Parker's Tavern in Cambridge

Floris was perfect! Great service and meals were perfect. Welcome drinks very much appreciated, would come again without hesitation!

They play live jazz in the bar on Friday evenings, far too loud. Drowns out conversation if you are anywhere near the door in the restaurant. Very poor service which they acknowledged. Kept having to send for wine. Food always served to wrong person- only 4 of us. Shame because the food was excellent.

Having been to Parker’s Tavern for many years we returned after a stint abroad. I had the (time over cooked )venison - lumpy swede that was not properly cooked and a side of mash. They did take it off the bill. The cocktails do not come in a cocktail glass and the wine list is eyewateringly expensive for very basic wines. The menu was very limited as well. Suffice to say we will be sticking to our usual haunts of Luton Hoo, Madingley, La Baita da Piero and Ananta Thai.

Very traditional, historical venue with great fish, 'to die for' chips, all really very well done. Wood-fired oven-roasted whole fish to share was delicious. Wine list very extensive and they have some very good local English Saffron Grange Rose sparkling. Global warming is not all bad.

The best roast dinner I have had for many a year, the service was excellent, efficient but did not feel rushed at all That said I wolfed it down and glad I left room for an excellent desert

Absolutely delicious food and fabulous service. A wonderful date night, sharing a perfectly yummy pie and a lovely atmosphere.

Such a fantastic meal, made even more special by the brilliant Jena. Her attention to detail and beautiful smile was above and beyond. I highly recommend the Chocolate Fondant….as recommended by Jena 10/10

This is the best meal we have had in the U.K. Thanks to Jena and Nithin for the wonderful experience. The mussels, ribeye steak and dessert ice cream were delicious!

Service was incredible, especially Austin! Went for a birthday, safe to say I wasn't disappointed! I'd give this place six stars if I could.

We went there for the birthday of my partner. The setting and the service were amazing. Jena, who was serving us, has been very welcoming. I do recommend!

The booking was made for my birthday as we confirmed with the staff. The menu was disappointingly ordinary. Had the venison with badly mashed swede, 4 crisped kale leaves and a bitter sauce. The balance was wrong. Wine waiter kept returning to pour our wine despite being asked several times to leave it to us to do. Was hoping the menu would have been as good as on visits in 2018 and 2019 but alas no. Where has the old flair gone?

Lovely ambience for Easter Sunday. Kind and friendly staff. Food was enjoyable and decently priced. Large wine selection The waitress Jenna that serve us was fantastic ! Very friendly and gave us very good recommendations. Thanks Jenna !

Really lovely evening. Great food and atmosphere. Super attentive service by the charming Jena (from Vietnam). Lovely on every level…

The food was great but the number of dishes unavailable was disappointing. The surroundings are very opulent. Service was very attentive but we were 1 of only 3 occupied tables!

So first of all we were contacted and bumped from the main restaurant because clearly they had had a better (bigger) booking than ours was. They said we could eat in the bar. There were 3 of us. Two arrived punctually. There was quite a flurry of staff activity when they realised that there was someone sitting at the table we had been moved to in the bar. The rest of the bar was pretty full but not to capacity, although there were reserved tickets on the free tables. It took quite a few moments for by now 3 staff to decide that the guest who was seated at our table had to move. I was left standing in the middle of the bar and many of the already seated guests were able to watch what was happening. I was embarrassed but knew that I was not in the wrong. Fortunately the lady quickly agreed to move. We were provided with a menu and wine list. Clearly we didn’t look carefully enough at the wine list because when the bill for our meals arrived we had been charged £45.00 for three average sized glasses of Sauvignon Blanc. On asking the waitress whether she could check that this was right we were abruptly told that that was their price and that she didn’t fix the prices. I am gluten intolerant. Whilst their menu does acknowledge vegans by listing which meals fit this category, and from memory there is another form of food preference listed, there was nothing about gluten free options. I find this totally surprising and disappointing actually, given their positioning in the local restaurant hierarchy. (Which is up towards the top.) I was able to discuss my allergy with the waitress but nowadays most eateries offer the GF info as standard practice on their menus. We found the waitress quite remote. We expected more. We would have appreciated some reduction on the bill given the move to the Bar and then having to so publicly wait to be seated. This was not forthcoming. Indeed they had already added the 12.5% service charge. We had had enough by now or we would have taken it off the bill. Suffice it to say that my two friends and I won’t be returning.

