review

The Royal Standard, Mill Road, Cambridge

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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/

The Kingston Arms, Kingston Street, Cambridge

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The sign on the end of the building says the Kingston is a railway tavern, and although a reasonable distance from the current location of the railway station it provides a warm welcome to visitors and locals. It has established a good and widespread reputation for its food but as a Free House its beer offering is extensive and of high quality.

Amnesiac from the Tydd Steam brewery is a 4.9% Ale, ‘Hopped with unique Nelson Sauvin hops giving a soft white wine background and crushed gooseberry aroma’. Very nice too. As is Oscar Wilde(3.7%), a prizewinning darker beer from the Mighty Oak Brewing company. The face on the beer tap label resembles Bryan Ferry from his late 70s suave solo sojourns which is surely a good reason to give it a try.

The bar staff always seem friendly and a beer price discount to CAMRA members is always a plus, (they were the first pub in Cambridge that offered this. And free internet. And free WiFi….)

It is a cosy pub, interestingly filled with un-matching furniture, pictures and signs. The bike parking problems have been resolved with some racks directly outside the attractively decorated frontage of the pub. The tables in the front window are always in demand and despite the coolish evening when I visited recently the back beer garden with covered area was very full too.

An essential stopping off point on the way to the further beer delights of Mill Road, this unassuming back street pub is another well-hidden gem.

http://www.kingston-arms.co.uk/

The Pubs of Derby

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Derby has been referred to as ‘The Real Ale Capital of the UK’, so it had to be worth a trip to see what the offering is compared with Cambridge. Initial research showed there are many highly regarded pubs within walking distance in the centre area and spread through the city.

The Flowerpot is a pub with three large rooms and a terrace, featuring music on many evenings. There is plenty of beer choice, a pint of their excellent Black Iris Sunflower (4% Golden Ale) was very easy to drink, especially to accompany their in-house ‘gurkha’ curries on Tuesday evenings.

So the standard was set high from the start, but where to next? Given Derby’s links with trains it seemed logical to head for the station area. In amongst some railway workers cottages the Brunswick pub can be found, with its interesting interior and own brewery, White Feather (3.6% pale session beer) and Triple Hop (4% Bitter) were superb examples produced on site.

Around the corner to the Alexandra Hotel, Derby CAMRA pub of the year 2015 and I was beginning to sense there was something a bit special about these places, apart from the excellent selection of beers and CAMRA member discounts on top of cheap prices (compared with Cambridge), there seemed to be a real buzz and atmosphere.
The pubs were busy with a varied clientele; there were fans on the way to the match, people who had just finished work and discerning diners especially in the Exeter Arms, a free house with ‘Dancing Duck’ beers among many others and a formidable food reputation. Also worth a mention Ye Olde Dolphin Inne (dating back to 1530) has small rooms and original beams and the nearby Silk Mill Ale and Cider House has a mural on the side illustrating the 1833 Silk trades lock out, part of the origin of the Labour movement.

This visit was to a fraction of the 25 pubs on the CAMRA ‘Real Ale Trail’. As well as all of these delights Derby sustains three large Wetherspoons, the most notable being the Babington Arms, featuring an electronic ‘scoreboard’ of the varied beer range.

Derby Cathedral may have been closed for refurbishment, but luckily the pubs were open and welcoming….

http://www.derbycamra.org.uk/derby-pubs/

Blue Ball, Grantchester, Cambridge.

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As Rupert Brooke memorably wrote, ‘But Grantchester! ah, Grantchester!
There’s peace and holy quiet there,……..Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?’

There may well be a spot of tiffin at the Orchard Tea Garden, but there is also a splendid pint of Adnams Bitter (3.7%,’beautiful copper-coloured beer, late and dry-hopped…’) at the Blue Ball pub on the other side of the village. There are three other pubs in Grantchester that each have their own attractions and do a good job of absorbing the visitors, the numbers increased no doubt by fans of the James Runcie detective books and the TV series based on the stories of a vicar turned sleuth.

