please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Yes - sadly closed, unexpectedly.
On January 12th - after 175 years.
Rent was tripled by owners.
Was accessible by punt.
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Notices in the window state that this pub is now closed. Apparently it only closed a couple of weeks ago.
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Beer festival now on with live music this weekend.
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I counted 10 people in the pub Saturday night around 7 o'clock whereas the Red Lion next door was packed out with diners and drinkers.
The barstaff were standing around talking to each other with no much to do.
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It is undeniable that the food in this pub is some of the best pub food I have come across, however, the portion sizes are hit-and-miss and I do not understand why so many people describe the bar staff as 'friendly' or 'funny'. I live locally and visit the pub regularly and I do not exaggerate when I say that I am yet to see any of the bar staff smile. We ate a meal there today, nobody came to check we were happy with our food, and when we asked on paying if we could be permitted to make a comment (about the inadequate portion sizes), the staff were totally disinterested. So yes, the food is nice (if very overpriced), but the staff are simply grumpy, so please don't expect a warm welcome.
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Glad to see the pub back on on its feet again although a little pretentious its worth a visit.
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In the Green Man you will find a great choice of well kept real ale, friendly staff, comfy armchairs, a log fire, newspapers and the best chips I have ever eaten. It has become one of my favourite tradional old style English country pubs.
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This is becoming a great place to have a pint in the winter with the log fires especially after a run with my dogs on the meadows.
Defintely improved in the last two years due to the new owners.
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Am once a week regular....and really like the place....friendly staff who know how to smile and don't mind a bit of banter and only ever had one iffy pint in all the years I've benn going there and it was changed immediately with no fuss. Lovely building and atmosphere...well worth a visit.
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Love the Green Man! I think a lot of people steer clear in the winter as the garden gets pretty chilly, and the pub is quite small, but it would be a shame to alter the character of this ancient building by adding some horrible new extension.
Really nice and warm when we visited with two log fires on the go, and the bar staff are enthusiastic and very funny.
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Beer festival end of the month with over 50 different beers.
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Lovely pub. Went to the beer festival at the weekend. Lots of local brews and only �3 per pint for CAMRA members. 4 decent ales at the bar. Had some excellent baguettes for lunch. Looking forward to visiting this pub again.
sewah - 21 Jun 2011 13:03 |
We love the Green Man Grantchester it is a great pub, an amazing supply of local beers, they also have one local and it changes between Elgoods, Buntingford, Moonshine, Brandon Brewery, City of Cambridge, Fellows Brewery, they really do the lot.
The food is of a really good quality and all feels homemade and fresh and from this month the landlord tells me that they are go to start serving food on a Sunday night with live music, mostly Jazz which is what they play most of the day.
We are locals and we love it, nothing better in Grantchester.
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Visited Friday and the place is alive and doing well and has 5 stars on the Doors...beers nothing special but hoping things will improve with a few local beers coming soon.
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A great pub, going from strength to strength, wide range of beers from across the County all in good conditin. Good quality food. Definatly worth taking a look at.
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I cant wait for your update billy but please no more private messages because your not worth it.
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Perhaps billyboi can give us an update in the near future.
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Can confirm, from the outside only, that this is now re-opened. No other comment, although it looked a bit restauranty.
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Great news its been closed for almost one year now.
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Josh Vargo was employed at The Red Bull for a few months as a part time member of staff and we would like to wish him every success in his new venture at The Green Man. It will be great to see this site back on the map after a long closure.
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This fabulous site is to re-open December 18th as long as all conservation works have been completed on the building. Yes you heard right finally the Green Man of Grantchester is due to open again.
Under the leadership of local Josh Vargo previously of the Red Bull in Newnham this pub is sure to have the great aspects of an amazing menu, traditional cask ales and an extensive wine list. The rumour is that he has taken three months to lovingly restore the place to its former beauty.
Hopefully i will see you all there for a pint for Christmas.
