Myself and three friends visited Brown's Cambridge branch on a Sunday lunchtime. It's not the first time we have been to Brown's; previously, we enjoyed a brunch and, on another occasion, dined on the terrace. We were a bit perturbed as the table we were given was rather small and every chair had a mixture of crumbs and goodness knows what on it. Staff did not offer assistance when we swapped chairs for those of a neighbouring table. I was also put off by the toilet facilities, as there were bloody tissues around the sink... Our waitress was attentive and polite, giving us time to peruse the menu. All orders were brought out in good time. We never felt rushed or ignored. We began with scallops and baked camembert shared between us. The scallops, though minute in size, were packed with flavour. The camembert served with sourdough and apple slices was both salty and sweet with the honey topping. We did, however, feel restricted by the table: despite only ordering two starters between us, they both barely fit on the tiny table. For main, I had pork belly Sunday roast. The meat was generously proportioned, packed with flavour and well cooked. The vegetables (sorry to say) were abysmal: the root veg had no flavour/seasoning while the peas were bitter. Everything was served swimming in a jus, which added flavour but was overly salty. Sitting in the jus, the would-be crisp potatoes went soggy. It would have been better to receive the jus in a pot on the side, so that one could choose how much to pour. A friend had the chicken version of the Sunday roast and shared some of the meat with me, which was very pleasant, and a pig in blanket, which was ok. His was also served swimming in a salty jus and agreed that a side pot would have been more appropriate. Another friend had the fish (cod) and chips, and was satisfied. Hers came with a side of some sort of cabbage (which was not listed on the menu and which did not seem to be added to the bill...) which was dry as heck. For afters, I had a chocolate brownie which was rich and dark; it should have come with a scoop of honeycomb ice cream on top, though in face I was given what was most certainly a rather less exciting vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was enclosed beneath a half-sphere chocolate shell. Another friend had the same but his shell was broken and partial by the time it arrived; a replacement was not offered by staff. The profiteroles enjoyed by another friend were light and creamy while the pineapple and cream (a sort of pina collada idea) garnered positive reviews from the final member of our table. Drinks. I thoroughly enjoyed the old fashioned, made using Woodford Reserve. The Big Drop low alcohol IPA (0.5%) was nice, too - very floral. The negroni was horrible - badly balanced, far too bitter, horrid aftertaste. We would have liked to have been offered tap water with more regularity (especially given the saltiness of the mains). One aspect of our visit we loathed was the noise. The interior is very tall, but is filled with noise: all the time, they have either a pianist playing at a mini grand or music on. Seated just three tables from the piano, you can imagine that we needed to shout at each other just to be heard. All in all, happy with the starters and the desserts; some of the drinks were good; the mains could be good, but were let down by the vegetable cookery and the salty jus which one does not currently have an option of eating or not; really appreciated the wait staff; facilities - including bathrooms, seat cleanliness and level of noise - needs work. Prices. 2x starters, 3x mains, 1x side, 2x soft drinks, 2x low alcohol drinks, 1x beer, 2x cocktails = £168.
LESLIE THOMAS1 year ago
The good. The venue is really nice and busy. The food was excellent and the cocktails were around £10 each.
The bad. The service was very poor. Bought a steak and asked for it to be medium and it arrives and told it is medium well. Sent it back for the server to say it was their error. Then the other person's steak was ordered as medium rare and came as medium. Again sent back and this time was cooked to order. The cocktails although well made took about 30 minutes to arrive and they only brought 3 of the 4 out. Apologised and took another 10 minutes to make. Then twenty minutes later tried to give us the same cocktail again and then proceeded to try and charge for it. We returned the second cocktail and received and had the cost removed from the bill.
Nayee Pan1 year ago
The best restaurant in Cambridge ever! I really recommend the scallops starter and the steak here. Very suitable for celebration or special occasion! Way more better than I*y!
El lenton1 year ago
Wonderful meal and great cocktails. Our server Luca was particularly great and went the extra mile for us which we appreciated celebrating a special occasion! Will definitely return :)
Dom Moore1 year ago
Great food - we got the sharing camembert followed by fish and chips. All staff were welcoming and attentive, including our server Luca.
