The Old Spring in Cambridge

Local pub through & through, plenty of room, nice atmosphere & friendly staff. Not so noisy you can't talk.

Booked a table for 8 from midday for Sunday lunch. Upon arrival informed we only had the table until 2.30, why not tell us that when we booked, we had guests travelling from Norwich. At 1.50, as the last mouthful of dessert was being swallowed a member of staff asked if there wasn’t anything else, would we like the bill as they needed us to vacate the table, apparently the next booking had arrived early! Really shoddy service, the group have met at this venue for the last 5 years or more but never treated so poorly, we will be looking for a new venue for the next meet up.

Great setting and good food. Wasn't too noisy on a Wednesday evening so it is possible to have a good conversation.

Overpriced average food. Stuck behind a disabled toilet which opens in a very tight sitting only. Staff was nice though.

Pleasant ambience... friendly staff.. Large portion of fish and chips...but.. although it looked amazing..there was little or no flavour...which was very disappointing Coffee very good

Good food and quick service, Thank You

The standard of the food was very poor. The waitress arrived with our mains when we had only just been given our starter. The dessert was just awful this was not a baileys cheesecake at all but more a cereal bowl with a biscuit base and cream topping and we did give feedback. I will never return and would not recommend this as a gastro pub

Food was pretty good quite honest with you. The seating wasn’t overly great if you wanted to sit in the bar and have a drink, but very comfy and very warm for the winter time.

Have never been able to fault this pub, been going there for 30+ years and it's been consistently excellent even with change of ownership but disappointed as a service charge seems to now be added even if you order at the bar. Would prefer the prices going up so you know what you are paying, it's not as if you can collect your food yourself from the kitchen and staff are there to serve you. I know you can ask for the service charge to be taken off but that's embarrassing for everyone.

Nice food, good price, great portions, friendly service

Omg, Wagyu steak burger quite simply incredible, best beef burger I have ever had anywhere! Mmmmmmm. Lovely place, staff were so friendly and helpful. Highly recommended!!

Very pleasant as a pub. Good atmosphere. Food pretty average. Tried the Greek menu. In the specials menu so some had run out, but that's fair. Food was decent portions but a little uninspiring. Would go back for a drink but not to eat. I was expecting more from gastro pub. Perhaps other options on menu would have been more complex.

They put an effort into notifying people on the parking charges and how to avoid it

Steak was ober oriced at £30. Fatty Steak, a few wedges and a bit of salad. Worse thingvthat happened was i noticed dead flies in the Vinegar pot aftet we had finished the meak which made me feel sick. Told the lady serving who said its just the hot weather and offered no discount. This was a week ago

Fantastic Staff❤️ Delicious food & Nice atmosphere ❤️

At first it looked from the outside as if there were hardly any guests there, but then when we went in we noticed that it was loosely full. It was very cozy, also has a covered beer garden and many different types of beer, very good fish and chips, my wife had a very tasty veggie burger. Nice atmosphere, clear recommendation to eat there in the evening!

Pub accogliente, staff cortese, buono il cibo, con una lieta sorpresa: la serata a tema greco, con alcuni piatti tipici molto gradevoli (ottimo l'agnello); lo staff, abbiamo scoperto dal menu, viene in buona parte dalle isole greche. Συγχαρητήρια !

My Waygu beef burger was a tale of two halves … but largely excellent. Plus points – GREAT beef pattie; flavoursome, tender, meltingly moist. - The burger did NOT have a stupid bamboo stake through it, sufficient to kill a vampire. That usually a sign that an establishment has no idea how to ‘build’ a proper burger. - Flavoursome crispy bacon. Minus points – It was my turn to get the gherkin peelings; not gherkin slices, just skin! See picture. - For the extra £2, the amount of cheddar cheese was microscopic. - The generous slice of beefsteak tomato was so unripe as to be tough. It needed several more days on a sunny windowsill before serving to anyone. It was as if my burger had been assembled by two chefs – the good chef and the evil chef! Luckily, good chef won 😊 PS – check your website – the word “Menus” should NOT have an apostrophe in it (see picture)

Small and quite quiet on a Saturday night, but the cocktails are 2 for £15 instead of £9.75 each, and the food is delicious. Great, attentive service. Definitely a little gem worth seeking out.

quiet evening, friendly staff, food selection of drinks nice to sit outside in covered area

This was an amazing place, and the food was first class and affordable. It was a great venue choice and wine list. The staff were very professional and friendly 👏

Great place, food is great, staff realy nice, recommed a visit.

