Carpenters Arms, Cambridgeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The pub has a strong advantage in that it is away from the centre of town and hence, the crowds while it is a bracing walk from the park and ride on Madingley Road. We visited during the pandemic era of apps, QR codes and masks but the feel of the place inside is a little akin to one of the old Firkin chain pubs. Beers were from Wells (file under ‘stolid’ in the brewery stakes) – our pizzas were tasty without hitting true heights.
|
Re-opened recently: I didn't have high hopes but it's really good. Good beer, cracking service, good food. I suppose it's slightly too far out of the town centre to make it onto most people's radar, but I'd recommend it.
|
I visited the Carpenters Arms last night (Friday 31st May 2013) which has recently re-opened. The beers were in excellent condition and the food was of a very high quality for taste and presentation.
|
This pub has just reopened as a free house, after being saved from its previous owners, Punch Taverns, who tried to sell it off for housing. I believe it's now under completely new ownership.
Went for a first look at it this week and it's been done up really well, with comfy seats as well as tables you could eat at. Stylish but not overly poshed-up, despite the new gastro-pub label. The bar manager and chef have been recruited from other Cambridge ale pubs, and seem to know what they're doing - there were four ales on when we went in, two of them fairly conventional (Doom Bar and something else), the other two less familiar and both a good pint. The barman was chatting about the beers he's looking forward to putting on, which is a hopeful sign.
The food menu looked interesting - a short list but it looked like good food, if a bit pricey. Somewhere to eat out occasionally, rather than your standard pub burger - although they weren't serving food yet when we went. They've built a pizza oven out the back as well, which looks promising.
Generally this looks really good as a community local or somewhere to go for a meal - it's not going to rival the real ale pubs in Cambridge that have 8 or 16 beers on, but it seems to have a good atmosphere and lots going for it. Here's hoping they manage to make a success of it...
|
Dead pub, boarded up.
|
It's got an interesting air of dishevelment, but other than that it's nothing special. If it was near to where I lived I'd go there again, but as an occasional visitor to Cambridge there's no reason for me to revisit.
|
Ordinary but friendly local with nice patio and child-friendly. Landlord was excellent - presume the ordinariness of the range keeps it out of the beer guide.
|
|