May P1 year ago
Had afternoon tea here. A special celebration 🍾. A young lady there, can't remember her name went out of her way to make a special message on a plate for my elder parents, which made them smile and really happy. Atmosphere lovely. Setting has an art deco 1920s feel. Staff very polite and courteous.
Hanni_ smiley1 year ago
I went here for a work lunch. It was very busy with quite a few groups. For me the vegetarian selection was a bit lacking. I went for the Thai curry and it felt like a vegetable side dish. It would be nice to see some more creative and satisfying options. The mushroom starter was quite nice and nice virgin cocktail range.
Ava Tg (Ava)2 years ago
Very busy for lunch and dinner, breakfast is better but still you are better to book or they may not serve you. The service is good and professional but the food can be lukewarm when Ch is not ideal as the weather gets cold. Try to order everything at the beginning or you may get not get a second chance. Our extra toast arrived so late that we were almost finished. Still the food is good and service is professional, just try to avoid the busy times
We were a bit perturbed as the table we were given was rather small and every chair had a mixture of crumbs and goodness knows what on it. Staff did not offer assistance when we swapped chairs for those of a neighbouring table. I was also put off by the toilet facilities, as there were bloody tissues around the sink...
Our waitress was attentive and polite, giving us time to peruse the menu. All orders were brought out in good time. We never felt rushed or ignored.
We began with scallops and baked camembert shared between us. The scallops, though minute in size, were packed with flavour. The camembert served with sourdough and apple slices was both salty and sweet with the honey topping. We did, however, feel restricted by the table: despite only ordering two starters between us, they both barely fit on the tiny table.
For main, I had pork belly Sunday roast. The meat was generously proportioned, packed with flavour and well cooked. The vegetables (sorry to say) were abysmal: the root veg had no flavour/seasoning while the peas were bitter. Everything was served swimming in a jus, which added flavour but was overly salty. Sitting in the jus, the would-be crisp potatoes went soggy. It would have been better to receive the jus in a pot on the side, so that one could choose how much to pour.
A friend had the chicken version of the Sunday roast and shared some of the meat with me, which was very pleasant, and a pig in blanket, which was ok. His was also served swimming in a salty jus and agreed that a side pot would have been more appropriate.
Another friend had the fish (cod) and chips, and was satisfied. Hers came with a side of some sort of cabbage (which was not listed on the menu and which did not seem to be added to the bill...) which was dry as heck.
For afters, I had a chocolate brownie which was rich and dark; it should have come with a scoop of honeycomb ice cream on top, though in face I was given what was most certainly a rather less exciting vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was enclosed beneath a half-sphere chocolate shell. Another friend had the same but his shell was broken and partial by the time it arrived; a replacement was not offered by staff. The profiteroles enjoyed by another friend were light and creamy while the pineapple and cream (a sort of pina collada idea) garnered positive reviews from the final member of our table.
Drinks. I thoroughly enjoyed the old fashioned, made using Woodford Reserve. The Big Drop low alcohol IPA (0.5%) was nice, too - very floral. The negroni was horrible - badly balanced, far too bitter, horrid aftertaste. We would have liked to have been offered tap water with more regularity (especially given the saltiness of the mains).
One aspect of our visit we loathed was the noise. The interior is very tall, but is filled with noise: all the time, they have either a pianist playing at a mini grand or music on. Seated just three tables from the piano, you can imagine that we needed to shout at each other just to be heard.
All in all, happy with the starters and the desserts; some of the drinks were good; the mains could be good, but were let down by the vegetable cookery and the salty jus which one does not currently have an option of eating or not; really appreciated the wait staff; facilities - including bathrooms, seat cleanliness and level of noise - needs work.
Prices. 2x starters, 3x mains, 1x side, 2x soft drinks, 2x low alcohol drinks, 1x beer, 2x cocktails = £168.
The bad. The service was very poor. Bought a steak and asked for it to be medium and it arrives and told it is medium well. Sent it back for the server to say it was their error. Then the other person's steak was ordered as medium rare and came as medium. Again sent back and this time was cooked to order.
The cocktails although well made took about 30 minutes to arrive and they only brought 3 of the 4 out. Apologised and took another 10 minutes to make. Then twenty minutes later tried to give us the same cocktail again and then proceeded to try and charge for it. We returned the second cocktail and received and had the cost removed from the bill.