Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
New pub visits 2024 with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Pint Shop, Cambridge
Cambridge
CB2 3PN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Pint Shop
There were too many beers to list on the board - up to 6 cask and 24 keg. On my visit, there were just 4 reasonably priced real ales (2 pumps not in use), with the craft keg almost universally not reasonably priced and largely not of sessionable strength either. I opted for something affordable from the cask range, though it really could have been somewhat cooler (it may have been a hot day, but this does claim to be a specialist beer emporium).
There was a decent food menu, and I had no complaints about the food. I did find the service a little brusque though so, along with the beer options not really hitting my preferred price/quality targets, I think I'll try elsewhere next time in Cambridge.
On 26th August 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Pint Shop
ORIGINAL REVIEW December 2015.
A solid frontage to this beer emporium,its trendy and wouldnt look out of place in Hoxton.The front room is modern, has small circular tables,some plastic furniture a bit of bench seating and is light,airy and full of chatter.The light fittings are contemporary and the ducting around the ceiling almost a cliche.However this is an old building and there is a rear section with an original fireplace,a rear corridor leading to a restaurant,impressive carved wooden staircase and banisters to a first floor dining area.Even the stylish gents has an unused fireplace.The soundtrack is hip but the real star of the show is the beer ,both in cask and keg form.
The board by the two sided bar (none of the taps are clipped) has the list of 6 real ales (on my trip including Marble Pint,Dark Star Creme Brulee (both excellent condition),two from Oakham and two from Nene Valley ).The 16 keg taps were offering an excellent selection also featuring on my trip brews from leading brewers such as Marble,Siren Craft( My Pompelmocello Grapefruit IPA 6% was unbelievably good ) and Oakham among others with several very high ABV options priced by schooner or half so watch out for that .I didnt eat but I might have a pop next time,given the obvious focus on excellence in here.
The fans of boring brown beers and pub traditionalists would probably turn their noses up at a place like this but for those interested in cutting edge beer in all it's form this is a must visit,and I would always call in first on any pub crawl to see whats on ,with every possibility that the crawl may not get much further.Enjoy.
UPDATE
A revisit found a slight change in vibe.There are still 5 real ale options,but these are not listed on the board so move to the small back bar where the 6 handpumps are located offering a real cider and 5 cask ales My Magic Rock Inhaler was on good form and this seemed the best option but at £5 pp was overpriced.The other ale choices were less inspiring.The keg selection also seemed less cutting edge,with far few high ABV choice than my previous visit ,hence the downgrade.
On 15th July 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2728 recommendations about 2728 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rob Hunter left this review about Pint Shop
6 cask and 17 keg options, so yes it is easy to be spoilt for choice in here! Clearly a place that takes its beer seriously. I had the IPA by 360° Brewing, at £4.80 a pint or £2.40 for a half. This was dangerously drinkable for a 6% ale, but was very nice indeed. All the other cask options were unusual other than Adnams Ghost Ship. There are two beer boards, one for cask and one for keg.
I found this to be a nice modern place. There was a menu of what I judged at the time to be trendy bar snacks, but seemed to be more expensive than main meals at most places so did not give in to temptation despite getting a bit peckish. Scotch egg was £4.50 but other stuff was £10/12+ but could not see exactly what it was from where I was sat.
The toilets are a long climb to the second floor.
100% 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.
E TA left this review about Pint Shop
Feeling like something from a Francesca Duranti novel, this former Georgian office premises was converted to a craft ale bar in 2013. There are two or three bars spread over the ground and first floor, and there is a small non-smoking terrace outside. The décor and furnishings are intended to be functional rather than comfortable. The original idea has grown, and not for the better - 23 cask and craft beers meant we couldn't try them all even though we had a few Stabs at it. All the ales were unnecessarily expensive. We were served by a slightly arrogant know-all young staff who, it seemed, knew more about life in general and beer in particular than anyone else in Cambridge. It has the ambience of a Starbucks, which, combined with the prices, could put me off returning.