Excellent from greeting to end, super duper. The joy of the "pop up" Suffolk restaurant chefs was a complete surprise. What a menu, fish dishes that were well presented and cooked so beautifully. Minimum elements and depth of flavour that was awesome, prompt, and professional...

Incredible food and service! Had a great Sunday lunch, the oven roasted chicken was cooked wonderfully! We were served by the lovely Alicia, they were very polite and accommodating, going above and beyond even when we asked about a very specific drink! Will definitely be...

Christina&Dee were very welcoming , professional and accommodating to our requests at reception. Nice cups of tea and scones were the best in the afternoon tea , we feel the chicken lettuce leaf doesn't compliment the rest of the selection but apart from that it...

Delicious food and excellent service- Floris was attentive but not bothersome. He made excellent wine recommendations.

e had a delightful dinner on our stay in Cambridge. Our waiter was Flori who was very knowledgable and made excellent wine suggestions for our courses. He made our dinner a lovely experience and I would recommend wholeheartedly that you reserve a table for dinner...

I wasn't going to leave a review but the experience has stayed with me. I visited with a couple of friends. We sat in the bar to have a pre-christmas coffee. The place is beautiful and the gentleman serving us, I think his name was...

It was a delightful evening at Parker’s Tavern. Emily welcomed us warmly with a pleasant smile, while Amal provided helpful recommendations for various drinks. Lastly, Leah provided excellent service, ensuring everything was timely. A big thank you to the chefs for the delicious food. Special...

A beautiful evening spent at Parkers Tavern, the setting, food, cocktails and wine were perfect. But even better was the service. Floris made our evening a delight, we were so well looked after with choice recommendations and slick service, all with a personal touch. Best...

Nice food and fair price but children’s menu is woeful. Service was average for food but absolutely dire for drinks, the bar is totally inadequate for the number of guests. The restaurant really needs its own dedicated bar. The restaurant is incredibly noisy as no...

What an incredible evening! Floris thoroughly took care of us, from start to finish. What a dream, food was incredible, service even better. Thank you Floris and Parker’s Tavern for an unforgettable evening! Already looking forward to our return

Really good place to go for a special night. Can't say it's cheap, but it is good value. The food is lovely as is the space. Our waiter, Nothing, was also great. It's a place I recommend to people

We came for afternoon tea, but nothing on offer due to out dietary restrictions, unless pre-ordered. Very limited range of food, so had undercooked meat patty in a hamburger. The gluten free dessert was good. Very slow service, and had to ask waiters 3 times...

Amazing service, food and drinks. Amazing menu and options. Jenna was fabulous, friendly and super attentive. Can’t wait to return. Thank you!

We were four people. I got unfortunately an incredibly salted Pollock, which became just uneatable.It has been however refunded , The other meals were very good, and we have been served by a so charming and kind lady :Jenna.

Really fabulous service!! Very attentive to all needs & answered any questions we had. Lovely night & would recommend! The waiters were brilliant - especially Aman!

I was very excited to try out this restaurant for dinner as it had been on my list for a while and I had heard good things. The interior is lovely and stylish, the servers were all polite and you could tell the quality of...

We had starters, mains, desert. Food was lovely and the service was great. The place is very stylish; it had a lot of cachet. We chatted with the staff who were very nice. Place is suited for private and business dinners. Highly recommended.

The building and atmosphere are fantastic. It's such a shame they are let down by such poor management. I can accept you don't take reservations for the bar, but when someone calls ahead and let's you know an approximate table size you can reliably inform them of how busy you expect to be. Today for example, I called several hours ahead and you gave me NO information other than to turn up and hope. Upon arrival, you explain the library is closed because you have over 100 guests staying over! Something you neglected to tell me over the phone, denying me the opportunity to book elsewhere. Fyi, I can see into the library and its completely empty. The management is completely ad hoc, so I would highly advise against betting your dressed up evening in such an amateur location. Pathetic

This is a great place to relax with a drink, work with colleagues, or meet friends or family for a meal. Both the space and the team are very adaptable to the needs of the guest; from an intimate table for 2 to a large,...

