What to Eat in Cambridge: Market Square, Pubs and the Best Restaurants
Cambridge’s food scene is driven by its student population, its tourist trade, and an increasingly strong independent restaurant scene in and around the city center. The Market Square (operating daily, Monday to Saturday) is the best street food and produce market in the city; the pubs of central Cambridge include some fine historic buildings; and the Grantchester Orchard Tea Garden (a 2.5km walk or punt from the center) is one of the most specifically Cambridge eating experiences available.
This guide is part of our broader UK travel coverage. For city orientation, see our Cambridge City Guide. For accommodation, see our Cambridge where to stay guide.
👉 Cambridge City Guide: The colleges, the Backs, King’s Chapel, punting & one of the world’s great universities →
👉 Where to Stay in Cambridge: The best Cambridge hotels near the colleges →
Must-Try Food Experiences
Orchard Tea Garden, Grantchester
The most famous tea garden in England — established 1897, frequented by Rupert Brooke and the Bloomsbury Group, and still serving cream teas and light lunches in apple orchards 2.5km south of Cambridge. Walk along the Grantchester Meadows path or punt down the Cam to arrive; the combination of the punt or walk through meadows and afternoon tea at the orchard is one of the finest summer afternoon experiences in the area.
Cambridge Market Square
The central market operating Monday to Saturday — with a good range of street food stalls alongside produce and craft vendors. The best lunch option in the city center; eat at the market square before or after the college visits.
Cambridge Punting Picnic
Assembling a picnic from the market, a deli, or Fitzbillies (the famous Cambridge bakery on Trumpington Street, known for its Chelsea buns since 1920) and eating it on a punt or in the Grantchester Meadows is the most characteristically Cambridge eating experience available. No restaurant required.
Our Recommended Restaurants and Pubs
Midsummer House — Midsummer Common (Fine Dining)
Cambridge’s only two-Michelin-star restaurant — Daniel Clifford’s celebrated tasting menu restaurant in a Victorian villa overlooking Midsummer Common. One of the finest fine dining experiences in eastern England. Book months in advance.
Fitzbillies — Trumpington Street (Bakery and Café)
The most beloved bakery in Cambridge — operating since 1920 and famous throughout the UK for its Chelsea buns (sticky, caramel-glazed, deeply good). The café serves excellent breakfasts and lunches alongside the baked goods. One of the essential Cambridge food experiences.
The Eagle — Bene’t Street (Historic Pub)
Cambridge’s most celebrated pub — where Watson and Crick announced the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953, and where RAF aircrew chalked their names and squadron numbers on the ceiling of the RAF Bar during World War II (the ceiling is preserved and still visible). Good ales, reliable pub food, and extraordinary historical associations. One of the finest pub buildings in England.
👉 Cambridge City Guide: The colleges, the Backs, King’s Chapel, punting & one of the world’s great universities →
👉 Where to Stay in Cambridge: The best Cambridge hotels near the colleges →
For our full UK coverage, see our United Kingdom travel guide.