We weren't able to get to this years Ely Beer Festival so decided we would go and visit a few of the Cambridge Pubs we haven't been to before.
We started at the Tram Depot, just off East Road. A pleasant half for me, and Mel had the special offer cocktail. The menu looks pretty decent, and we enjoyed relaxing in the comfortable sofas.
Then on to the Free Press, small and cosy with interesting memorabilia on the walls.
Just along the street to the Elm Tree. An excellent half of mild (of which they had two), while Mel tried the mead. The website says food, but that doesn't seem accurate.
So across to the First and Last for lunch. We weren't planning anything heavy, so shared scallops and mussels. The menu is really rather good, and I highly recommend it.
Over to King Street and a brief stay in the Champion of the Thames. Nice and quiet with a warm open fire.
The King Street Run is somewhat different. Sky TV, intriguing decor, and quite loud music playing. We're probably getting too old for this sort of thing.
The to the St Radegund just as it opened, so we had plenty of choice of where to sit. Known as the smallest pub in Cambridge, it's not really all that much smaller than, say, the Free Press of the Champion of the Thames. By the time we left it was getting fairly full.
Then along to the Hopbine, where we had an excellent dinner on the hot rocks (something it shares with the Portland Arms and the Geldart).
In all the places we visited we were warmly welcomed and were given excellent service. By and large, most being visited Friday lunchtime and afternoon, most places were fairly quiet. The two meals we had were pretty top notch, and I couldn't fault any of the beer.
There's clearly diversity here - from the small and simple pubs to the larger and more modern places where food plays a larger role.
One interesting trend was that books and games were fairly commonplace.
Off to start planning the next event!