The Blue Ball is a small traditional pub, part of a terrace of houses next to the quiet ‘main’ road back to Cambridge. The interior is welcoming and unchanged over the years with pleasant clutter including newspapers, always a good sign. The beer offering is limited but well kept; mainly a reliable selection of brews from Adnams. Food is low key, crisps and nuts and rumours of sandwiches at lunchtime. You can sit on the sunny front terrace or a very well hidden walled garden out back, with an open shelter containing books and grapevines growing along the roof. It is all small and compact inside and outside there is hardly room to park a car or even a bike.
It is a good place to be, on a summer afternoon the pub and village are as timeless as the church clock in the poem.

Walk across the field opposite and you are at Granchester Meadows, a pastoral haven for walking, cycling or punting from Cambridge, immortalised in the title of a Pink Floyd song and the jewel in the crown of the local countryside, recently thankfully saved from the threat of possible developers.

The Free Press, Prospect Row, Cambridge

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The Free Press is one of three pubs concealed in the interestingly named Prospect Row near to Parkers Piece, each with a different ambiance and beer offering. In recent history The Free Press had limited fame as a non-smoking pub long before they all were. Having occupied the site for 120 years it has not changed much in the time I have visited (don’t ‘refurbish’ it please…), the Greene King beers are supplemented by many other temptations, on this encounter Skinner’s Betty Stogs (4%,’an easy drinking copper ale’) had survived the journey from its Cornish brewery very well.

The bar staff seem friendly and polite, dealing with a large age range of locals and visitors. A reasonably sized terrace beer garden is squeezed into a deceptively small open area at the back, all very pleasant and has the look of a provincial branch line station where there is one of those hidden micro-pubs. There are also tables outside the front next to the traffic free-ish road, all perfect for a summer evening. A proper snug behind its own door adjoins the main bar area and dark furniture and features add to the timeless atmosphere.

As well as wall-mounted collections of tickets, corks and other ephemera there are many newspaper cuttings from the 20th Century on display, Marshal Timoshenko in World War Two and a Daily Telegraph from 1981 commemorating the wedding of Charles and Diana that looks even older…

http://www.freepresspub.com

Queen Edith, Wulfstan Way, Cambridge

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When the Queen Edith opened in April 2015 it was the first newly-built pub in Cambridge for over 30 years. A cause for celebration and a challenge for the Milton Brewery; how do you create a completely new pub rather than adapt an existing, often older and character-filled building?

Well the good news is they have done a good job, an attractive frontage with tables outside and covered cycle racks draw you into the central entrance porch, you then have a choice of the larger public bar or a more intimate side room with high backed booths. Choosing the more spacious area you can see the beer taps, mainly Milton Brewery of course (the ever delightful ‘Justinian'(3.9%) included) and some interesting additions, such as Tolly Roger (4.2%) from Cliff Quay Brewery of Ipswich, described as ‘intensely fragrant aroma of citrus fruit and floral notes, complex flavours of malt, sweetness, bitter oranges, and honeysuckle’.

Even more poetic are the prices, £3 and £3.20 for the pints I sampled, good value for Cambridge.

Sitting in leather armchairs, with part of the Bayeux tapestry on the wall, watching the fish tank and looking through the retro books (eg ‘Biggles, Foreign Legionnaire’?) it is a comfortable and contemplative place to be, an after work stop-off or starting point for heading into town. It could be an ideal place for bands to play, and I should think that once established it should do very well.

In this pub-dry area of Cambridge(nothing else within at least a one mile radius?), it is a definite oasis.

https://twitter.com/queenedithpub
http://www.cliffquay.co.uk/
http://www.miltonbrewery.co.uk/

Corner House, Newmarket Road, Cambridge

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Emerging from the newly opened sterile budget hotel blocks in a strange town you might be very pleased and surprised to find traditional furniture shop J.H. Cooper and a pub like the Corner House on your doorstep.

There are loads of gigs at the Corner House, according to local music folklore all bands play the venue twice, once on the way up and once on the way down…… If you are lucky you can catch some excellent musical nights, though in my experience it can be difficult to track down exactly what is on and when. Not a problem last Saturday, it was free entry to see two highly regarded Cambridge bands (Psychic Lemon and The British IBM)

The stage is at one end of the pub, a bit like the knocked-through front rooms in seventies semis. There is also a smaller public bar with pool table and large TV, not usually on. Outside there are ‘two beer gardens’, these comprise a covered back area and then a more exposed decking section.

