The Burleigh Arms certainly lived up to its many accolades.
Escaping from your daily life and finding some peace and quiet can be quite hard if you live in a city. Cambridge might look quaint and historic to outsiders but those living in the city know how busy it can get with streets clogged with tourists and roads often gridlocked.
One of the last places you would probably go to to enjoy some relaxation is Newmarket Road. But the Burleigh Arms, an award-winning pub, is the perfect pub for indulging in great food and taking a moment for yourself.
Last year, the Burleigh Arms was awarded with two AA Rosettes. It was also recently named in the Estrella Damm’s top 100 list of the best gastropubs in the UK. I headed down to the pub to test out some of its dishes and see if it is worth its many titles.
You shouldn’t be put off by the roadworks currently in the area, since as soon as I walked into the Burleigh Arms, I completely forgot about the noise from outside. The pub has a very relaxed atmosphere with an old fashioned bar and wooden tables and chairs.
As it was a very sunny day for February, I decided to sit in the garden, which had a few benches placed under a marquee. The garden was so quiet that you couldn’t even hear the traffic on the road outside, which allowed me to fully switch off from daily life.
The lunch menu at the Burleigh Arms has a couple of choices for each course. For my starter, I chose the sweet potato tempura, which cost £9.50.
The dishes was perfectly presented and came topped with a cashew butter and chipotle ketchup. The sweet potato was soft and creamy on the inside and was covered by a crispy and lightly salted batter.
The sweet potato was complemented well by the two condiments beautifully piped on top. The dish also had a sprinkling of chopped cashews that helped give the meal a nice crunchy finish to contrast the softness of the potato.
I picked the Burleigh burger as my main, which cost £18. The burger came out smothered in cheese that had been melted over the patty.
The patty had also been topped with lettuce, a bacon jam, and the house pickles, all of which were sandwiched between a light brioche bun. The burger was incredibly juicy and well seasoned with all of the flavours and toppings working well together.
The bacon jam had tiny chunks of crumbly bacon that perfectly matched saltiness of the beef patty. The thinly sliced pickles had a sharp sour taste that cut through the juiciness of the burger without overpowering the other flavours.
The cup of fries on the side were boiling hot and thick cut. They were incredibly crispy but light and fluffy on the inside and would definitely help to soak up any drinks you might have with your meal.
When paired with the relaxing sunny pub garden or even instead next to the bar, the meal was definitely a treat that helped take me away from the stresses of life. If you are looking to spend a little extra on a meal in Cambridge and want somewhere peaceful to enjoy it, you should try the Burleigh Arms.
The Burleigh Arms can be found at 9 Newmarket Road. The gastropub is open from 12pm to 11pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 12pm to 7pm on Sundays.
All of our food reviews are paid for by the writer. The establishments do not know we will be reviewing their food, allowing us to make fair judgements on each place.