Cambridgeshire, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

The “British classics (whitebait, Barnsley chop etc)” are “all fine” – and “given its prime tourist location, much better than you might expect” – at this “pleasant” spot opposite King’s College Chapel. But do try to grab a street-level table, rather than heading “downstairs to the dark and pokey basement”.

This Grade II-listed city-centre staple (once a coaching inn welcoming travellers on the road to the Big Smoke) has long been a magnet for locals owing to “always reliable” and sometimes “very good” bistro dishes and “excellent service” to boot; visit in summer months to profit from the lovely walled garden.

“Lovely home-cooked food without any frills” ensures a continued army of supporters for this “quaint” restaurant and art gallery in a Georgian house just west of the cathedral. Ann Jarman launched the venture in 1968 and it was doing the local, seasonal thing (venison comes from the Denham Estate and dishes feature Norfolk samphire) decades before it was hip; in keeping with her winning ethos, it retains the feel of a family home, being “old-fashioned but in a great way”.