It is not an obvious real ale pub but at the front of the cluttered bar there are some delights, Robinson’s Brewery ‘Dizzy Blonde’, a 3.8% amber ale was a very drinkable choice. It was £3.70, not cheap but more than compensated for by the quality of the free music. Books on the mantlepiece, an armchair just inside the back door, all nice touches that add to the comfortable feel.

It always seems a very casual and laid-back place, with a core of locals and a varying cast of band members and their supporters passing through. Long may it continue!

 

Haymakers, High St, Chesterton, Cambridge

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The Chesterton suburb of Cambridge used to be full of pubs of varying quality, but now just the Green Dragon and Haymakers remain. Previously a music venue/pub of some renown before standing empty for a couple of years, the Haymakers has been reinvented and refurbished as a real ale haven.

As always when I walk in and see many taps featuring the Milton Brewery classical names I know a good pint is the likely outcome. I chose Justinian (3.9%), described as ‘Crisp pale bronze-coloured bitter. Attractive bitter orange flavours persist into a satisfying lasting finish’ by Milton Brewery and that reads nearly as well as the beer tastes. It reminded me of the delights of the imminent Cambridge beer festival.

It is a large L- shaped pub, free of noise and distraction, featuring a variety of tables and booths and a cosy snug near one end of the bar. Food is mainly pizza, but as you probably have gathered from my other reviews it is usually the beer I am sampling…

There is a large beer garden area out the back, serviceable rather than particularly attractive but it does feature plenty of cycle racks. It was the place to sit during my visit as it did seem a bit airless inside.

There are posters for jazz performances and I think there is a quiz too, so hopefully the pub is again becoming a focus for the Chesterton community, as well as a compelling choice for visiting ale fans from the city centre with a thirst and a bicycle…

 

https://www.facebook.com/cambridgehaymakers

Alexandra Arms, Gwydir Street , Cambridge

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Half way between Mill Road and East Road, the Alexandra Arms has been through some refurbishment over the years to finally arrive at the current comfortable incarnation of wooden floors, two levels of bar and an extensive beer garden with semi-covered areas. This came into its own last October for the AlexFest music event, featuring many local bands including the highly regarded Centimes, Fred’s House and Goldstar.  I was impressed with the friendliness of the staff welcome to this event (I remember these things!) and I will be back there when it is repeated later this year.

Back inside there is a well-presented menu with an emphasis on gourmet burgers and the kitchen is a visible and integral part of the pub layout. At the bar  there is an array of real ale from Greene King and its satellite breweries on display, with some intriguing guest ales too. Next to each tap there are small jars of samples of each ale, which seems to be a growing trend so you can assess the shade of goldeness or darkness of your choice. On my last visit this taste guide led me to a pint of Buntingford Golden Drop (4%) which had a bit of bite to it despite its gentle colouring. There is also the option of having your pint in a handled glass or the perfect symmetry of a straight glass, not a difficult choice for most consumers but quite a nice touch.

So it is a pleasant community pub, with space for larger groups to meet and eat together and very importantly to me there is a real commitment to live, local music.

 

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The Mill, Mill Lane, Cambridge

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As the recent winner of CAMRA Cambridge and District pub of the year 2015, The Mill is flying high, especially now the sunny weather is appearing and customers can spread out onto the grass area behind Darwin College.

The pub has a pleasant interior, a mixture of  light and shade with a snug room, piano and a prominent bar. In the past I have found the beer to be on the expensive side, but with the city centre/tourist location this was no surprise. On this visit however a pint of Buntingford Twitchell (3.8%), after 10% CAMRA discount was £3.24, can’t complain at that!

The radiogram at one end of the bar has a large selection of LP records that are carefully curated by the bar staff, Elvis Presley Hits and ‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon were featured on my visit (spot the connection….). They have responded in style to the resurgence of vinyl, to the slightly older customer the rituals of album sleeves, dust on the needle, jumping grooves and turning over the disc after four songs creates endless fascination and conversational controversy.

The clientele expect to find food in a pub like this and there seems to be an appetising menu available, fish and chips was a popular choice.

I will be back there soon, sitting on the grass or the wall looking over the punts on the river Cam, it’s a good place to be…

 

http://themillpubcambridge.com/