Browns-Cambridge in Cambridge

We had a lovely lunch. We were sat at a round table in the far corner of the brasserie. It meant our kids did not have to sit on eggshells and could enjoy themselves. The children’s menu had a good choice. Although the portions were not huge. Probably only enough for 8 years and under. The chicken and chips could do with a sauce on the side. The adults were happy. They enjoyed crab, fish and stew between them. Some bread for the table would have been nice. Overall, a lovely lunch.

We were a little early, but that was no problem. Our server tried to take our order by memory, but had to clarify our choices and ended up writing it down. When our mains were brought, I was given the wrong dish and one of the sides we ordered was late to the table. We then ordered liqueur coffees only to be told the coffee machine was broken. We ordered a sauternes instead and were informed this was sold out. Overall food was ok, but the mistakes and lack of availability of items was not acceptable. It would be helpful to advise of these things at the start.

Lovely decor, atmosphere, service and food. The only negative was they forgot to bring the wine we ordered but the free desserts more than made up for it.

We had a great meal, with great atmosphere accompanied by a great piano player. Our waitress Abbie was amazing and provided great service and was super helpful. Will definitely return thank you!

Lovely restaurant, great service from Abbie - thank you

Amazing food highly recommend goin there, top 5 star service by sam polite and kind severd us the hole meal and drinks and dessert top bloke

Great atmosphere, amazing food, very welcoming and friendly staff, affordable prices and an overall great experience compliments to the chef and we were served by a very welcoming and polite man called Sami

All in all a very good restaurant Well priced for the quality of food Sammy the waiter is absolutely amazing

Excellent tasting food, and excellent service. A special thank you to our server Viktor for taking wonderful care of us.

Visited long back for dinner, had a great dinning experience, but forgot to drop the review.

We recently visited Browns and had a super time! The food was great, as it has been every time we visit. The waitress, Savannah, was so attentive, she had a real "nothing is too much trouble" attitude, especially when we mentioned that we were in Cambridge for the weekend celebrating our wedding anniversary.

Great experience. Went for bottomless brunch for a hen do, the service was amazing, food was good and the atmosphere was great. Would recommend.

We recently had afternoon tea here for my daughters hen do. It was a sunday 3pm. We had to seek out staff a few times. For drinks and to take our orders, we had children ordering and some food allergies. Whilst the food was nice, the gluten-free choice was limited 3 finger sandwiches and 4 pots of mainly chocolate brownie type slop and very small portions. The staff were all lovely and helpful, but they definitely needed more help. The restaurant was clean and well decorated, there was lots of space so no chair bumping.

We came here for our wedding dinner and came back on our anniversary and the whole team were brilliant and made it a special evening for us. Grace who was taking care of us was absolutely excellent and our experience special.

Excellent service from start to finish for our daughters 40th Birthday The staff and food were excellent. Perfect. Nothing to much trouble

All was agreeable but we noticed that the salt and pepper and menu book on the table were noticeably dirty .When our breakfasts arrived and the eggs on top of the Shashuka were raw egg .When we complained to the waiter he removed the dish but didn’t apologise . When he brought the same plateful back again ,the egg was still raw and again there was no apology and my wife chose something else.

Fabulous bottomless brunch. Made a birthday celebration really special.

Amazing service from Pietro. An asset to browns team 👌

We came to browns for a bottomless brunch for a hen do, we were served by Abbie and Marco and they were great from start to finish. They looked after us so well and made it a lovely afternoon. Thank you so much

Great food. Grace was wonderful thanks will come again!

Came for bottomless brunch and had great service from Pietro. Good burger too

Pietro has been charming and such a kind waiter to our girls bottomless brunch, thank you so much! Lovely waiter and incredible service

Amazing 40th Birthday celebration brunch 🥂 Thank you Pietro.

Friendly and professional service!