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I will update next weekend as to the opening date it should be anytime so.
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Opening mid November under new management and taking Xmas bookings once the place is ready to do business.
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The lights are on and signs of activity after a year being closed.
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Still closed and I cant see it opening this year with 4 months to go it will be a year since it closed down ..there is a rumour it has been sold for 625k to a private buyer.
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Is it open yet?
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Still closed.
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I'm standing outside the GM at the moment its partially boarded up after 3 break-ins over the past 6 months.. do you fancy meeting up..?
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opening soon.
hogshead my username says more and more about you,
are all your comments misplaced???
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Closed since before Xmas now and little chance of it re-opening this year the place needs a lot of work spent on it inside and out its looking very run down with weeds growing in the front and the back garden a jungle with rubbish everywhere.
The board outside sales anyone interested should contact Punch Taverns but with a rent of �1200 a week who would possibly want to take this on.If they reduced it to �500 they might get a tenant but the Brewery are greedy.
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Does any one know what is happening with this pub? We want the best summer pub open again!
Hogshead.... who is kanga you silly old man.
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Still closed cant see it opening this year perhaps Barry and Kanga will re-lease it again..
lol.
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The former management created a wonderful atmosphere. It is a shame that they are not there any more. I loved the food and the beer was always excellent.
I have always had a great night or day out at the green man.
No one can deny that it was filled with a certain higher class grantchester cliental and perhaps made others a little uncomfortable.
Best roast beef in cambridge.
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'The former management ran the pub into the ground.'
on this I agree.
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The former management ran the pub into the ground.
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This pub deserved a 10/10, I have not yet been able to replace it since it closed.
Hope the management will keep the same high food standards and atmosphere as the last.
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The Pub closed for a few years in the 90's and its a shame to see this happen again and the sooner it re-opens the better preferably as a traditional pub serving real ale and with a shell fish /seafood outlet.
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It's worth clicking the "see more reviews" link. The position and the building itself are first class, management seems to have been a little less than pro-active. The potential is great for the pub, all it needs (as now a large board says proclaims) is new management who can address the problems that B-i-t-E has exposed. 5.8/10 was never anywhere near good enough.
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Why did it close then ..?
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I loved this pub! Real pity its closed. But I can assure you it is not closed because of licensing or the gossip story about Lara being deported... I think we can all have a good laugh at your ammusing stories hogshead...!
Very sorry to see the pub closed. Miss the steak, good beer and good times!
Good luck Barry & Lara
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Yes what a shame a great pub with a fine tradition has closed for good due to licensing problems and due to the fact Lara was deported from the UK back to South Afica due to her not having a valid work permit.
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I really miss going to the Green Man. Such a warm friendly family atmosphere. I became a good friend of all the staff as well as Lara and Barry. Both of them I miss dearly and I hope they are doing very well, as far as I know Barry is studying law and Lara started a new business of her own in the wedding industry. I have no way of contact them but if they ever read this, you are sadly missed, fantastic food and a home away from home.
Grantchester will never be the same without you...!
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The Pub is now closed since Xmas due to licensing problems.
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Pretentious weirdo.. moi.. ?
lol.
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I'm not surprised the pub is up for sale after reading the last three comments.
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In a similar vein to the previous two statements I would like to add my utter contempt and disgust at the treatment my friends and I received in The Green Man.
Having bitten our tongues with good grace for about half an hour at a) the chipped china b) lack of napkins c) slow service d) cold plates e) cold food f) absence of certain ordered beverages g) complete absence of teaspoons and h) the rather perfunctory and reluctant attitude of the waiter, one of our party thought to mention these not insignificant collection of issues in a perfectly reasonable and rational manner.
What followed was an immediate tyrade of abuse from the landlady, who sarcastically repeated our statements concerning the inadequate temperature of the food and plates, insinuating that these issues were not sufficiently important and that furthermore my friend was "a pretentious weirdo" for suggesting as much.