We enjoyed a lovely, relaxed meal in this beautiful restaurant with our family and a super sweet server Jena, who made our birthdays very special. Thank you!

The staff was excellent. The drinks were great and the rose petals for Valentine’s Day was a nice touch. It was an amazing time.

We had a really lovely time at Parkers Tavern celebrating a special occasion. From the moment we sat down, Shubham made us feel really welcome, and he was a highlight of the evening. (The steak and ale pie was great as well). We would definitely...

On a friend's recommendation, my husband and I decided to have lunch here to make a change from our usual places. The food, and service, surpassed expectations. The portions were far from skimpy and Mary, our waitress, gave us exactly the right amount of attention....

Lovely experience sitting in the bar being looked after by Amal. Fantastic service and very attentive. The cocktails and food were delicious.

Came for a lovely lunch for my birthday. Service is impeccable and food delicious. The room is bright and buzzy, so the atmosphere was great. You could chat comfortably without it feeling too loud with everyone doing so. And all the staff said happy birthday as I left! Will return!

We were here for my husband’s birthday and had a lovely meal. The service was fantastic (big thank you to the helpful and lovely Jena!) and the food was delicious. The dining room is beautiful and we had a great night. We’ll be back again.

The food was amazing, staff very friendly & the location & atmosphere made for a lovely evening. I had steak which was cooked to perfection.

Amazing food, amazing service and an overall amazing evening! Would highly recommend 🍽️

First time eating here during our stay at the University Arms, we started the evening enjoying a cocktail which the waiter recommended in the library lounge area. Our mean was 5*. I had a steak which was a decent size and beautifully cooked. The restaurant...

First time eating here during our stay at the University Arms, we started the evening enjoying a cocktail which the waiter recommended in the library lounge area. Our mean was 5*. I had a steak which was a decent size and beautifully cooked. The restaurant itself is classic modern decor and had a good buzz about it.

Best Sunday Roast in Cambridge... maybe ever. Incredibly high-quality food and amazing staff. You pay a little more (but not by much!) than a standard pub for top quality and you are well-fed. The staff are extremely polite and professional and you feel well looked after. Could go here every Sunday.

Good food, excellent services 👍🏻 Surprised by the birthday desserts prepared for us with our names written on it. Thank you very much 🥰

Delicious food. And Jena, the waitress, was super nice and attentive. We had the catch of the day and it was great! We will come back!

Went to Parkers Tavern for drinks pre-dinner. Lovely atmosphere a very attentive waiter Andrew. Thank you all for a nice evening.

Absolutely incredible restaurant with impeccable service. We were given a free glass of bubbly to help us celebrate my friend’s birthday as well as a free dessert! We had the set menu which was very reasonable at £19.50 for 2 courses and absolutely delicious. Mary...

The best person here , Austin A very beautiful experience I thank those responsible for this beautiful edifice I love you

Absolutely beautiful venue. Food was ok, a bit rich and a tad too salty for my liking. Service was alright, not what I would've expected from a place like this.

I've been to Parker's Tavern a few times and I think the atmosphere is great, especially when sitting close to the windows overlooking Parkers Piece. The food is great, the menu varies seasonally and it is always very interesting and tasty. The staff are really nice, and one time they even brought me an extra slice of cake and candles because they heard it was my birthday. We recently went with our 3 months old baby and there was space on the window seat to place him in his car seat and there are also spacious changing facilities. Overall I highly recommend this restaurant.

Relaxed, gorgeous interior, fantastic staff, great food. We really enjoyed our time here and recommend it.