Excellent food. Salad served with burger and fries was beautiful and delicious. Quaint neighborhood location.

Only been once, not my favourite sort of spot, can't see enough of the street for my liking and tables outside were full. Bar man got to me fast enough though and the beer was good, didn't stay long, will go again at some point. Good one to stop on way through or go for evening meal maybe

I went here in my powerchair as I had spoken to the staff on the phone and they had advised that the pub was wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately, whilst this is true in theory, it’s not true in practice. There is a large lip in the both doorways to enter the building that my powerchair struggled to get over, and I imagine a smaller wheelchair would have struggled even more so with. However, the main issue is the disabled bathroom. The door is stopped from fully opening by a table behind the door. There is also a table very close to the other side of the door, so that had anyone been dining at either table I would have had to ask them to stand as my powerchair barely fit through with no one sat there due to the door not opening fully. I also could not wheel my powerchair into the toilet, as they were storing spare high chairs in there. I ended up having to get out and stand and maneuver my chair into the toilet, against the high chairs, so I could close the door. This meant it would have been impossible to get any wheelchair close to the toilet. This was okay for me, as I am an ambulatory wheelchair, and therefore can walk some short distances. However, someone who cannot walk would not be able to use this bathroom at all due to them using it as a storage space. Overall, I would suggest if you are looking for a wheelchair accessible pub not to come here, despite what staff may tell you.

Lovely Sunday roast. Claims to be the best in Cambridge, it's definitely one of the best.

Slightly out of the centre but convenient if you are staying at the Travelodge, Premier Inn etc on Newmarket road - its a pleasant 20 minute stroll from these. Service was prompt, food nice & well kept range of Adnams beers on the hand pump

Noisy. £12.50 for 2 pints or real ale! Not even a City Centre pub. Less than £10 where I live 15 miles south of Cambridge. Did not eat. No money left. Parking gestapo as well. Not my scene.

I liked the food - had a burger. But I really don’t think it was great value for money. Stang quite a bit paying so much and also an included service charge.

Great service, great food. A really welcoming establishment. Highly recommended. Had the most amazing steak, kudos to the chef.

Friendly good pint of Abbot Ale 👍🏻

Stopped for lunch, Bacon & Brie Ciabatta, was lovely definitely recommend.

Had a chicken and bacon ciabatta which was very tasty and reasonably priced. Southwold bitter also excellent. Convivial surroundings and good service

A nice little fi d, but quite expensive

Fantastic pub x Friendly staff x 👌 x

As usual this review is based food quality, staff attitude, atmosphere and local-standard value for money. Maybe a bit overpriced but a nice pub with a nice atmosphere inside, fresh, modern. Interesting menu with a couple of variations compared to the classic pub menu (even a couple of vegetarian options) Over the last twenty years I have been travelling for business (and not) reason and I have discovered a lot about the world of catering.

Had seabass with Vegetables. Vegetables uncooked. Fish just okay.

Nice place and friendly bar staff. Food was lovely but a bit on the expensive side.

Great food and amazing service 👌

Popped in for a pint ,just passing by.

Discovered them by accident, but what a find. Good food and excellent service. Will definitely go back.

Lovely food, very generous portions and quick service. We came here for Sunday roast as a group of 5. We reserved in advance so got seated quickly. Orders were taken promptly, the drinks and food arrived right after we placed our orders. The roast was delicious. I didn't manage to finish it all as it was a very generous portion. We had all types of meats across the table and everyone commented on how nice it was. This pub is dog friendly which is an added bonus. We will definitely come back again

We booked on a very busy day, so thankful that the table was ready for us. Lentil salad was excellent, both tasty and hearty. Roast was good.

