The Barley Mow in South Cambridgeshire

Great pub recently refurbished. Very nice atmosphere and busy . Food was lovely for a greene kong menu.

Place is ok but the food is terrible. Supposedly fresh but definitely out of a microwave. I had a roast on Sunday and it was not edible and had to send it back. Will never return and would not recommend.

We had a lovely lunch here today, lovely food and excellent service.

Faultless service and excellent food.

Had a fantastic lunch with my partner here today 10th October 2024. Great food, excellent service, highly recommended we will return soon.

Best food i had while visiting cottonham

Can't fault food or service.prices very good and food was lovely.bar man was very friendly would highly recommend

Arthur is the best, brilliant service, recommended the best food and came and checked us after and delivered our new drinks, absolutely great bar host with excellent bar skills, great place to dine

I have visited this pub 3 times recently for lunch/dinner and have really enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere is friendley and relaxed and the food is very good. Can highly reccomend the Veggie or chicken Tacos, Katsu Curry, Beef Burger, Mixed Grill and Pie & Mash, all cooked well and tasty. Ignore the bad reviews and try it for yourself. I'm looking forwward to trying the Sunday Roast.

Lovely place fantastic food with a great choice of starters and mains, was stuck for choice of what to order, i had the burger yesterday and I have to say it was the nicest burger I have had for a very long time, cooked to perfection, lovely and tender, looking forward to going back to try the Sunday roast. huge choice of lager and reasonably priced for a village pub. We was made very welcome by the owners and staff. Thankyou for a great family day, will be back soon.

Always read the reviews.. (I forgot to) As the boot around the corner looked busy we decided to give this place a try for lunch .. don’t bother ! big disappointment all around Staff , food , drinks , atmosphere all Meh.. not one positive point to give .. only worth going if the football is on and u fancy a pint .. stick to what u know ..

Pleasant and efficient staff, good atmosphere and decor, but rather a let down on the food front, for me. I went with a group for lunch and had the Beef & Ale Pie (Best Pub Pie Champion & Gold Award Winner ... one wonders what the losers were like!) which was supposed to come with broccoli but arrived with a few sad carrot rings, not peeled, half-cooked and dry looking. (Another guest asked for a substitute serving of peas when she saw hers). The pie looked inviting but the filling was mostly gravy with a few bits of dubious meat; there was no need for the extra jug of gravy. The pastry was robust and as expected. Yes, we were asked if eveything was OK but there seemed little point in mentioning the disappointment given that I was eating the pie anyway. Most of the rest of the group semed to enjoy their food so I am being hard to please, yet again. We had pre-ordered and the food arrived in good time after our arrival.

Lindsey and Mark are very welcoming and offer a great service. The locals or regulars are also lovely and friendly too. The back garden is big and nice environment to have family gatherings. It’s also dog friendly 😊

Sunday lunch was dreadful, very tough inedible beef, potatoes overcooked, broccoli raw. Only saving grace was the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which was excellent. Decided to try the Barley Mow after it’s refit but won’t be returning

New management are so lovely and friendly I came with a few of my friends I had a katsu curry and it tasted lovely I will definitely be coming back more often

Surprised to see a review saying staff were rude then saw it was 6 years ago. We have visited a couple of times and have had a lovely experience on each occasion. It's a completely new management and team and they are friendly and helpful. Good food at a reasonable price ensures a good evening out. Will be back

Great little pub in the centre of Histon Great food and service, and also excellent value for money. Would certainly recommend, nice little beee garden. Good choice of beers and lagers as well

Visited The Barley Mow as part of a group on a weekday lunchtime and couldn't fault the service or the quality of the food. The staff were friendly and helpful. I would certainly recommend this restaurant.

Arrived in Cambridge Friday 31st May after a 5hr drive. We read on their website that they served Thai food. We went to the Barley Mow around 5pm ready to order our Thai meals, only to be told that they don't serve Thai food! Apparently the previous owners did and the new owners cannot for some reason, remove the menu from their website. Disappointed yes, we decided to stay so we ordered Prawn Linguine with cheese and rocket. Not at all what we expected, about 4 very small prawns and pasta in what tasted like barbecue sauce! No cheese or rocket on either plate. I complained when paying saying it wasn't at all like a prawn linguine dish plus minus the cheese and rocket. The young barman apologised and said that he would "let the chef know". With a bottle of Rose and a beer our bill was £57. Also, a family sat next to us ordered steaks, only to be told that they didn't have any, they ordered lambs shanks, again to be told they weren't available saying there had been delivery problems!! If you want a drink, it's ok nice decor etc..if you want a decent meal go elsewhere. Do not waste your money here. It is so disappointing and annoying to go to an eatery, advertising good food, only to find it's average!! Many British pubs do not and cannot offer decent food! I dread to think what tourists say about it!!