I feel staggered that one can be treated in such a way by anyone, merely for pointing out the absence of basic conventional restaurant etiquette - which is before one even brings up oft-forgotten mantra "the customer is always right".
The incident visibly shook us all and restorative alcoholic measures were needed for certain of our party as we took our custom across the way to The Red Lion.
I hope I shall never again have to experience such reprehensible behaviour, which would be unacceptable in any scenario, let alone one where a level of service is supposedly matched by an equivalent financial compensation.
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I concur wholly with the previous statement. The landlady completely flipped (raised voice, very sarcastic, calling us names) when we calmly told her that the plates AND food were cold, that there was a shortage of cutlery AND napkins. In addition, drinks orders were initially wrong, and subsequently forgotten about altogether, condiments came half way through our meal despite asking for them when the meal arrived. Did we not have a right to comment on this? Surely when paying �10 a head for a roast dinner, one should expect a certain standard of service?
Can nobody expect high standards anymore? To be called "a pretentious weirdo" by a landlady is absolutely unacceptable and I am still in shock at her behaviour towards us.
What a waste of time AND money our lunch was last weekend. We went to the Red Lion next door immediately for coffee and were given a very warm welcome to a lovely pub. I just wish we'd gone there for lunch.
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Having eaten with my family at The Green Man yesterday, I will be making official complaints about the current landlady, who I believe is looking to sell the pub.
Our roast meals were served on cold plates after a lengthy wait, resulting in our food being cold. The pub had run out of various items of cutlery, had no napkins and our drinks orders were forgotten.
Calmly and politely I pointed that our food was cold to the landlady, who shouted at me and my family, called me a weird freak and then ordered us from the pub.
It was the worst experience I have ever had in any pub in the world and the current landlady is in no position to hold a license or to deal with public. I cannot stress enough how politely we dealt with this situation and the whole experience was distressing and embarrassing in the extreme.
I was then told by the landlady I had no reason to complain that my food was cold. �There are millions of starving people in this world!� she shouted. That I know � little did she know the work I have undertaken for charity over the past 2 years. That said, customers have the right to expect good service when paying nearly �10 per head for a roast dinner. This should be served hot and not cold and should never be emotionally blackmailed as an excuse.
I am sure that reading this summery of events may seem one-sided. I can assure anyone reading this they are not � the members of the public in the pub would be able to verify this situation. I am still stunned that a quiet, polite complaint can meet with such an immediate and rude response.
Needless to say, my family will never be returning to the Green Man.
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Lol.
For 3 years in a row CCC have awarded this restaurant 1 star out of a possible 5 and describe the hygeine/attitude of management as poor....in fact they come in the bottom 10% on their web-site.
I would not book my Xmas dinner here I would go to the Red Lion next door at least the toilets are clean and paper towels are provided unlike the Greenman.
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Hogshead clearly has a personal problem with the landlord, he has done his research on the pub and posts bad reviews but coninue to go to the pub, he most probably can't resist good beer and good food.
i have only ever seen all the staff laughing joking and interacting with the customers. But at least the landlord has the balls to say what is on his mind to peoples faces rather than hiding behind a computer like a coward.
Good beer and good food is all i care about certainly not the toilets.
i have no doubt hogshead probably sits all alone judging everyone rathers than having some fun!
This is a great pub!
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Oh dear the pub is going down in estimation the Scottish landlord is shouting at his staff in front of his customers shame on you Barry and the toilets are filthy time for another hygeine inspection I think.
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Excellent beer, great atmosphere. Had a great chat with the landlord who is a huge cricket fan and very knowledgable about the sport and is clearly passionate about hs pub. We need more landlords like him around.
Had a perfectly cooked big steak. He let me into his pub half an hour early so I wouldn't wait outside in the cold. I really had a wonderful night out here.
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I was very suprised at Hogshead's comment because I had a very nice meal at the Green Man last week so I checked out the Council web site.
