Harriet's Tea Rooms

After seeing a review in the Cambridge Evening News it was decided to give Harriets a visit. Not somewhere we've tried before, from the outside it looks a bit like a parfumerie or something.

On arrival we were greeted and seated with professional staff - a nice change from the hipstery "Hi Mate, sit anywhere Pal" you might get in The Old Bike Shop for example.

The place is styled to be English and old fashionedy. A baby grand piano in the middle of the room, it might have been nice to have some background tinkling. The carpet was grandparent style.

The menu was large, and on the expensive side, but plenty of choice on offer.

There seemed quite a lot of coffee options, too many to know what was best, so I asked for a strong black coffee. For some reason I was a bit dubious that it would come out good. I was wrong.

The coffee came promptly, and it was very good. Strong, but not too tarry, and with the full flavour spectrum. There seems to be a tendency in some of the newer cafes to serve a tarry / tomato soup tinged coffee. This was one of the best long coffees I've had for a while. Things were looking up!

Food arrived pretty quickly, though half the coffee had gone down.

It was one of the tastiest breakfasts I've had in a while. Toast was good. Sausage well flavoured, hash brown was fine and crispy. A very good egg. Bacon was to my liking and the tomato juicy and well cooked. I'd have preferred my black pudding to be a tiny bit burned, and the beans were at the low level of acceptable hotness, but these are minor quibbles. I really enjoyed it.

On the downside, it IS a bit pricey, but the staff were friendly and helpful, allowing my colleagues some substitutions. Overall, I have to admit the Cambridge Evening News was right. Very good.

• Food     4.5
• Value    4
• Service  4
• Ambience 3
• Coffee   5

The Cornerstone Cafe

I was in the Mill Road area on the weekend, and saw a sign here saying "Best Breakfast in Mill Road - Butchers sausages". I was keen to try it out.

Cornerstone

http://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/locations/cornerstone-cafe
This is a cafe attached to St Phillips Church. Decor wise it's fairly basic, it has a community feel, with the kitchen in view, newspapers to read and rooms for hire with community stuff going on. But we came for breakfast!

Good value menu

The menu seems very reasonable. I went for a SET3 with added saute potatoes. I let my companion ride a small wave of order confusion. This is a pretty large breakfast for £5.75. We got black coffees.

Coffee was average

 The food came very quickly. I was hoping for good things.

The picture doesn't do the breakfast justice

There were many plus points about this breakfast. Many. A few negatives, the first being presentation - but it's a substance-over-style type affair. A bigger plate may have helped. Another issue was the bean contamination - but that's my mistake, I shouldn't have ordered them.
For the positives - It was piping hot - straight from the kitchen! The potatoes were really good. The sausage was a masterpiece, really well flavoured. Bacon was fine, and mushrooms were good. Tomato was present, but had become rather squashed and engulfed by the other ingredients. The eggs were also good, even though my eggs had suffered some "spatula rage". Seefud's plate was a bit better presented

Breakfast with black pudding

The toast was pre-buttered -  not to my liking. I prefer a dry crumb, and brown if possible, but still, now I know, I'll ask next time.

Pre-buttered toast

There will be a next time - There's an option to select breafast items for 75p - so I'll probably make my own options for a well valued tasty breakfast.

• Food     4
• Value    4.5
• Service  3
• Ambience 3
• Coffee   3

Fitzbillies

I'd managed to convince my colleague to stop and Trokel Ulman and Freunde, but on the way there we saw a sign saying "Full English" at Fitzbillies, so decided to stop there instead.

Troby:
On entering there was a bit of a confused queue. The barista coffee delivery point was trickily located in the middle of the queue, so people had to squeeze through to get their Flat White. There was also some confusion of where to order the food for the seated cafe section. We breezed through this however, and found a seat. The decor is a nice mix of old fashioned blue tiles and new style clean tables. I liked the open kitchen and feel of the place. There are staff walking through the restaurant delivering trays of cakes to the cakeshop section. I think this place nearly closed down a while back, and I'm glad it didnt. It's certainly and unique in Cambridge.

Coffee was nice enough, quite strong, with tarry overtones.

Black Coffee

Food arrived quickly. Full English is a cool £10, which is on the pricey end of the scale - but included black pudding. Except it didnt. EDIT - looking at the menu on the website, it says "Add black pudding £2". Which would make it one of the most expensive in Cambridge! The menu also says "hash browns" instead of "hash brown" but one was enough! More of that later

Full English

The food was all nicely hot, and the scrambled egg was good. Tomatoes too, cooked to perfection. I like my bacon crispy, but this was maybe a tad overdone. The sausages however were excellent, some of the best I've had on the breakfast quest.
The egg came on toast, which might have been better left on the side, to give the breakfaster more options.
The villian of the peice was a hash brown...