Disapointed that only half of the main courses were available, pork, chicken, burgers, sea bass and lobster were all off the menu so difficult to choose from what was left when 2 of your choices were not available. Should of left and gone somewhere else as disappointing when celebrating an anniversary. Expected better from Browns. The interior is looking very tired and needs refurb, we were sitting on floor level tables for 2 on the right as you go in and I was looking at chipped skirting boards on the higher level. It was not busy only about 4 or 5 tables with mainly couples so ot would of been nice to of been seated in the middle of the restaurant where the seating was nicer. I have been to Browns many times over the years and this is the first time I have given negative feedback after all you do go to a restaurant to eat so to have 5 main courses off the menu is bad planning. Other people did sit at their table and then leave because of the limited menu. What I did find to order starter prawns and chorizo and main schnitzel and fries was very nicely cooked and tasty although it came with a fried egg and I do not eat eggs. Sorry Browns you let us down this time.

Dinner in your restaurant was amazing experience. Thanks for lovely drinks Piotr :)

Very good food and lovely staff! I will back!

Very tasty and fresh meal, good job!

Piss poor cancelled our wedding breakfast meal with two weeks notice. Don’t bother there are better places , with better customer care

OK, so I've officially had enough of Brown's now. Once again, slow and sloppy service and too many mistakes. Even something as simple as poaching an egg properly is apparently out of their reach. Many better options in Cambridge for the same budget.

We had our retirement/leaving party tonight , there were 19 of us in total, the service, food and atmosphere were fantastic, and we all agreed that the evening was a great success. Will definitely recommend Brown’s

Best bottomless brunch in Cambridge.

I can't complain the food was good but the menu was more or less the same as the Ivy.These eateries need to stop copying each other and have their own identity.

I have been coming here since I was a little girl many moons ago ! It really is more than a restaurant, it’s a Cambridge institution! A wonderful evening in a buzzy atmosphere in our beautiful city .

Excellent menu, attentive staff. Food was very good.

We have visited Browns on 3 different occasions, and loved the fine dining food experience every time. Food has always been excellent, staff courteous (especially the Japanese lady doing part-time), and no one ever was pushy.

Arrived at 4.45pm as pre-booked. Advised we had to order by 5pm as kitchen closing. Also advised 4 choices from main course not available. For dessert advised no cheese board available 😏 didn't have to ask for bill as that landed promptly. Not a great atmosphere as felt like they were clearing up and getting ready for next day. The food we had was really good. Disappointing as we were out for a special occasion.

Pedro was great. Brilliant service and great food. Would highly recommend.

Always excellent! The team are genuinely friendly and helpful. The food is excellent. We have been coming to Brown's since the late 1980s and have always received excellent service . I wish we lived nearer!

Afternoon tea exceeds expectation

Had a wonderful lunch here, although I have special dietary needs, a delicious lunch was made from scratch, can't thank you enough. The service was superb and the waitress was charming. Thank you

The service was great, the food was good and menu choices were different and on the hottest day of the year it was nice and cool!

The ambience and the service were great, the food was good and on the hottest day of the year it was nice and cool!

Just had a short break in Cambridge and ate at Browns-Cambridge on 3 occasions, breakfast and twice in the evening. Our first booking was for an evening meal and the experience was generally a good one. The service was very good; the mostly female staff were friendly and attentive and the food was good and considered value for money. Our only comment would be that Browns vegetables must be in short supply as the portion sizes were very small! Our second meal was the following day for breakfast. On the whole it was an OK experience. I ordered a traditional english breakfast but asked if the black pudding could be left off the plate. It was not. The food was generally good although apart from the sausages, (which were very tasty), some elements were not hot enough. The one small piece of "grilled" tomato didnt appear to have been anywhere near a hotplate; the mushroom was tasty but barely warm and one of the fried eggs was overcooked. Service was still good and I was in a forgiving frame of mind. Our final visit to Browns was that same day in the early evening at a similar time to the day before. However, this time the service was very poor. The male staff were not attentive and we had to ask twice for everything. The restaurant was not busy. We requested the dessert menu and waited for @ 10 mins before we had to ask again. This time we were presented with the bill and not the menu! The food was Ok, but my wife had the same meal as the evening before and the portion size was much smaller in comparison. Similarly her dessert, ice cream sorbet, was much smaller than the evening before. The 3 scoops of sorbet were clearly hollow and incomplete and were partailly melted by the time the dish was delivered to our table. I had the sticky toffee pudding 2 nights running. It was delicious and very moorish, but again on the second evening much of the ice cream had melted by the time it was served to our table. 3 visits in 2 days and 3 differing experiences. Based on the last experience we would not go back again. We did not complain whilst we were there. Perhaps we should have.