Had little time in the area but a big appetite. They whipped us up four delicious tacos in minutes! Appreciated. Bit too fancy for us tho.. cost us £20 for 4 flimsy tacos haha. Not their fault. I shouldn’t have asked my girlfriend to pick where we’d eat 😂🙂❤️

I've been in this restaurant several times because I liked the food and atmosphere. However the last time I also went to the SPA for a massage, with a friend. We both agreed it was dull and we wouldn't go back, but then we decided to go for what it became a dangerous lunch in which I thought I broke a tooth. We ordered the crab for starter, shame that I didn't know mine had a big piece of hard shell, and when unknowingly I crunched on it, I felt immediate pain and worried my tooth was cracked. I reported the situation immediately to the staff, including the Manager and they took the shell away as they were going to "investigate" the incident. They also asked my details but I've never heard from them since (thei happened in October). They removed £10 from the bill (yeah, they still charged me for it, despite what happened) and then I had to pay £59 to go to the dentist because of that incident. I won't go back after this as I have been really disappointed by their poor service as well as the food. Update: since posting this review I've been contacted by the new Manager who very kindly listened to my concerns and resolved the situation. I will be happy to go again to the restaurant (not the SPA) in the future as he showed excellent management skills.

It has a great atmosphere. The meals are quite delicious and satisfying. You should definitely try its cocktails.

My 3rd visit to PT and my 3rd bad experience. I asked for my bill after a short visit and was told it was £17.20 “including” service charge. That was fine so I checked the amount on the machine and went to pay. The person then moved the machine away from me for just 2-3 seconds and looked at the receipt. I assumed this was to check the amount, I then moved my phone towards the device to pay as normal and the transaction successfully went through. Turning my phone over to check the amount debited was correct I then realised I had been charged £18.00. I questioned the person about this… and wait for it………….I was told “Oh I just rounded it up” I asked why and they said “ I just did it” so my advice is either don’t go to this noisy and poorly serviced bar or CAREFULLY check your bill. What next they round up an £180 meal to £200???After trying to get the small refund back (as a matter of principle) the restaurant then went into a melt down as nobody knew how to do a refund, so we gave up and left. Once again the poor service let this establishment down. On previous visits other slightly more major incidents happened where the manager had to get involved, but Parkers has now had its 3 strikes from us, and they are now officially out. I will also make sure I NEVER recommend this business to anyone. 👎🏻

Very unprofessional staff. pretending to be polite but in fact very rude. make me wasting 2 hours waiting for nothing. seriously not recommended

The rib eye steak with oyster mushrooms was excellent. It came with a chimichuri sauce too. We were rather excited by the sweet shop sundae desert which included seasonal/festive jelly sweets. I did order a coffee which I think was forgotten as we waited an extremely long time fot it. This dampened my overall experience alongside a small portion of the crab starter. It was rather lacking on the crab meat I'd say. Judge for yourself by the photo... We had a very enjoyable meal overall. The service was great. Would I come back. Yes.

Had the afternoon tea, food was ok but the service was really bad. They took so long because they got the orders mixed up and then we wanted to order more refills but there was no one around so had to walk to the counter and ask for it, despite this they still charged us service of 20% even though there was none. The place is lovely but would not come back because of the service.

Our family had fine dining here. The experience was good. The environment was great. Would like to recommend.

Lovely food and atmosphere, the staff were very attentive and the service was great. Will be returning again soon.

Gave this another try after a very disappointing meal earlier in the year. It’s got no better. We waited 35 minutes before we even got served a drink - these pre-dinner cocktails arrived less than 5 minutes before the starters appeared. Service is glacially slow and inattentive yet they try and whack on 12.5% service charge. The food here used to be very good. Now it’s mediocre at best and grossly over-priced for the quality you get. The menu has been cut back on a lot too. My soup was tepid and about Pret’s quality - but at least it’s hot in Pret’s. Main courses about good pub grub level of quality at nearly double the price you’d pay in a pub. Sorry Parker’s but I won’t be wasting my money with you again. £70 a head for mediocre food and very poor service just isn’t worth it.

We came as a group of 5 for Sunday lunch and it was a wonderful experience. I chose the beef which was mouth watering and my partner had the pork which was truly sublime. They have a harpist playing on a Sunday which was a lovely touch. Service was really good we had a young man named Oliver. Good wine and great food, we will return! Oh and the cauliflower cheese is the best I've had for a long while!

Everytime we come to Cambridge we visit Parker’s Tavern. The food and service is exceptional. (Try and get one of the stained glass window seats overlooking the cricket ground). The Sunday Roast is great as is the ambience with the harpist playing when we visited this time. As always left full and well watered. See you all again soon!

