Making a determined bid to be Mill Road’s best brunching spot is the Garden Kitchen, o ffering delicious co ffees and a lovely range of home-made bites. Fill your pot with a selection of granola, natural yoghurt, fresh fruit salad and berry compote, or indulge in freshly baked pastries, mu ffins and bacon rolls. On Saturdays, they o ffer all this plus additional dishes like blueberry and banana pancakes, wa ffles with crispy bacon and maple syrup, bacon and egg rolls and some amazingly tasty home-made Danishes. There’s only a handful of seats inside so you may not be able to dine in (though there is a bench to perch on out front), but this is a great option for a takeaway bite to eat.
Since opening in October 2013, Afternoon Tease on King Street has won the heart of many a local foodie, not least for its brilliant brunches. The menu is ever changing, but regular favourites include River Farm Smokery smoked salmon with free range scrambled eggs on Dovecote Bakery English mu ffins, sweetcorn fritters with halloumi, roasted cherry tomatoes and home-made basil and mint pesto, and the insanely good breakfast burrito.
The co ffees too are without doubt some of the best in town, and there’s a range of Kandula teas on o ffer. Fancy something a little stronger? We’re pleased to announce that Afternoon Tease have been honing their Bloody Mary recipe to perfection and will be relaunching it in the café from this month onwards – alongside a range of other tasty brunch tipples.
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Tucked away on Sturton Street, this petite, charming bistro is consistently excellent with its grub: a true local secret and well worth a look.
Brunch is served on Saturdays 10.30am-2.30pm (till 12.30pm on Sundays) and can begin (if you so choose) with a Bloody Mary, a Bellini, a Buck’s Fizz or champagne.
The full English is at the pricier end of the spectrum at £9.95, but it’s seriously sizable and bursting with top quality ingredients. You’ll be treated to two own-recipe Greg Bigg’s sausages, sweet dry cured bacon, free range eggs, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, black pudding and (the pièce de résistance in our opinion) the delicious potato fritters.
Another favourite is the B-B-B Backstreet Brunch, a tasty mix of bangers, bacon and bubble and squeak, or opt for the buttered Manx kippers with poached eggs and wholemeal bread or a bowl of Scotch oats with a wee tot of whisky – the perfect warming brekkie on a cold day.
A new Cambridge favourite, super stylish Espresso Library finally opened its doors in February 2015, after an awful lot of anticipation. It proved worth the wait: as well as serving up great coffees, they offer a menu bursting with local, organic and seasonal produce, all served up in their gorgeous cafe. Come the weekend, the brunch menu features deliciousness like mashed avocado on sourdough toast with spiced chickpeas, and a mean Welsh Rarebit. For something sweet, opt for their deluxe take on porridge, which comes laden with dates, banana and honey. Brunch perfection.
Mill Road’s Black Cat Café has been delighting locals with its cakes and co ffees (they lay a good claim to being the first place in Cambridge to serve up a flat white), since 2005, when it was founded with the goal of bringing a slice of Antipodean café culture to our city.
On the menu you’ll find the Baghdad breakfast (eggs poached in cumin lemon butter with spiced lentils on toast), organic French toast served with bacon and maple syrup, and, of course, the hearty and delicious Black Cat Big Breakfast, which consists of sausages, bacon, mushrooms, tomato, poached or scrambled eggs, toast and homemade barbecue beans. If the weather’s up to it, pull up a pew out the front and watch the world go by – there are few better spots in the city for people watching!
If you fancy seriously indulging, head to Hotel du Vin on Trumpington Street, where they’ve taken the traditional concept of brunch and evolved it into a decadent fourcourse mid-morning feast.
Served in the hotel’s elegant bistro, Sunday Brunch begins with a soup course, followed by the arrival of a lavish French Market Table which boasts fresh seafood, charcuterie, pâtés, rillettes and a selection of salads, vegetables and freshly baked artisan breads. Next up, diners are treated to Sunday lunch favourites, such as the Roast du Vin, steak frites or the bistro burger, before ending the meal with a dessert (options include crème brûlée and profiteroles).
Brunch costs £24.95 per person and it’s served each Sunday from 12pm. Cocktails, including Bloody Mary, Bucks Fizz and Bellini, are also on o ffer, priced separately.
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