A great place for lunch and a pint 😀 👌 great service and lovely atmosphere.

Great meal my partner had Scampi and I had the mixed grill, the meat was so tender I didn't use a steak knife

Food was out very quickly. Very polite staff And very good atmosphere.

As soon as we walked in we were made to feel so welcome. Everyone was so friendly. The food was great and nothing over priced. Will definitely return we had such a great time

We had amazing experience 2 sundays ago. We booked table of 8, with 5 of them being people with special needs and staff was very welcoming , very caring and patient. We very much enjoyed our meals and our visit. Wonderful staff

Wow. The new new owners are great and have improved things. I've been for one weekday lunch and a Sunday Roast that were both good and value for money. We will be back.

Lovely lunch at the Barley mow Histon today. My lunch was so delicious I forgot to take a photo of my jacket potato with hunters chicken. Perfectly cooked with lovely salad garnish included. Took picture of my Eton mess sundae as I savoured it. Warm welcome from the new landlady Lyndsey Ward , newly decorated and great garden space. Looking forward to my next visit. Would recommend the hunters chicken jacket potato as great value for money and lovely filling lunch

Just ate at Barley Mow with my family for the first time. Tasty, affordable food served quickly. All staff were very friendly. Special mention to our waitress,Rebecca on her first full shift. She did a great job. We will be returning soon!

Really good makeover, great atmosphere, really pleasant staff.

Had lunch here on a sunday . Good friendly staff Great food My only negative is my beef and ale pie could have been hotter . It was only just warm and bigger portions of mash and veg would have been better . Still a very nice pie .. My wife had fish and chips and was pleased with her food . I will try them again soon when they are settled in as this was their first sunday service since they took on the pub ..

We came in for lunch on Easter Monday, the decor is lovely, and the menu had lots of options. Our food was lovely. I didn't take the young man's name that served us, but he was helpful, knowledgeable.

Visited the barley mow last night with a friend who lives near by The pub has been taken over by a new lady and land lord called lyndsey and mark ward recently lovely couple and lovely welcome. The food was excellent and didn't have to wait long for it either Reasonable prices. Service by staff was very friendly and so was the atmosphere. Lots if events of what's going on in the future over all brilliant night. Well done lyndsey and mark good luck for the future and will be back in 2 weeks Michelle Mott

This pub/restaurant is a true gem with new owners who have infused it with charm and warmth. The food is lovely, extremely affordable and I must say the best chicken wings I’ve had in a long time!! The beautiful new revamp adds to the dining experience, making every visit a delight. Mark and Lyndsey the new owners are so friendly, and welcome you with a warm smile. Highly recommend this place for a perfect blend of quality, ambiance, and affordability.

Quite alot of the senior menu was unavailable as was the barstaff. 2 separate couples came in and after waiting with no service they left. No wonder it is not busy.

Mid week drink curtailed as the pub closed early due to lack of customers 😕

Beautifully renovated but let down by the service and food.

We ordered the risotto which was under-cooked (the rice was hard). When we complained we were told that "Nobody else has complained" We had a refund then went to The Red Lion.

Fish and chips like a Microwave meal, not overly impressed.

We've had Easter launch. Yummy food, big portions. Excellent service. Definitely will go back soon. Visit it after the renovation and new owners. Unfortunately not the same food quality as the previous owner, but better interior design instead.

Had to approach staff after an hour of waiting for our food. Apologies were made. 5mins later our food finally started to arrive. One of the dishes was completely not what was stated on the menu. Supposed to be toasted and just came out cold. One of my friends dinners didn’t arrive at all. After another 10mins and sharing our food just so she has something to eat we had to re approach staff to find out where it was. An off the cuff ‘sorry we thought it was a duplicate ticket’ (two of us had ordered the same things) When other tables were having their food brought out often they were wrong and had to be taken back to the kitchen. Or people had finished eating before other members on their table had even received theirs. It wasn’t just us. A lot of this could have been avoided/been made better at the time. We were offered 25% off our next meal as an apology but with the service we got we will not be returning. Very disappointing after such a lovely refurb. Wouldn’t recommend!

Amazing renovation, service was so friendly and food was delicious. Will definitely be going back!