On 30th November 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3251 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roy Collins left this review about Pint Shop
Good selection of ales but horrendously expensive. Too many keg beers for my liking.Pleasant enough surroundings in the "modern style"
On 23rd May 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 124 recommendations about 121 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Paul Berrisford left this review about Pint Shop
The pub is very atmospheric and the staff are friendly and helpful. The beers have clearly been selected for their inherent qualities and the real ales are served in good condition. I had a pint of Track Brewing's Mojave, a wonderfully hoppy 4.3% beer, but at an outrageous £4.6 a pint! (Note the pennies have been dropped from the price list.) The keg beers were up to £5.5 for a 5.5% beer. As for rating the pub, I would give 9/10 for real-ale choice and quality; 5/10 for value-for-money; 8/10 for the building itself; and 5/10 for having too many keg beers - I would rather see four more real-ales and no keg.
While in the pub I overheard an expression I had not heard before, from a woman who should possibly be referred to as some kind of trendy craft-keg beer snob, who was talking about "real-ale tw*ts". A bit harsh...but then again, I can think of a few!
On 14th March 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Pint Shop
We had a couple of some really good tasting beers on our visit here, served from handpump, which were 3 Blind Mice from a brewery in Ely and Shortts Farm Blonde from Suffolk. They had a choice of six cask ales and ten keg, the bar staff were friendly and also very helpful when choosing the right beer. If you're wondering why there are long padded rectangle things hanging from wooden pegs along the walls? Well they're meant to be lifted down and placed on the wooden bench seating for extra comfort. The pub also has great music!
On 9th March 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Pint Shop
Modern-style alehouse / craft beer emporium, with basic furniture and light, plain decor within the two-part bar (with the front part forming the main - if small - seating area). Also has two dining areas (one upstairs). Busy on an otherwise quiet evening between Christmas and New Year, with a mostly young crowd. Only had time for a quick Iron Age Celt Experience (£2.00, half), one of six cask ales on offer, but with a larger choice of craft keg beers available from a total of ten taps. Well worth a visit.
On 16th January 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Pint Shop
This large, sprawling pub and restaurant opened in November 2013 and is believed to be the first new pub to open in Cambridge since 1999. Set in the heart of the city in a location that countless tourists will no doubt pass every day, the place is on to a winner and was obviously packed when I arrived one Saturday evening. I got the impression that this was trying to be Cambridge's answer to the craft beer movement, but with a heavy emphasis on food as well. You enter into a corridor running down the right hand side of the ground floor, with a drinking shelf allowing for overspill from the main bar which can be viewed through windows to the left. The bar has parquet flooring, with three rows of bench and chair seating between the front windows and servery which starts midway along the left hand wall. The bar back is a little unusual, as it is built around a window that looks out to an alleyway-cum-beer garden, but this is probably as interesting a feature as you're likely to find in an otherwise drab set of rooms. Lamps hang annoyingly low over the bar counter although ordering is made considerably easier by a large, easy to read beer board on the back wall. Here a doorway leads through to a small rear bar with very limited seating options and all of the handpulls, which were notably absent from the main bar. The corridor winds round to connect with the back of this room, before meandering onwards to a restaurant and garden (both unexplored). Stairs lead up to the toilets and a second dining room which was empty on this visit. A quick look at the menu revealed food that was notably pricier than seemed to be the norm in other pubs around the city, with the same also true of the beer prices.
The cask range on my visit was Oakham Endless Summer, Oldershaw Endeavour, Hop Stuff Renegade IPA, Shorts Farm Strummer and Adnams Southwold Bitter with one pump out of action. Ten craft keg taps offered a mix of US and UK micros such as Weird Beard, Buxton, Hardknott and Moor. My pint of Oakham set me back £4.00 - typical for London, less so for Cambridgeshire - but was at least well kept.
I felt there were a few issues here, not least the prices, but also the relative lack of space for drinkers and the rather uninteresting décor. I think I'd consider a return, perhaps to combine with a meal, but I ultimately left this place wishing I'd stuck to Cambridge's back street pubs rather than venturing into the tourist zone.
On 17th September 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]