Nicola Foley’s top three things you need to eat in Cambridge right now
1. Steak & Honour – One for Ella
Local street food outfit Steak & Honour are no strangers to the pages of Cambridge Edition – in fact we’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen that their world-beating burgers are one of the tastiest things to emerge from the Cambridge food scene, ever, since they first opened the hatch back in 2012. Fast-forward to autumn 2016 and S&H are on the cusp of opening up their own restaurant in the city centre. And so, the time seems right to pay homage to a true great: the mighty, messy and magnificent One for Ella. As with all Steak & Honour burgers, a squishy brioche bun forms the base, encasing a succulent, flavour-packed Riverside beef patty and melty, gooey American cheese. The One for Ella, though, cranks up the deliciousness even more by throwing in rashers of smoky bacon and lashings of burger sauce. Easy to eat it ain’t – but so, so worth the mess…
2. Old Bicycle Shop – Baked Eggs
A relative newcomer to the Cambridge food scene, the Old Bicycle Shop on Regent Street didn’t take long to become a huge hit with local foodies. The whole menu is great, but being the brunch hound that I am, it’s the morning offerings which really got me hot under the collar – and I’m not alone. In fact, it’s one of the few spots in the city where you’ll likely have to book your brunch in advance to guarantee a table.
For the ultimate hearty, soul-warming (and hangover-beating) brunch, I recommend the baked eggs, aka shakshuka. Firstly, it’s huge, bubbling away in its own pan, but most importantly, it’s ridiculously tasty. The soft, slow cooked duck eggs mingle with a rich, flavoursome tomato sauce, spinach, hunks of butternut squash and cubes of smoky chorizo. Pair it with one of the Old Bicycle Shop’s excellent Bloody Marys and hey presto, brunch heaven.
3. Hotel Chocolat – Salted Caramel Latte
A blissful little air-conditioned cocoon, the Hotel Chocolat café is a favourite bolthole of mine when it comes to escaping the craziness of a Saturday afternoon shopping mission in the Grand Arcade. Obviously there’s a smorgasbord of scrumptious chocolates on offer, but the real reason I’m such a frequent visitor is their insanely good salted caramel latte. Created using top quality Arabica coffee beans and rich, malty chocolate, it’s a velvety-creamy-salty-sweet little cup of absolute happiness.
Oh, and when they ask if you want ‘the whip’, the answer should be a resounding YES PLEASE. This, the crowning glory, is essentially a chocolate mousse on top of your latte, light-as-air, and it makes your coffee about as decadent as it can conceivably get before it turns into a dessert. I implore you to try it.
