Top Cambridge Food- Restaurant 22

If you are looking for top notch Cambridge food, Restaurant 22 is the place to go. It has been far too long since our last visit and since then this superb establishment has gone from strength to strength. Gaining both local and national acclaim (all of which is well deserved), delighted customers pack this restaurant to sample inventive and delicious plates of foods.

Snacks:

You can order from a short A La Carte menu, or chose from a five or seven course tasting menu. We of course opt for the seven course tasting (£55pp) which kicks of with a trio of snacks including plump Nocellara olives, new season beetroot, goats curd and Wiltshire truffle.

My favourite is a crispy pearl barley cracker with dots of spiced apple and black pudding which is simply delightful.

The chef’s surprise snack is also excellent. A truffle mac and cheese bite.  A plate full of these alone would make you very happy indeed.

Bread:

This is followed by a couple of sensational individual breads. Guinness bread with a quenelle of Guinness butter is dark and warming, and a light shallot brioche to dip in aged balsamic vinegar is its perfect partner.

Amuse Bouche:

Next up a watercress, smoked eel and horseradish amuse bouche that gets better with every mouthful. The heat and peppery hit of the horseradish builds throughout.

Starter:

Aged Hereford beef tartare which is served with pickles, bone marrow and Burford Brown yolk. This plate looks beautiful and tastes even better. Perfectly balanced and one of my stand outs from the menu.

Fish:

Line caught cod is served with whipped cod roe and dashi which is topped with a light airy turnip foam. Small pieces of pickled ginger add a surprise element to this Asian inspired dish. Wonderful.

Main:

The main event is another exemplary dish. Sutton Hoo chicken is served in three different forms. Breast, wing and leg are all present alongside charred cauliflower and a silky-smooth cep puree. It is packed full of that deep, rich mushroom flavour that I for one love.

Cheese:

You don’t have to have the cheese course but then you will be missing out on a great selection of cheeses with crispy bread and chutney. Treat yourself and go for it because I doubt you will regret it.

Pre- dessert:

Moving onto the pre-dessert, a small glass of Yorkshire rhubarb, hibiscus and gingerbread. The tartness of the rhubarb is well matched with the sweet, spicy gingerbread. It looks amazing and tastes pretty good as well.

Dessert:

To finish a dark chocolate delice topped with tiny Jerusalem artichoke crisps. Served with a beautiful blood orange sorbet, what a way to finish a meal. All this is washed down with a dry, clean crisp bottle of Italian Riesling recommend by the excellent sommelier.

Cambridge food at its best:

I sit back in my chair relaxed, happy and content. I make a promise to myself that I won’t leave it so long before I return to the outstanding Restaurant 22 again.

Restaurant 22 is one of the great places for quality food in Cambridge mentioned in our foodies tour of Cambridge and in our round up of fine dining in Cambridge.