Over a third of all the pubs that featured in the Good Beer Guide during the 1980s have since closed, and the decade began with two new entries, one of which hasn’t survived. 1980 Hat and Feathers: A “friendly, interesting”, … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
Isn’t it. There are very few pubs which have a mild on permanently in Cambridge and nearby pubs, but when they’re as good as the XX at the Free Press, or the Oscar Wilde at the Kingston Arms, I find … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
The Good Beer Guide was first published in 1972, the year following the founding of CAMRA, to help drinkers find pubs serving real draught ale, “because the majority of Britain’s brewers have been pursuing a policy of robbing the public … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
“Probably Cambridge’s most celebrated ale house, a hearty little building with wall settles and panelled walls,” enthused Roger Protz in 1989, “that was saved from dereliction in the late 1970s”. This refers to the slum clearances in the area that … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
One of my favourite pubs and amongst the most frequently visited over the past twenty-five years in Cambridge, during which time it’s gone through several changes, though its many incarnations remind me of John Peel’s description of The Fall as … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
When I set out to visit every pub in Cambridge, I first had to define a ‘pub’, and settled on a definition which included bars – basically, anywhere that served draught beer to non-diners and non-members and was primarily there … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
The Empress is tucked away in the backstreets off the far end of Mill Road, and therefore easy to miss. Don’t let the understated exterior put you off; it’s a little less restrained inside. Anyway, there we were reciting Christmas … Continue reading →| Pints and Pubs
I’ve included this particular restaurant, despite acknowledging that it has been known to turn away drinkers in order to accommodate diners, only because it’s located in a former pub of…| Pints and Pubs
After a change of hands and another refurbishment, the Emperor reopened in January 2016 as a “Latin tapas bar” with “a Latino atmosphere”, achieved with a menu of Latin tapa…| Pints and Pubs
£3* for an excellent** pint of Brewsters Hophead, one of two real ales, must be just about the best value for a pint I’ve had in Cambridge this year. Two well-kept, reasonably priced real ale…| Pints and Pubs