Although the staff is very nice, the service is appallingly inefficient and slow. The setting is nice but could use a good clean.

Afternoon tea! Stale sandwiches with hardly any filling. Stodgy scones and awful service! Went to the bar to meet up with family members who had been sitting for 30 minutes being totally ignored. Ended up walking out without being served. Complete lack of any management and anyone with any clue how to serve customers.

I proposed to my partner here tonight and the staff made it so special. I can’t thank them enough for making it such a special evening.

Everything would be 5 stars were it not for the ridiculous £7 charge for a sparkling bottle of water.. I mean come on, how do you justify that 🤯🤯

Amazing staff!! We had work 1/2 hour away from the hotel and that required us to eat breakfast earlier than the breakfast started. The amazing staff and Chef arrived to work early in order for us to have a hot breakfast. The English breakfast was amazing! We will certainly visit again and encourage other to do so as well.

I came here for dinner on my first night whilst staying at the hotel for three nights but didn't return. My arrival was slightly chaotic with two hostesses asking me 'how my day was' in the most inauthentic way ever and then the server asking me the same question 30 seconds later! Anyway, the server was charming and very helpful and a great ambassador for the restaurant. The positives: 1. My server The negatives: 1. The restaurant is so dark that I couldn't read the menu, especially when some of it is in size 6-8 font. This is completely unacceptable. The 2010 Equality Act requires businesses to enable partially sighted people to enjoy the same access to services as those who are 100% sighted. 2. Once I did get to grips with the menu with the help of the lovely and very caring server I realised that there were no vegetarian main courses. It's a menu that could have been written in 1990! I'm pescatarian but tend to be vegetarian in places away from the sea as previously frozen fish is never good 3. The fish of the day was only for two people, not one. Not exactly welcoming to solo business travellers! Well done guys! 4. I chose the Cauliflower Soup but minus the roasted pig skin. This is an option on the menu to welcome vegetarians BUT dishes that designed to be be flavoured with meat are never good and this wasn't. It was tasteless. Why not just make a vegetarian cauliflower soup with proper seasoning? It's very simple 5. My main was the Celeriac Noodles with Mushrooms from the 'light / starter' menu. It was absolutely dreadful! No garlic, no chilli, no seasoning and completely tasteless but gloopy and sickly. I was hoping that the cashew taste would really come through but it didn't 6. And it was all desperately overpriced 7. I did think about a cocktail and the menu looked good but once again it was in a tiny font and I couldn't read it 8. The cheeseboard was dreadful 9. And then there's a bathroom. The floor tiles need to be changed - they are SO slippery. How someone hasn't broken a limb by falling I don't know. This is, without question, the worst restaurant I've been to in years.

Absolutely delicious food and impeccable service. Floris was an excellent host and attentive waiter. His attention to detail was spot on and his recommendation of the venison was perfect. All the food was piping hot, full of flavour and the wine was nicely chilled. The surprise Happy Anniversary chocolate truffles were a really nice touch. A lovely atmosphere and great setting for a celebration.

We have been to this stunning hotel and restaurant several times before with equal alternate good and bad experiences. This time I felt I needed to address the issue of consistency and put together a review. On this occasion we were celebrating an 80th birthday. I had the chargrilled sirloin steak which half way through the meal I had given up trying to cut this tough and chewy piece of meat. My wife and mother-in-law had chosen the pollock where the sorrel butter sauce was so over salted and ruined the enjoyment of the fish. We then ordered desert and then coffee to follow. After waiting a while we had only received the coffees, and had to ask a second waiter to remind the first to remember the sugar sweeteners we had asked for earlier; meanwhile the drink was getting cold. I asked the waiter why we were receiving our coffees before our desserts who explained to me if he didn’t serve them to us now they would only get cold waiting on the bar. Finally after about half an hour our deserts arrived. Overall the food we endured this night was on par of a mediocre gastro pub at best with below average service.

Always enjoy our evenings here. Excellent service. Menu could be a little more creative at times. Elegant professional service.

This is a quality place. White table cloths and good food and service to match. I thought it was good value. About the price as good pub food but much more elegant.