Great food and excellent service. Love the new revamp, will definitely come back

Lovely experience at Barley Mow, food and drinks are lovely. The girls behind the bar Abi, Chloe and Mel are all friendly and service is quick. Overall would recommend

Great staff Abi and Chloe were fab!

Amazing experience with the staff and the atmosphere, Abi (behind the bar) was especially chatty and happy, and it made my day. Would recommend anyone for a good time and a lovely night!!!

The most AMAZING lamb shank with a sauce to die for! Wonderful friendly service too, thank you.

Lovely atmosphere, tasty good quality food at good prices. The staff were all lovely and attentive, particularly Abi who was very chatty and smiley. Will be returning again

Beautiful new decor, super friendly staff and amazing food. Highly recommend 👍🏻😁

Foods great!! Would recommend people to come for food!! ❤️

I rang earlier this week to book a table for 3 people at 1500, specifically asked for a table to be able to watch footie, was told on Sunday lunches available and they stop serving those at 1530. Got there just before 1500 only to be shown a table at the very back, so asked if we could sit elsewhere, was told yes not a problem, the lady then said they had no more Sunday lunches and could only order from normal menu. So we ordered 3 different meals for lunch. This was about 1520. At 1600 we asked where our meal was to be told that it hadn't been sent through to the kitchen! Eventually the food came out - footie had kicked off by this time, defeating the object of out for lunch before kick off! Very disappointed in the way we were treated. Will not be bothering them again.

Lovely refurbishment undertaken under new management. New manager really friendly, great food and atmosphere. Couldn't have asked for a better meal out with family. Quality food for the price too. I'm looking forward to going again.

Absolutely abhorrent service. Had the absolute displeasure of meeting the new ‘landlady’. Three days after opening we walked in, there were 2 people in there (midday Saturday) and we were immediately sworn at because it wasn’t clear how to get the bar side and we accidentally went the wrong way as I wasn’t expecting to have to walk past the toilets to get to the bar. Bad design. The language hurled at my partner was absolutely unnecessary and plainly rude. Within not even two mins of being in there she was threatening to place a ban on us for mere basic confusion of the layout of her pub. In a village with so many other delightful pubs I wouldn’t even step through the door. Take my advice.

We went last night for the opening evening of the new owners. The staff were outstanding friendly and very helpful. The food was brilliant me and my eldest boy had the classic burger, my daughter had mac and cheese and my youngest had child's tomato pasta with garlic bread. Followed by the fudge cake, chocolate ice cream and apple and blackcurrant crumble and custard. We look forward to coming back to try the roast dinner. Well done to all the staff who handled a very busy opening evening. Good luck for the future of your new business

Proper pub , brilliant beer and food. Friendly service and welcoming staff. Highly recommend

Great place and great food. Family friendly too, I have two young kids and the staff were super helpful! I will 100% be going back!

Visited with friends and family! It was absolutely brilliant! Top tier service and the atmosphere and vibes were up to match! Service from management and staff were excellent! Would highly recommend! Food was fantastic too.

New friendly owners with welcoming staff. Food was great and good prices. Great service.

New owners really smashing it !! great food and an amazing atmosphere! family friendly, definitely would recommend!

A lovely relaxed pub. Outside beer garden; a pool table inside, great to see games in a pub. Good was good, a choice of Thai food or the more traditional pub fare. Prices were good too.

Visited on Saturday evening with my wife, toddler and baby. The young girl that served us was excellent - very attentive and friendly. The food was a little dissapointing compared to the previous visit but still good value for money. The night was however spoilt by the senior bloke working there, who was presumably the manager. He frequently used foul language and could be heard across the pub. I won't return and it's a shame given our previous good experience.

Good service. Not sure if there is a new owner but the new manager is brilliant, she could not do enough to help with a smile. Major improvement

Lovely food and fantastic prices

I was in the area for a meeting and was looking round for a place, fairly early in the evening for a bit to eat. I saw the board advertising a Thursday Chilli Con Carne special, so I parked in their car park, had a fairly pleasant chill with a Diet Coke, and left. All in? about 40 minutes. Shortly afterwards, I received a parking fine for the offence of parking in the car park of the pub I was eating in. I didn't see a sign outside (not suggesting it's not there - I just didn't see it) and I didn't see a registration tablet inside; it certainly wasn't pointed out to me in any case. I appealed the fine to the Ombudsman and even supplied a copy of my bank statement evidencing that I had eaten there,,,,, yet have just found out my appeal has been rejected. To say I am just LIVID at paying over £100 for a Chilli Con Carne and a watered down cola is an understatement. I should have gone to Ivy Cambridge, parked where it is super clear I have to pay and had a glass of finest Malbec with a 300oz fillet steak and chips. If I could review the cabal that calls itself an independent ombudsman service, I would.