I had fish and chips, my wife had sea bass and chorizo risotto. Both were superb!

It was my mother's birthday. I had advised this whilst book and we were greeted very nicely and the chap who greeted us instantly wished my mother a happy birthday and offered her a complimentary glass of prosecco. When my mother asked if she could have something non alcoholic, he brought her a delicious mocktail. Happy birthday was also sung when she was given her cake. Thank you for making the occasion lovely for her. I am very grateful.

Lovely atmosphere, Great food quality and portions, live piano and friendly staff. Somewhat expensive and a bit loud but a nice annual treat. Would highly recommend the Fillet Steak!

Came here for a friends 50th birthday. Fabulous service from Abie and the whole team. Lovely food and cocktails. Will definitely be back.

Great service by the lovely Abi. Lovely good and friendly staff

Not usually one to leave a review but this was poor. Went here for afternoon tea. We won’t go back. Firstly, the smell of fish in this restaurant is unbelievable! What a stink! Service from guy showing us our table was fine. Other service was very slow. We waited ages to even have our waitress say hello let alone take an order. I was looking around for someone and she obviously saw me as whilst she was at another table she said ‘I’ll be over in a moment’. That moment was at least 10-15 minutes. As I said, we ordered afternoon tea. We weren’t asked if we wanted tea or champagne - we were just offered tea. We didn’t want the champagne option but surely we should be asked? Our food arrived very slowly and long before our drinks. The restaurant was very loud and we could barely hear each other talk across our table. The smoked salmon pate or rye was not great. The beef and horseradish sandwich was bland and certainly had no horseradish. Scones were nice. Small cakes were ok. No one came to our table after our food and drinks were served. No sugar was provided for the tea and no waitress passed our table that we could ask. (Yes I could have gone searching but I shouldn’t have to!) Waitress was too busy pouring wine and gossiping with a table of women. I don’t like to be hassled in restaurants but being ignored isn’t very good service either. Surely we should be visited once during our meal? The waitress was back and forward to her other tables with bottle after bottle of wine. Maybe we didn’t deserve a service as we weren’t drinking every bottle they stock. Cheek of a service charge as well on the bill! As we had a voucher for the afternoon tea so I didn’t actually pay for it, I just paid the service charge to get out! Looks nice, smells bad, food was below expectations and service was poor. Not sure where all these 5 star reviewers visited because it couldn’t have been Browns Cambridge.

I loved the restaurant and Angelo's service, he suggested a great wine and the service was impeccable.

Angelo was the best, very chatty Italian man.

Lovely afternoon tea, great selection and really encourages you to try new things. Selection changes every now and again so always a variety!

Great service! And great service! 🤩

Prime location. Very chic vibe. Food and service was excellent

Browns in Cambridge is a nice place to be full stop, location is lovely and the whole environment just feels like a cool place to be. The servers were all polite and friendly and my food was good and I didn't hear any complaints from anyone else. There are lots of nice places in Cambridge, some arguably with better views on the river for example. But I think Browns is what you could class as a nice place for any occasion generally, maybe not a kids party though. The price is going to be more than the small coffee/snack places, but I'd say it's probably about average for similar places for this type of food. Remember, you're in Cambridge, so it's not cheap to live full stop. I ate the Fish and Chips, it's was £17.95 and it was very good, excellent crispy batter, decent portion, good chips and the mushy peas with mint was very nice.

Nice food, good atmosphere, and great service from our server (Abbie!)