We chose the Old Spring as a dinner destination because the online menu lists allergens and explicitly mentions marked menu options can be made gluten free on request; as one of our party has coeliac disease, this seemed ideal. A gluten free burger was duly ordered, and arrived in very recognisable Warburtons GF sandwich thins in lieu of a bun; which, not quite what I expected from the place, but fair enough. The bigger problem was the only accompaniement being a bowl of chips. We asked to confirm whether the chips were safe, since battered items were also on the menu, and separate deep friers are unusual and highly advertised where they exist - were the chips fried in the same oil as the floured menu items (e.g. "beer-battered haddock")? Following a blank look and a visit to the kitchens, in lieu of an answer to the question we asked, we were told that no guarantees could be made about /any/ of the food with respect to allergen content. No further information was provided, and no alternatives offered. Since it was unclear whether the chips could be safely eaten by that diner, she had to leave them. I urge the owners not to claim in their online menu that gluten free meals can be provided on request if this is not actually the case, so that visitors can make fully informed plans. Hopefully this review will help others until this is addressed.

Had such a great meal here. Started with fried goat cheese appetizer and had the T-Bone for the main course. Steak was cooked perfectly and everything was delicious. The service was great and staff were very friendly and helpful.

Nice and cosy local pub far from the town centre crowd, even so I feel it is too expensive for the quality of the food and wine offered. It was an OK meal versus other pubs in town.

Lovely service and brilliant food! Would definitely come again

We love this pub as the locals, they are the best! Always love coming here

You was really busy today, you all did really well, we all had roasts, so much on the plate and really tasty, sticky toffee dudding finished us off, not to mention a few beers All tasted good and we had a great time, even the dog had a good time, nice to see a good pub doing well.

British pub with parking close to the city centre, great variety of beers and food is nice. Recommended if you're passing by, enjoy!

Popped in for a Sunday lunch at about 2pm. We didn't book but got a table quite easily. Sat down and the waitress took the drinks order. She came back for the food order and we were told there were no roasts available. quite disappointed by the news as it was only 2pm and the restaurant was not packed out. Because we had already started our drinks we were kind of tied in. So we both ordered the Fish & Chips which came out very quickly. The fish batter was stodgy and thick to the point of being sickly. Cold peas. The chips were ok. Over £60 for a fish and chips we didn't eat and a glass of wine. Just not very good.

Great food and service. We had the beef roast and it was delicious...

Decent place with good service and food at a sensible price for Cambridge. Good selection of beers.

Met a friend for dinner here last night. I haven't been here for years and I was SO impressed. The food was absolutely delicious (and I am a real foodie and honestly get annoyed if I go to a restaurant and feel I could have made better food myself. This was definitely not the case here!). The wine was delicious and the staff were attentive and welcoming. I had the lentil salad and a flatbread with mushrooms to start from the sharing menu. It was really so tasty. I will definitely go back.

Visited with friends for a book club meeting. I ordered 3 glasses of wine for £30+ of the usual price for cambridge. Was busy and lots of people enjoying food and drink that it became very noisy. There is a section of the pub just for eating which was a lot quieter. Dog friendly. Friends ordered chips and they were a good shoe portion.

I've been going to the old spring for decades and it's remained a consistently good pub for food and service (unlike the nearby Fort St George which has been consistently poor on both those counts). The reason this gets a four and not a five is that although pub is atmospheric in a sense (with a nice fire) it's not an atmosphere I like that much. Also, the food is good, but it is VERY expensive. I eat here when someone else is paying.

Best Tomahawk Steak I ever had! The chef Ardian made it even more special with his Nusret skills cutting and salting 😍 Everything was perfect, the fire 🔥 the ambiance and the staff was lovely.

Absolutely delicious seabass. Perfectly cooked. Crispy skin, tender flaking juicy fish. Parsnip mash all buttery. Cherry tomatoes on the vine, sweet and sharp, cooked just right. Lovely vegetables with texture, no mush. Gorgeous chocolate tart dessert too, with a creamy filling, thicker than a mousse but softer than a ganache. One of us had the fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding, which apparently was also great.