Wasn’t very welcoming at all, walked in and everyone was sat round the door staring. And was greeted by the bar made who was sat down at one of the table’s with a ‘every time I sit down’

I booked a table, a month in advance for Valentines. On arrival Valentines night, I was told they didn't open the Kitchens on a Tuesday, despite my booking clearly in the dairy (complete with telephone number) There is a reason the carpark at the boot is full and the one at the Mow empty. We have loved the Mow in the past, and had chosen it because it was the place of our first date. Fortunately the people in the Boot were kind enough to let us eat in their resturant, despite not booking on a very busy evening

Disgraceful. Not the way I intend to start this rant but the truth must come forward. There was no escape from the foul scent. My buddy dezza had a tumble and the staff members recorded him and laughed. Dezza ended up in hospital with a torn ligament. These staff members should be fired immediately and the business should be shut down. Never coming back here ever again, it has put a poor name on the entire Cambridge community

Absolutely rubbish, went for a Thai takeaway, no way was this Thai, dried up chicken, a lot of raw broccoli, no other ingredients, feeling guilty that I live in this village that advertise a pub that cooks Thai because I certainly do not recommend it

Drink here often, nice pub, all the staff are brilliant and they serve the best pint of Abbott Ale anywhere, foods great as well

Came here after a friends sons first bday party round the corner at the British legion. My friend came to meet us an hour later,Parked in their car park,by this point it was pitch black and he came into the pub and ordered a drink as normal… We were there an hour.. tops. This morning my friend has received a parking charge for £60 from 2 months ago!! From Previous reviews I can now see you’ve said there are signs everywhere but who the heck is looking in the pitch black and cold… he wanted to get in. There then was no mention at the bar or by any staff of this charge. We thought it was a generic pub car park free to the paying customers. And by the looks of it,everyone who has fallen victim to this felt the same! We were going to return for food,with the run up To Xmas as the food looked and smelt amazing,but definitely wont be now!!

My wife and I parked in the pub car park on September 2nd and had Sunday lunch in the pub. I forgot to register the car. Smart Parking have been given full details of the Visa transaction to prove that we were paying customers of the pub. However they are continuing to bully my wife and my sister in law, two vulnerable people, for payment of what they say is a valid fine.

I parked here for a quick drink and forgot to register my car. I received a fine which unfortunately is proving virtually impossible to reverse despite asking the rather unfriendly landlady. I certainly won’t return. certainly won’t return. won’t return again

thai menu is excellent and a nice surprise as you dont expect it in a pub. lovely service too. enough on the menu to keep the children happy too and other options for people who want something less spicy.

we called at last minute and the pub accommodated us, the food we ordered was lovely and after a pretty bad experience earlier in the day with food, this looked and tasted like food. yes we had to wait for a little while and that was because all the food was cooked from scratch so yummy and a fair amount of it. staff members were polite as were the patrons of the pub letting us know about the dogs walking around, all in all a very good experience and we were treated with respect.

Parked here for a quick drink (without registering with someone at the pub where I was parked in their car park) & I received a £60 fine through the post. Now having to go through the appeal process. The Car Park was empty.

Decent pub meet locals in there and had a good chat with people in there

I’m astonished at some of the negative reviews posted here. A friend and I have been coming here weekly whenever possible, for the past 3-4 years. From the outset we were amazed at the quality of the Thai food - the subtle balance of spices and seasonings, the nice variety and the ideal portion sizes - as well as the price. Back then they were offering a “Thai trio”: 3 medium-sized dishes with rice or noodles for £15. After the pandemic, that sort of value wasn’t sustainable for them, and now we typically pay £19 (total) for two full-size dishes, which is still excellent value. Also, they used to have two chefs, one who was ok and the other who produced this superlatively subtle Thai food. About a year ago they lost the not-so-good one and kept the great one, Toby. He’s not actually Thai, and I see one comment about “inauthentic Thai food” - well, I’ve never been to Thailand, and I notice that perhaps his sauces are thicker than would be strictly authentic, but you know what? I really like ‘em like that! The flavours are amazing, with a delicate balance of galangal, lemon grass and goodness knows what - totally delicious! Their house beer, “Barley Mow”, is like Greene King IPA but even nicer, and they store it well and clean the pipes regularly so the quality stays high. It’s true that the rather vicious parking system can easily catch you out, and I wish they wouldn’t use it. But if you get a parking ticket, just take it back to The Barley Mow and they’ll get it cancelled for you straight away. I know that must be very annoying if you’re not local, but fortunately I am. Parking aside, I give the BM top marks for quality, value and friendly service. Long may it flourish!