The Cambridge County Council scoresonthedoors web site (where food hygeine ratings for local pubs are published) gives the Green Man four out of five stars overall and rates "confidence in the management" as "moderate" and "hygeine and safety" as "good".
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Cambridge County council Food authority have awarded this pub just one star out of a possible 5 they said
Confidence in the Management.. little.
Standard of Safety & Hygiene... poor.
The Red Lion next door was awarded 3 stars and their hygeine records are described as "good ".
All the other pubs in Grantchester were awarded at least 3 stars and the Rupert Brooke was awarded 4..
I would prefer to visit a "drinking hole " like the Red Lion that to enter this place.
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Only one person has made a bad review what about the others..?
Dont you like people telling the truth.
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I have just read down through the other reviews of this pub and it seems there is a certain person who strikes me as having a singularly bad attitude to this particular pub and its owners - I read the comments policy when I registered and it seems to me that this person is not adhering to them.
why does this person keep bad-mouthing this pub after every good review?
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I visited this pub recently and was delighted with the service and the food - definitely worth it only I did not get to see Mr Archer!!
however the Green Man more than made up for it. good food, reasonably priced and the staff were courteous and friendly. lovely family atmosphere in a lovely old English village pub. I throughly recommend it and the lovely walk through the beer garden to the meadows beyond.
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The last two comments are a complete joke as familyguy and Kangarook are the landlord/partner of the pub..
The best food in England..lol..
If you decide to visit the pub after reading the rather mixed reviews you know what to expect from him..
Just ask for Barry McKenzie ..
I never called him rude that was another reviewer.
Have fun.
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The best pub food I have had in England.
Very friendly landlord and I am sure if he was ever rude to anyone its probably because he is trying to keep the riff raff out of his pub and quite rightly so.
But I wouldn't worry about hogshead, his name clearly discribes him. Obviously just another sad man trying to bring everyone down with him. He belongs in drinking holes.
The green man is a wonderful pub, and families are welcome with a large selection of childrens portions ensuring they are well fed. I notice that the landlord now a father and a proud one, I saw all the photos of his baby displayed along the back of the pub wall.
I would recommend going to this pub for an utterly wonderful experience!!
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I plead with everyone reading these comments, don't take anything that "hogsheads" says seriously, hogshead seems to be a very negative boring person.
Who has written a bad comment about many fantastic pub. If you see the rest of the comments written I think everyone will realise how laughable they really are.
I go to the green man very often, it feels like a home away from home for me and my family. The landlady has a wonderful mummy and baby pub club there every week which I have found very useful and have made many friends there and all of them are local people to Grantchester.
The landlord is an utter gentleman and I have NEVER found him to be rude. Only a delight. And as far as I am aware he is an award winning chef who makes all the food on the premises. And I have always found the food outstanding with a lovely selection of wine.
So hogshead you should say in the red lion pub, you don't deserve to ever enter the Green Man
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Apparently the Landlord has barred most of his regulars for some reason so now its just a student pub so typical of Cambridge.
Most of the food is supplied by Brakes frozen foods so I doubt it is homemade.
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I arrived at the Green Man at about 5.45pm and was told by friendly staff that the kitchen didn't open till 6pm but I could look over the menu and order now which was a delight as a lot of establishments seem to stick to times more and more these days.
The food was excellent and obviously home cooked and washed down by the evenings guest ale "Celtic Golden"
The bar person seemed to be new as she got confused on occasion but was helpful and polite. The landord was buzzing about the place and always talking to someone and seemed knowledgeable about his food and beer.
I eat in a lot of pubs with "modern food" and I have to say this one ranks high.
Great location, Charming Character, Great Food and Beer.
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I agree with Furze the food is overpriced by 100% and even then its not that good its like an upmarket McDonalds.
Another problem is the long wait for a pint which can be 5 mins and also staff turnover must be a problem as you never see the same barperson more than a few times.
The Landlord is not bad but a bit aloof.
