be better positioned to tell if this place functions well for the target demographic or not.
On 30th May 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Matthew Knight left this review about The Fountain Inn
The Fountain Inn has been a prominent Cambridge pub for many years, dating back to the nineteenth century. In recent years the pub has been refurbished to give it a more contemporary feel, and now offers live music at the weekends, free wifi internet, and a great relaxed and friendly environment.
Food is served from 12 til 3 and 6 til 9 every day, and the bar operates a late license until 3 a.m. at weekends. The central location means it's within easy walking distance of the town centre, the bus and train stations, the multi-cultural hub Mill Road, and the much awaited new John Lewis and Grand Arcade shopping center.
On 20th May 2008
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Fountain Inn
Modern looking pub, only two customers were there when I visited. Sells real ale, 1 pump (6X). Sells continental beers on tap.
On 27th February 2007
- rating: 6
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]