Harden's says
Parker’s Tavern is the destination restaurant in the revamped University Arms Hotel overlooking Parker’s Piece; chef Tristan Welch (previously head chef at Pétrus, he also relaunched Launceston Place then worked on Mustique) heads up the kitchen, representing a return to his East Anglian roots.
Harden's survey result
Summary
Starry local chef Tristan Welch (whose CV includes stints with Rhodes, Ramsay, Roux Jr. et. al.) is behind this “wonderful brasserie” in a “lovely setting” at the recently revamped University Arms hotel, overlooking Parker’s Piece green. East Anglian produce informs the cooking, which is “good” (if not spectacular) by all accounts, and makes it never less than “a reliable choice” when in this varsity town.
Summary
“A proper brasserie in a lovely refurbished hotel in the middle of Cambridge” – “who would have guessed that the once-dismal University Arms would house such a charmer?”. Ex-Launceston Place chef Tristan Welch champions local East Anglian produce on a menu that provides comfort rather than foodie fireworks. Rebuilt several years ago, this long-established hotel has a fantastic position, overlooking Parker’s Piece.
Summary
The “fantastic dining room overlooking Parker’s Piece” was a “welcome addition to the Cambridge restaurant scene” when it opened three years ago in the old University Arms Hotel under chef Tristan Welch (formerly of Launceston Place). It’s “good for a fancy family celebration” and “the food can be great on its day” – but by several accounts it “does not always quite match up to the surroundings, and sometimes service could be improved”.
Summary
The formerly creaky old University Arms Hotel has been expensively transformed, and this – it’s new ‘pub’ – is a “wonderful room in Parisian brasserie style with high ceilings and mirrors”, and “with a brilliant view over Parker’s Piece”. Tristan Welch (once of Launceston Place) is at the stoves and has won some stellar newspaper reviews for his “high-end brasserie food”. But while survey feedback on it is mostly OK, it’s also pretty middling: “nice but not 100% perfect…”; “pleasantly consistent but a bit underachieving…”; “nowhere near as good as initial reviews suggested – shame as the setting’s great”. Still, it’s “well-placed to up its game in a city short of options”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Parker's Tavern?
1 Park Terrace, Cambridge, CB1 1JH
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £20.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.25 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
1 Park Terrace, Cambridge, CB1 1JH
Opening hours
| Monday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
| Tuesday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
| Friday | 7 am‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
| Sunday | 6:30 am‑10 pm |
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