It was my 60th and we gathered 30 friends together for drinks and sharing platters, from 1800 to 2300 on a Saturday night . We had planned it with Daniel at the old spring a few weeks in advance. The staff were fantastic, the food platters got rave reviews from my friends, the evening was so good . We had the best time and recommend the old spring for any event . Huge thanks to all the team , from thirty very happy guests

oh darlin it brings me back to the second world war i feel so aubergine 🇬🇧💂

Nice pub with good service but quite pricey

Very disappointed. Booked a table for a meal for a Sunday, and rang up to say that we wanted two roasts, which they said they would save. Then we got there, and they said there were none left, and that they had just given them both away.

Went for a drink with my two children late Saturday afternoon and after about 10 minutes we were rudely asked to vacate our table as a party was taking place there. A member of staff said that the table we were sat at was reserved, even though there was no reserved sign on the table. I asked where we could sit ( the staff member did not give us an alternative and presumed we would have to stand or just leave our drinks) and eventually he said that we could sit in the 'restaurant section' but only for half an hour. Very rude and unwelcoming service.

Boring menu, not v good food. Horrible office furniture and badly designed. staff nice. Quite expensive. Sadly not v good. Sorry.

Had a great time!! I love the nachos ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Won’t go back again on a point of principle. Like many many others I have fallen foul of the parking charges for this pub and have to pay a £100 parking fee for having a drink. Used the pub for many many years but normally walk to the pub. This time I popped in on the way back from an event for a quick pint. Did not see signs that you had to pay for the car park and today have received a parking fine. Pub will say it is not their fault. It is not there car park and there are signs. Well, I didn’t see them!! It was dark and I wasn’t looking for them. Rip off Britain at its finest

Bellissimo, camerieri simpatici, si mangia bene, vi consigliamo il menù pork. Dessert molto vari e buoni soprattutto i gelati e le tarte.

Delicious Sunday lunch in this smart pub. Good atmosphere, excellent service. Most enjoyable family reunion meal

Maybe it was the endless signs about parking, or maybe it was the staff taking all the beer mats off the tables at 9 o’clock, or maybe it was just the staff in general, but somehow I just left with the impression that the pub could not really care if they had any customers or not.

Fabulous in every respect. Fair value and superb food and service. Easy to park, great menu. Central position. We have been many times.

Wouldn't recommend coming here for the Sunday roast as a vegetarian. Ordered the Beetroot Wellington on the Sunday roast menu and it arrived as a small, mediocre Wellington with some vegetables and gravy. Boyfriend ordered the chicken roast and it came with the full "shabang" (huge piece of chicken, roast potatoes, massive yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy). Both meals were £17 which seems hugely unfair considering the lack of potatoes and yorkshire pud in the vegetarian roast. Left hungry and wouldn't come again.

Amazing wagyu burger, lovely Czech larger and excellent sticky toffy pudding

Went here for sunday lunch and was very disappointed with the quality of food and service. To start with they had ran out of all the roast except the beef (they didnt tell this until we ordered and asked for chicken), we booked for 1pm so not like it was the end of the day. I ordered the prawn cocktail which was absolutely disgusting and the prawns looked strange an tasted nothing like a classic prawn cocktail. The two other starters didnt come out until 10 minutes after the prawn cocktail. We then were served our main meals which my beef was cold so it was sent back an reheated in what i can only guess a microwave. The parsnips and carrots were undercooked and hard and the gravy was thin and completely tasteless. Considering they are charging £20 for a roast i was expecting a decent tasting meal. We also ordered the lamb filet kebab £22 which again was very tastless the lamb was chewy and the chips were dried out potatoe wedges. The homemade mint sauce tasted like it had come from a jar. This is definately not the homecooked food it promotes on the website. I was booked in for christmas day dinner but have since cancelled. Definately wont be returning.