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Pretentious,overpriced food, poor service and rude landlord. The place is run-down but thinks it can trade on its famous location. The Red Lion, opposite, in contrast was a delight.
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We strongly disagree with most comments written here!
We've never had a bad meal at the Green Man, the food's very good (much better than most pubs in the area) and the portion sizes are fairly hearty!
The Red Lion may be much larger, but the food is not even close to the quality.
It has a good selection of Ales, and a brilliant atmosphere.
Occasionally the service can be a little slow, but all in all I couldn't think of a pub in the nearby area that i would recommend more.
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I totally agree with greybeard this pub has so much potential but the staff seem inexperienced and you can wait 5 minutes to get served when there are only a few people in the pub.They serve Adnams Broadside but its at least 50p overpriced compared to the other pubs in Grantchester.Also sell other guest ales such as Black Sheep and Spitfire.It is situated opposite the village green and I usually sit outside watching the world go by.
Basically its a restaurant and not a pub but with burger and chips costing �10 a meal its very expensive for restaurant selling pub food.
Overall a place I go for a drink but its trying to be something its not.
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I have visited the Green Man several times. The food is fine, but nothing special - pretty ok pub food. The problem with the pub is their attitude to customers, which unfortunately is all to common with pubs in areas with almost guaranteed custom. The specific problem was that after confirming by phone the time of lunch service, the place decided to stop serving early "because they have been busy". After walking some distance to the pub and told there was nothing to eat and they showed no appreciation of the problems this caused, or indeed acknowledge there could be a problem!
I will not be returning to this pub, and I strongly advise anyone else to consider one of the many far more friendly pubs around the Cambridge area.
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The pub must be about 250 years old. It has genuine wooden beams and an uneven wooden floor. On entering from the street, the bar is one pace ahead of you. To the left there is a small area with deep comfy armchairs / settee. To the right there is an L-shaped area leading, to the Gents and I assume car park or garden.
There are wooden tables arranged around the wall in the L-shaped section.
There is no piped music - which is good - and one basic fruit machine.
If there is a restaurant, it must be further to the right and I didn't visit it.
I note the comment below about bar customers spilling over into the restaurant, and this is probably because the area that I saw was particularly small. I visited on a February Monday evening. There were about 10 - 12 people in the pub this left about 4 free seats.
A meal for 2 and 4 rounds of drinks left �4 change out of �40. I felt the meals were over-priced by about �2 per meal. The quantity was about average, the quality was average to slightly below average - I found the gammon egg & chips a little greasy. My son thought his pasta dish was fair.
Service was unaccountably slow. Not once did I go to the bar without having to wait for a while. The barman, a pleasant enough chap, seemed to have his time taken up by explaining the ropes to a new barmaid - equally pleasant. When this was not happening, there was no-one immediately around and I had to wait alone at the bar. Drinks orders from the table were likewise slow.
Fortunately, I was in no hurry, but I wondered what it would be like on a hot summer's evening.
In addition to the Adnams and Spitfire mentioned below there was Black Sheep, well kept but served a little on the warm side.
The Red Lion is next door and is more spacious, has better service and has a wide choice of meal, which are well worth the money but it seems not to have any atmosphere - more like a hotel (which I think it is...)
The Green Man is a pub that has the *potential* to have more than its fair share of atmosphere but it just missed its mark.
Will I go back? � probably; it's worth giving it a second chance.
Should you go? Well, if you want a quiet drink and are in no hurry, it really is a pleasant enough place.
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Oh dear, I am afraid I cannot disagree more with the writer of the 1st comments. Very poor service, 2� hours to get through a meagre portioned Sunday Lunch of nice food at above average prices. Restaurant continually used by drinking clientele as an extension to the bar turning lunches into expensive bar snacks.
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Fantastic food, large portions and very reasonably priced. Best sunday lunch I have found around Cambridge! No surprise that it can get busy at sunday lunch time, but service is not slow. Also a great range of well served beers including Adnams and Spitfire.
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