Deep fried hash

It had a bit of a wierd taste, not much seasoning or flavour. The only menu was at the til where we ordered, so it wasn't easy to check what it was supposed to be. Mushrooms would have been better.

• Food     3.5
• Value    3
• Service  3
• Ambience 4
• Coffee   3.5

Bailey Rooms revisited

This was a regular haunt in the old days. And was always great value, even though sometimes the breakfast took ages to come. I nipped in for a quick bite.

Things have changed a little bit. The breakfast was layed out buffet style, so no waiting around for things to be cooked. Bacon, Sausage, Eggs, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Hash Browns on the counter under hot lights. Baked beans were also available. For £3.20 you can choose 6 items. You get toast as well. The toast is the only thing made fresh. I went for 2 bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomato and hash brown (a portion meant two).

The service was polite and friendly.

A wide range of sauces on offer

I ordered a coffee, the machine is the automatic bean to cup style. The coffee looked pretty good to start with, but the crema soon disappeared - probably more of a last minute frothing. Still, it tasted fresh, if a little weak. I sat down with my breakfast

Cold cuts

The main thing I noticed was that things were cold. A mushroom, then to the hashbrown, and from one item to the next, everything was on the tepid side. The toast was good. I considered asking for the plate to be microwaved for a couple of minutes, but it suddendly got a bit busy (three people arrived). So I munched on.
It was all fine, but just cold.

• Food     2
• Value    3
• Service  4
• Ambience 1
• Coffee   2.5

The place was eerily empty, and felt a bit sad, even tho the staff were cheery enough, the whole building is decked in scaffolding, and there must be plans for it. But not including the Bailey Rooms.

Oh well, one last fairwell. Long Live the Bailey Rooms! - thanks for all the good breakfasts (not this one)

Cafe Rouge

We tried the newly refurbished Cafe Rouge in Cambridge.

Cafe Rouge breakfast menu

Troby:
We settled in and ordered coffees. Service was friendly and efficient. The place looks the same after refurbishment so far as I could see. I was last here about 15 years ago. Not that the decor is bad, it's the red curtain on the door, and french pictures one the wall style.
I'm currently on a hunt for good scrambled eggs - So I went for "L'Anglais" with scrambled. Brown toast wasn't an option. The coffee was fine.

The coffee was acceptable

Breakfast came in reasonable time. And was quite good. The sausage was tasty, bacon fine and I like my beans on 'on the side'. However the toast could have been more toasted, and the mushroom portion was just a nod towards a portion of mushrooms.

Mushrooms in hiding

The egg didn't look great

Not winning any beauty awards, but tasty

But actually tasted pretty good, and was well seasoned.

Overall not a bad breakfast. One of our party had various discount cards and schemes, and it turned out to be very good value for us that day, but at full price I think Cote just down the road is a bit better.

• Food     3.5
• Value    3
• Service  4
• Ambience 3.5
• Coffee   3.5

Seefud:
I just fancied bacon and eggs. There was nothing majorly wrong with this breakfast but nothing really stands out as being that great either. The toast was a bit under done, but that's not a big deal. If I had to pick a highlight it would be the bacon, which, whilst fairly standard thin sliced smoked back bacon, was cooked to absolute perfection in my eyes. Crispy fat and juicy non-leathery meat.

Bacon and eggs

The ambience, service and coffee were fine, but again, nothing special. I didn't really expect much more from a chain like this though. The value was ok, but only with some discount deals. At full price I'd have been disappointed. If  you're in this area, it's got to be Cote I think.

• Food     2.5
• Value    3
• Service  4
• Ambience 3
• Coffee   3

Cambridge Patisierie

Nestled near the round church, just down a bit is the Cambridge Patiserie. I think it's changed owners a few times, and always has a sign outside with breakfasts / bacon rolls deals, so we gave it a try.

The large underused pavement dining area doesn't get a lot of sunshine in the morning

Troby:
On this particular morning, I felt much in need of some scrambled eggs on brown toast, after some over-participation in the 'works drinks' the previous evening. The staff were welcoming, attentive, and polite, although not keen to go to far off-piste on the menu selection. It was decided I should be charged for the "Punters breakfast" which also included bacon and mushrooms for a fiver, so possibly a win / win. I ordered a black americano as well. I thanked them for accomodating my slightly fussy order (no butter on toast, and eggs scrambled). There were smiles all round, and some self depricating talk of their English not being very good. We sat outside in the crisp bright Cambridge ambience.

