A popular tourist spot in the middle of Cambridge, next to the market. A family run Italian restaurant that also serves a full English.
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| Pretty views from Don Pasquale |
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| Full English |
I wasn't sure what to expect here, but was very pleasantly surprised. Service was quick and efficient, and my double expresso with extra water was decent enough. Beans come as an 'add on' here, and I ordered the breakfast without beans having recently suffered heavy bean contamination. The food that arrived was great - crispy bacon, good sausage, the mushrooms were well cooked, and the centrepeice was large grilled tomato. This provided any juice that one may have missed without the beans, and in my book, a good tomato beats beans any day. This was a good breakfast, and even felt quite healthy with such a big tomato as a main ingredient. Pretty good value for just over £6 too.
- Food 4
- Value 4
- Service 4
- Ambience 4
- Coffee 3.5
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| A sprig of green adds to the presentation |
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| Speaks a thousand words |
Having just sat out on the pavement in front of Don Pasquale’s
for breakfast, I’m now firmly a supporter of Troby’s campaign for Cambridge to restrict
lorries in the centre to night time deliveries, like they do in some cities in
Europe. What would otherwise have been a pleasant al-fresco breakie was slightly
marred by the diesel fumes and noise. Obviously we were on the noisy side of
the terrace but there’s no natural sunlight there at that time in the morning and
you get a bit of warmth and light reflected off the white buildings of Market
Street. Anyway, onto the breakfast…
Not that they’re the same type of outfit at all, but after
Carluccio’s and the crispy pancetta, it was in the back of my mind that Don
Pasquale’s might feasibly go for some element of English-Italian fusion.
Fortunately they don’t, the Full English is as English as you like. More
English in fact than lots of other places I could mention that insist on
serving hash browns. It started well before we’d even got our food, with beans
being an option on the menu. I don’t mind beans, but they’re not an essential
part of a Full English for me. Far better to forego the beans than mushrooms or
tomato. And this place got the tomato pretty much spot on. Nice and big, hot all
the way through but not over cooked and mushy; once cut up a bit and re-seasoned
it was a highlight of the plate. And the shrooms were okay too, very small
button mushrooms cooked just enough. The right amount of fresh toast was English
white sliced for-the-win, not ciabatta or anything fancy. The bacon was decent
English back bacon too, and cooked pretty well. The egg could have been a bit
runnier, and I’m not sure how I feel about the sprinkling of dill but the
sausage was a bit of a revelation. A decent quality sausage (English, yes) with
three or four transverse slashes (probably applied mid-fry) increased the
crispy edge to volume ratio in a very pleasing fashion.
Overall a quality plate of food and a nice enough cup of
Americano, for around £8. Service was prompt and professional (no danger of food turning up before cutlery here, one of my personal bugbears). Not exactly over
welcoming but I'd rather they were proficient and a bit brusque than obsequious
and inept. No black pudding but I didn’t miss it today. Even though the food
inevitably went cold (the plates could have been hotter for the terrace) I was
still enjoying it to the last mouthful. I’ll be happy to go back there, but I might see if breakfast can be eaten in the upstairs dining room.
- Food 4.5
- Value 4
- Service 4
- Ambience 3.5
- Coffee 3.5
Pastries
This was actually my second breakfast of the day so comprised espresso + danish only. Which I have neglected to photograph. Espresso was good. Danish was warm and generous - though of the floppy rather than crispy variety. The location is good when it's not fearsomely busy, though it's a shame it doesn't catch the sun in the morning. The right sort of service - friendly but unfussy.
- Pastry 4
- Value 3.5
- Service 5
- Ambience 4
- Coffee 4
I am glad to hear you received better service than I did on my visit. To be honest if I had been served this breakfast the state of the egg and burnt bacon would have disappointed me and the tomatoes looking undercooked would have caused concern. Great review though and looking forward to reading the copper kettle review :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, that didn't sound great. We had read your review but actually only after eating, and before writing ours. Had we read it before we'd definitely have at least asked after a vege breakfast, just to see if we got a rise. ;) You have a keen eye! The tomato could have been cooked longer, but I'd rather that than mushy. Egg was a shame, but I've had way worse recently and bacon was fine for me.
DeleteI was indeed concerned that the tomato might have been undercooked, as it wasn't charred at all but it was cooked through, and tasty.
DeleteAlas, I can't go to Don Pasquale's as they have been insufferably rude on two occasions. This to be fair was 20 years ago but what can I say! I hold a grudge - and the owners haven't changed.
ReplyDelete