We haven't been to browns in a few years, but this visit made us remember why we love it so much.. it was my birthday and the waiter we had, Victor 🥰 went above and beyond like no waiter before. He made sure I had a birthday never to forget. There's not many waiters out there like him so I hope he gets the recognition he deserves. The food was absolutely sensational! From the starters of the squid and prawns with chorizo, yum to the chatauebriand with the added scallops!! Oh my god I was doing happy dances with every bite! The drinks were a perfect touch and then to end brownie and a creme brulee!! My my my what a fabulous evening. A massive thanks to the kitchen team but mostly to Victor!! We will be back ASAP! ☺️

Very mediocre. I booked for a wedding anniversary, thinking it's a fancy restaurant but in fact it's not. Bad: First, i wanted a lobster and they didn't have it. Second, my prawns with chorizo weren't great, i can cook better and they were usual/small prawns which tasted like chorizo because the meat was so strong. Third, creme brûlée wasn't to french standards. Fourth, loos....starting with smell, no music/book playing, dirty in corners. Fifth, service - our waitress behaved like we are best friends, was putting her knee on the couch i was sitting, it was very hot evening but i had to wait water jar for too long, not professional at all. Sixth, how the hell toilet paper ended up in the plant pot in the eating area??? Good: First, miso salmon was good. Second, squeed was not bad. Third, surprisingly tea was very good (the best "meal" of the evening - how ridiculous!) It looks nice on the photos but food in general and actual experience were not good. Disappointed.

The chicken tastes like fish sticks. Not in a good way. Staff was nice and took it back.

welcome was warm, waitresses friendly, attentive but not overbearing, food good.

Visited for bottomless brunch. Good food choices, limited cocktails but those included were good. Service also efficient and friendly

Excellent visit for Lunch , Food excellent choices well cooked and beautifully presente. Waiter attentive great knowledge of Menu polite and friendly 👏👏

Angelo was very kind and attentive to us, he gave us great service would definitely come back again

Great brunch with our server Angelo!

Gets very busy on the weekend but great food and a great atmosphere in the old hospital outpatient building.

Service received was top quality! Our waiter Piotr was brilliant, nothing too much trouble! Shout out to the kitchen staff, food hot, delicious and served quickly! Special thank you to Anastasia who made our desserts! Will be back!

Had a great afternoon tea for our friends 50th on Saturday 20th. The staff were so friendly & helpful!

Good gluten free selection of food.

I had a wonderful lunch at an amazing place to celebrate my graduation from university. I enjoyed a delicious lobster with an amazing sauce, and the complimentary cocktail was the perfect pairing. The staff, especially Angelo, provided a great and delightful service on a sunny day in Cambridge. Thank you for your care!

Great evening at Brown’s. Food was amazing as usual, and our server, Ershi, was very happy to be here! A great character for the role! Drew was also very helpful and sorted a taxi booking for us!! Lovely night :)

Ershi provided amazing service :) would recommend Browns :)

Visited Browns for a Bottomless brunch with friends. I opted for Bellinis and chose the chicken burger from the GF menu. Chicken was a little dry and generally good and drink was good. Staff were friendly and very attentive. There was a grill directly above us, which I can only was a vent or something to do with the air con. It was completely full of crud and clearly had not been cleaned for a long time. I would still go back and visit Browns as the food, drinks and staff were lovely but would love to see the cleaning taken up a notch.

The waiter Ershi was very polite and quick

Fabulous dinner with my family great food and service by Ershi very courteous and helpful. Lovely evening

Amazing service from Ultan who was excellent very accommodating and the food was outstanding and exceptional value for money . Will definitely return , loved the complimentary birthday dessert .

Very friendly staff, particularly the waiters. On the occasion that my family and I dined in, it was for a birthday and the waiter went above and beyond to celebrate it. Food was delicious!! Thanks :)

We had a family celebration at Browns with 23 guests. The food and service were both excellent and we had a wonderful time. The waiting staff were polite and attentive at all times. Abbie was superb and looked after us really well, even offering to take our family photographs. We felt relaxed and happy and couldn't have asked for more. We have enjoyed eating out at Browns for many years and we look forward to many more visits in the future. Thank you very much!

