Easily overlooked down a side street near the Grafton Centre, the Hopbine was opened again three years ago as a re-energised free house. It is a large pub with distinct areas, pool at one end, armchairs and relaxation space in the middle then mostly tables for dining at the back. Food seems to be a popular feature (including dishes cooked on volcanic rocks at your table) but does not dominate the ambience of the pub, when eating there recently in the sacred ‘friday-after-work-best-time-of-the-week’ slot the quality, service, choice and price ticked the boxes perfectly well. This is important, many pubs and restuarants will fail on at least one of these criteria creating that little bit of unwanted tension between customer and venue.
But enough of food, what about the beer? Offering a taste of a beer before you commit to the pint is such a simple and civilised gesture it should almost be the law of the land (perhaps it is, but ignored by most places?). At the Hopbine the friendly and experienced bar staff realise the significance of this and ensure you are happy with your pint. The 10% discount for CAMRA members helps the happiness too. The beer is fine, temperature good and the real ale and cider on offer changes quite regularly. Around Christmas there were festival beers served straight from the barrel, always a treat (especially the 8% brew that not surprisingly I can’t remember the name of…)
The staff seem to have made their modern versions of compilation music cassettes to challenge the identification skills of the listeners, no surprise that this pub is linked to The Portland Arms, the premier pub/music venue of Cambridge.
So it is a traditional drinking and eating pub along with a good array of quizzes and events (including wine and gin tasting, separately.) There is also a loyalty card available for discounts. The dark wood lined interior hopefully will remain that way and the varied clientele who drop in after work and many other times of the day will continue to be pleased with what they find….
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