Pretty views of the gothic St John's Cathedral (probably)

 with an element of dark forboding

Coffee came soon, and was acceptable. The food arrived in ok time.
Scrambled eggs are easy to do, but there's a whole spectrum of gloopiness/wetness/creaminess/fluffiness/dryness/rubberyness. Plus they continue to cook after out of the pan, so keen timing is required. Maybe they're not that easy to do. Below is what I'd hoped for versus what I got.

What I'd hoped for

What I got

Disapointment set in straight away. Not only was this some method of cooking eggs that I'd never seen before (egg frisbee disc?), but the toast was buttered against my instructions. I turned out that the language barrier may have been an issue after all. I considered complaining, but didnt' have the gumption this morning, so made my best effort at eating it.
Egg: Rubbery as can be
Bacon: Tasty enough, but limp and boiled
Mushrooms: Ok, cooked with lettuce?!
Tomato: Uncooked, but well presented
Toast: Undercooked, buttered against my wishes
Heat: Not piping.

So overall, a big disappointment, kind of fitting for one of those mornings where you feel rough, but also happy to be alive.

• Food     1.5
• Value    2
• Service  3
• Ambience 4
• Coffee   3

Seefud:

Despite cycling past most days for 18 months, we'd never tried this place. For reasons unclear to me, I had low expectations. It would be a nice place to sit outside if it got any sunshine in the morning. Maybe afternoon teas are better. It seems to be staffed by non natives. Around Cambridge that bodes well for service, but they really ought not be let loose in the kitchen on their own to prepare a full English. I went for the Rowers breakfast I think, which supposedly came with unlimited refills on filter coffee or tea. About £8.

It arrived in reasonable time, as did the coffee which was nice enough for filter. The service was cheerful enough and the cutlery was delivered simultaneously. Result! It was all downhill from there though. The toast was almost bread, but there was plenty of it. The sausage was low quality. The bacon was a total fail, kind of chopped up, and the cooking method might have been boiling. The shrooms were okay, as was the egg and the beans were beans. The tomato, however nicely carved, was raw. It's a key ingredient in a "cooked breakfast", NOT A FECKING SALAD GARNISH!! I made my displeasure clear in a very English fashion.

Oh, and unlimited refills of coffee? I wasn't ever offered a second cup. Oh, and if you're going to serve breakfast outside in the shade on chilly Autumn morning, you could at least warm the plates. I will not be going back.

• Food     1.5
• Value    2
• Service  2
• Ambience 2.5
• Coffee   2.5

Cambridge Market Square Breakfast Van

We overlooked this in the past, but the Cafe / Van in Market Square is well worth a visit.

Market square food van - busy but efficient

Popular with local flouro jacketed workers, and market traders, their main product is probably bacon rolls and baguettes, and they do this well. But there are cooked breakfasts, filter coffee and expresso machine coffee on offer too.

Bacon, egg and tomato (20p extra) and bacon and egg baguette

Troby:
I love it - the baguettes are fresh, and they'll cook the bacon crispy if you ask. I went for bacon, egg and tomato baguette, with a black americano. Even though it was a busy day, there was still seating, and the food came pretty quickly. Everything fresh off the cooker, piping hot - delicious! And good value for around a fiver with the coffee. The ambience around the market square is usually great, lots of hussle and bussle, though sometimes there are one to many bin vans and delivery trucks in the area. Service is prompt and friendly enough.

• Food     4.5
• Value    4.5
• Service  3.5
• Ambience 4
• Coffee   3.5

Seefud:
We've been having a bit of a break from the relentless high pressure world of regional breakfast blogging. We've still been partaking of the occasional breakfast though, and more often than not it's been at this place. You can really get much simpler than fry-ups, rolls and baguettes out of a van in the market square. But it's decent quality, cooked fresh and plenty of customers all year round, so they can't go too far wrong. Unlike most vans, they have a decent coffee machine too. This is Cambridge after all!

At £3.40 for a bacon and egg baguette, it's not as cheap as Joy. But I'm often happy to pay the extra to sit out in Cambridge's historic market square, on a fine sunny morning, watching the world go by. Even if it is white van central.

• Food     4
• Value    4
• Service  3.5
• Ambience 4.5
• Coffee   4