Very comfortable, exquisite food and very attentive service

Visited the Cambridge restaurant during a weekday for their Afternoon Tea as a party of 5. The spread was very lovely and the earl grey tea was delicious. We did all think the service was lacking, unfortunately. Even though the restaurant was virtually empty with only a couple of tables of 2 there at the time, we found ourselves having to wait around for our waiter multiple times as no tea spoons were brought to table until after asking. When first ordering the waiter also asked if we wanted some water and we did ask for a table water for us but that was never brought to table at all. As there was 5 of us having the same earl grey tea, one big tea pot didn’t go a long way, however no refills were offered as we worked our way though, so again we found ourselves having to ask the waiter once our cups were empty for a long while. On refill though, the tea didn’t seem as strong as if poured over the same tea leaves. Having booked in advance, we were a bit disappointed with the service. We might have just been unlucky, as the food was really great.

We were served by Ershi who was incredibly attentive and was in particular brilliant with our kids (aged 7 and 11) by making them feel like important guests themselves and addressing them directly. My son was especially taken with him and even asked him for his autograph! Foodwise - it didn't feel like enough chateubriand although it was nicely cooked and the Bearnaise sauce was lovely. The creme brulee was also utterly delightful. Kids menu gave plenty of food. It almost felt like the kids menu gave too much and adult food portion was slightly too little. In a similar fashio i felt the price of the adult menu food a bit too high but it balanced out with the price of the kids menu being very reasonable (aside from the small box of juice for over £2 - I was expecting a glass of juice instead)

Had a great meal here, food delicious, atmosphere lovely and service was brilliant, Ultan was so friendly! Definitely recommend.

Service was amazing!! Ultan was the best, super friendly and attentive! Highly recommend!

Ultan made our entire afternoon! He was super attentive and continued to ensure our experience was above exceptional! 10/10

We had bottomless brunch and Ultan really made it the best bottomless brunch ever! The service and atmosphere is amazing, I would highly recommend !

I had my breakfast here Excellent Service from the ever willing team to help for every little order you want to give. Smiling service is hard to get these days Decor was good and ita a big place for lunches and dinners Food was good too.

Really good weekday lunchtime dining experience. Good value menu & very tasty meal. Visited beginning of June with my mother for her birthday who was delighted by a surprise dessert! We used to come to Browns regularly in the 90s but haven’t been for many years - I’m glad to say it’s much improved & we won’t leave it so long until come again!

Excellent lunch and tap water but too busy for me.

Browns is a firm favourite in Cambridge. The menu is very good especially the fish dishes. The atmosphere and feel is quite formal but relaxed and the location is perfect close to Botanic Gardens and Museum. The service was pretty slick. Overall, I have visited 4 times and Brown's hasn't disappointed.

Everything was absolutely amazing and Alton’s service was the best!!! Perfect birthday lunch and fair price

Went here for my husbands birthday on Saturday night and it was absolutely lovely. The staff were incredibly friendly and the food was delicious. The Pork Belly in particular was divine. The piano player really made the whole whole evening atmospheric. The only downside was that the service was a little slow, however, they were very busy and I could see that there were quite a few larger parties in, but apart from that, I would highly recommend to anyone that would like a nice evening out.

Great food as always and this time also great service by Ershi !

The staff were impeccable!! they went above and beyond to cater for my wife's allergies , can't thank them enough. Food and drink superb ,atmosphere wonderful,especially the pianist. Highly recommended. looking forward to the next visit. Kind regards Lord Latchford

Waitress was brilliant as was the talented wine waiter.

Nice dinner but I had to share it with an exhibit from the national history museum

The food was disappointing on the whole. Nice building though. Wouldn't go again.

We came in to celebrate my husband's birthday with a small group including our young son who is at an age where dining in restaurants can be a challenge. Everyone on the staff was so patient, friendly and helpful, in particular our waiter Ershi. We all really enjoyed our good too. Overall a great evening!

Last minute booking on a Saturday night. Can't fault it! Food, service and atmosphere were spot on!

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Browns, Cambridge. The atmosphere is lively yet not intrusive, the building -an old cinema- is interesting, the staff are so polite and helpful and the food is always excellent.

Good food, very nice and helpful staff. Service excellent.