Popped in for lunch (green curry, with an aperitif of gin and tonic), and it was lovely.

Very good service could not do enough for us, food was good quality usual pub food very reasonable price, if we lived closer would definitely go back to try more of their menu

The most unauthentic Thai food I've ever eaten....... nice location, beautiful garden, but I went for food....... avoid the Thai menu, don't believe the chef has ever visited Thailand or had a Thai cooking lesson.....ever. POOR

Most unauthentic Thai food I've ever eaten.... avoid the Thai menu!!

Nice ale and friendly atmosphere Good pool table

They charged my 82 year old dad 170.00 to park in their car park for 2 hour lunch because he had not seen signs about parking registration!! Thieves, do not us this pub

We had to wait ages for our food. Served on cold plates. The steak and ale pie was very nice but the mash and peas were luke warm. My partners steak was very nice but cold chips. There was a infuriating woman who started talking...

Fantastic value and quality 3 meat roast dinner. Great service from friendly and efficient staff. Will certainly come back.

My first date after being single for 5 years was met with a parking £60 parking fine. when you arrive in the dark the signage is NOT clear, its not lit up so you don't know its there or to expect it in a pub!!...

Lovely place and the staff are so friendly and attentive... Nice Sunday lunch with Yorkshire's...

Ridiculous service. Had to wait over an hour after ordering the food. The bar tender did not warn about the wait. Left furious without lunch. Won’t recommend.

Not recommended. Ridicoulous rip off, I got a £60 parking ticket after using the pubs parking for customers BEWARE THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF. NOT RECOMMEMDED. NOT A GOOD WAY TO TREAT CUSTOMERS THAT SPENT MONEY AT THE SHOP. CHARGED £60 FINE FOR 118 MINS OF PARKING. NEVER COMING BACK TO THIS PLACE! AVOID!

My husband brought a take away from here last night...worst food I have ever tasted. Sweet and sour chicken was disgusting...even the dog wouldn't eat it. Would give no stars but unable. Avoid like the plauge

Good menu choice from east to west with a Thai and standard pub menu. They had some delivery problems impacting one of the dishes ordered but what was provided instead was excellent. Nice atmosphere and a friendly little pub dog which is always a bonus.

A simple sandwich lunch and catch up with a friend I haven’t seen for over a year. The food was very nice but unfortunately, despite there only being 3 other tables at the time we were there, it took over an hour for our sandwich and jacket potato to arrive! The barman blamed the kitchen being very busy, but we think they just forgot about our little order. They offered to compensate us when they made up the bill but it was such a shame they dropped the ball in the first place. Very disappointing. On the plus side - great catch up with friend!

We ordered a takeaway for collection later that evening. Sadly the items served did not show much resemblance to the descriptions on the menu and the quality was questionable. Mixed starter consisted of chicken satay (well, chicken skewers, but no satay sauce), a couple of...

The food here is really amazing. The price is very good for the quality. One of the best meals I had in Cambridge in years; congrats chef!

Disappointing Sunday lunch experience. When we booked we weren’t told that the full menu wasn’t available so disappointed to just have roast dinner options - was looking forward to some Thai. Food took over an hour to arrive and was unimpressive. Roast potatoes looked as...

I would like to reiterate what others have said re parking, I found the land lady rude and aggressive on the phone. We received a parking fine for pulling over in her car park to see to our crying 7 month old and whilst I...

Came to the barley today, had the mixed Thai starter which was really nice, recommend if you go there, was happy to substitute the satay chicken for ribs which was tasty. Had the beef massaman curry and that was also very tasty asked for extra...

We visited this place for dinner and drinjs, everything was amazing, food really tasty beers taste so fresh!! Rob was really great! That guy should have a big pay rise!!!!

Dreadful pub. Walk a little further and go to the Red Lion or Rose and Crown. Staff here are rude and have a bad attitude.

I was working at Impington school and found this pub by chance. Wow what a find. The most Brilliant staff, Laura, Ali and Lily. Always so friendly and helpful. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this pub. Great outside facilities. I will miss this place until...

Better when can get out of the cold wind on 17th..nice people serving the beer

My husband took me here for our anniversary meal! Staff were really friendly and helpful. We received excellent food and service. Waiting time for food was so quick. Really lovely place. Highly recommended.