The Royal Standard, Mill Road, Cambridge

Against the national trend of closures, another pub re-opens its doors in Cambridge; judging by the amount of people in there on Saturday evening it is already proving popular.
Although it is described on their website as ‘Mill Road’s Beer and Gin House’ there are no Hogarthian ‘Gin Lane’ excesses on show here, more a very civilised large-ish single bar and small paved and fenced outside area. This is unfortunately lacking tables at the moment and we ended up standing in it on a mild November evening as all space was taken inside.

As well as some appetising food (most customers seemed to be dining) there is a big range of gins and Belgian beers and fortunately some delicious Bradford Brewery Hockney Pale, an amber 3.6% session beer, nestling next to the ever reliable Adnams 4.5% Ghost Ship.
It is an imposing traditional building with an impressive frontage and from the side road the restoration makes it look as though the new adjoining flats have direct passage into the pub (I don’t think they do but it could be a good arrangement).

It is another attractive addition to the further reaches of Mill Road, perhaps as a starting point for evening music at Relevant Records and last orders at The Empress..

http://royalstandardcambridge.com/

Devonshire Arms, Devonshire Road, Cambridge

Cyclops, Pegasus, Justinian, Orpheus, Minerva……the poetically named beers from Milton Brewery a few miles away are a very good reason to drop into the Devonshire Arms. Go in on the way to the railway station or meet friends there and linger for the evening.

Since opening in 2010 the Devonshire has been popular in the main ‘beer quarter’ of Cambridge, the cosmopolitan and much-loved Mill Road and its side streets.  This is definitely a pub for the real ale connoisseur, who is always pleased to find a good well-kept selection, with prices on the low side. There are also guest ales, some unusual bottled beers and a bar clear of some of the more depressing corporate lagers. The interior is sparse and dark, there are high back seats and panels separating some of the tables and the ceilings are high so the pub seems surprisingly spacious. Floors are old bare wood and there is a small outdoor area. The food that passes by seems appetising and unpretentious but not the main business of the pub.

Milton Brewery have reinvigorated the Haymakers on the other side of Cambridge and hopefully at some point the rebuilt Queen Edith in the pub desert in the south of the city….watch this space…

 

https://www.individualpubs.co.uk/devonshire/

http://www.miltonbrewery.co.uk/