Amazing food and great service, would recommend

So booked in here for afternoon tea -Arrived & loved the building & the vibe of the front room but that’s I’m afraid where the good bits ended. We was shown to our table into a corner of a empty back room (no one else about) The host disappeared & we waited 20mins for someone else to come back they wanted to take an order but we hadn’t even been given menus for drinks etc!! in the confusion we now had afternoon tea arrive The afternoon tea itself was lovely - thankfully it came with tea as we never got a drinks choice! I had to make a video because we found it so funny that it was just us & a worker making tables around us for dinner service later on!!! So strange we was sitting away from the vibe of the front room - because of this no staff were around & had to go get staff to ask for the bill as we couldn’t stand 2 wait any longer! 2 groups did come into the room but they both left the building after waiting so long NOT to get served!! I don’t like confrontation-I wanted to raise this with staff in conversation but they didn’t even ask how anything was just waived the card machine in front of me- so That’s why this review is on here!! This is officially the worst service I’ve ever had - NEVER Again - will be passing this onto everyone to avoid!

The food at the restaurant is really poor quality. I had eaten there before in the past and it was fine - but I would not recommend it now. Service was also lacking. They served a steak tartar that was literally steak squeezed through a sausage press with no seasoning whatsoever. Probably the worst steak tartar I’ve ever seen or tried to eat - really insanely bad. This was followed by a pollock which tasting of nothing at all, served with dry potatoes. Something has gone very wrong with the restaurant or chef. Sad because the venue is nice and it’s a great location.

A beautiful experience and a fancy venue to lounge about.

Absolutely fantastic Sunday roast dinner and staff were fantastic as always. It’s a pleasure every time I visit xx

Went for a cocktail. Decor lovely. Cocktail was either poorly balanced or lacked all the ingredients as could only taste lime and not the Cointreau , maraschino or rhubarb as listed

Lovely afternoon tea here. Seated in the bar instead of the library this time but it was still good. The food was very nice and an extra plate of sandwiches was no trouble (at no extra price). I must mention our server, Sean. He was...

Was served by Sean who could not do enough to make my lunch comfortable. The other bar staff Ricardo and another charming gent were also very welcoming. The front of house staff were very accommodating too.

We keep coming here for our social work lunch, it’s a beautiful location serving great food.

Great food and service is great.

I have been coming to Parkers Tavern since 2018. I usually have the lemon sole. Have brought friends for lunch/dinner, and for cocktails at the bar (love the Wittgenstein Poker). Lunch today so bland and uninspired. I had trout with potatoes and squash. Spare yourself...

When i come to Cambridge i want the best place to drink cocktails, and this is the place. Thank you Freddie for that Mai Tai, it was delicious, and thanks Paul for that personalized service.

A wonderful environment complimented by live jazz and cocktails, who could ever ask for more. A must see for any Cambridge visit!

Excellent cocktails, expertly made.

Although I booked a table for my birthday afternoon tea, I was asked to wait at the bar for a long time, even when my guests arrived. The food was not served quickly either.

Harry served us all (4 adults and 4 babies) and he was WONDEFUL. thank you. Just perfect hospitality. Come!

Amazing traditional British place with house history since 1834. Staff was very friendly, very fast and food itself was extremely amazing

I decided to treat my family to an evening at Parkers Tavern. The whole evening was extremely relaxing, starting in the beautifully decorated bar, enjoying handcrafted cocktails, before being guided into the restaurant to enjoy unrivalled food. We were introduced to a number of wonderful...

Service slow but food incredibly delicious. A little on the expensive side for what you get.

Food was very nice but steak was not as good as other places I've had. Service was ok but not as attentive as it could be.

Cocktails are good. Olives are a rip off. Fiver for 7 olives. Makes you bloody sick! You wouldn't get that up north...

I had an absolutely exceptional dining experience at Parker's Tavern. From the moment I walked in, the atmosphere was inviting and charming. The service was impeccable, with knowledgeable and attentive staff who made excellent recommendations.

The food was ok, and overpriced. The cauliflower tempura was simple and nice, but the lemon sole felt mostly like a salty fish salad.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Tavern. Elizabeth was a fantastic server with perfect recommendations. The good was fresh and local, prepared with perfection! This is a must- do in Cambridge.