We popped in with the dog for something to eat. Friendly reception, order taken and the food arrived outside much quicker than expected. We had two wraps at £11 each which were perfectly cooked, very tasty and filling, both came with chips and red cabbage coleslaw. Beers fine, The Old Spring probably tastier of the 3 we tried. 10% service on the bill.

Great menu, lots of options. We went on Greek night and the food was amazing. Service was quick and the staff friendly.

Really nice food served here on a Sunday out with the family. If anything, a bit too much for our children (7 & 8). Great service but a tad pricey.

Great place for a civilised lunch

Came here yesterday night to experience the Greek menu and it was amazing. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was really good. Really recommend going on either Thursday or Friday to experience the greek cuisine

Absolutely spectacular lamb kebab dish. One of the best lamb dishes I have had, so tender and flavourful. This pub has so much promise under new ownership. I can't wait to go back.

Lovely place . And lovely face. JASMINES FACE to be specific ! Great service

We haven’t been here for years and stopped on the off chance and really enjoyed a meal and some drinks. Firstly - they serve Peroni and Aspells, our favourite drinks Second - even though it was 2:45 and they stop serving food at 2:30, they happily prepared us some food Third - it was delicious We ordered the steak and chicken burger. The chicken burger was a huge piece of meat in a brioche bun and I loved it! Loads of chips too. They planning some Greek nights and I think they’re going to be great! The barman, possibly the landlord was very friendly and we watched him go out of his way to find a balloon to keep a tired baby happy while her parents ate their lunch. Would highly recommend a visit

Pricey and not too good. Nice place.

Good food, prompt service. Their lunchtime-only choices are good (veggie stuffed ciabata. £11 for example).

This is a nice place, but i thought it was expensive for £19 odd for a burger, which was just ok.

Since ownership changed hands some months ago unfortunately the prices have gone up and the food has gone down. Service staff remain great but chef seems to have his own ideas about what I should eat. Enough said !

Ordered a pint of Neckoil and a side of chips. Came to £13.15 -- £5.00 for chips, £6.95 for the pint plus a 10% service charge. I was served the pint at the bar and the chips took half an hour to arrive so I think the service charge was very cheeky. Wouldn't recommend.

Can't comment on the food but the Old Spring in house house beer was very drinkable.

Didn't eat but will certainly be trying it for food at some point. Lovely little beer garden

Pub is nice, but on my last visit I received a Parking Charge Notice for parking in the pub's parking. I understand the issues with parking in the area, but it's really an unnecessary complexity... I'll avoid. Shame!

Like by no means bad, but really would have expected a bit more flair for £17 fish and chips

Having booked this I then saw the reviews and was quite worried. However I needn't have worried. The food was excellent, and the service very good. Staff were friendly. Slightly overpriced but nether the less we really enjoyed ourselves.

Decent pub with good beer selection and plenty parking. Shame I got a fine for parking, cos I think I forgot to press enter on the system :/

My father had, apparently, one of the best steaks he had ever had. Sadly cant say the same for the rest - burgers and prawn tacos were not interesting or really cheffed at all, and really really expensive. We live locally, but wont go back whilst the food is priced at this level (£19 for four wraps of lettuce with two plain king prawns in each, some shredded lettuce and bottled sauce). The large tables and office seats make it feel corporate as well. Please can you make the food a reasonable price, and get a chef and do something about the decor? I know there are new owners, so I hope this place can be improved as it was really dissappointing.

Loved the place. Great staff. Clean and lovely garden.

Nice pub close to the river. Quick friendly service.

Hair in salad. They were far from contrite but did take the burger off the bill - thank you. Claimed “none of the chefs had long blond hair”. Hasten to add none of our party did either. 🤷‍♂️ Burgers were meh. Lamb skewers were great!

The Old Spring has always been an expensive pub but at least the food and service used to be decent. Nowadays, on top of the expected price hike, the service and food are to be desired. The £19 burger is overcooked and passable, served with barely cooked bland chips worth McDonald's. To top it all, the bar tender / waiter was rude . Forget this place.

Very much so enjoyed the Sunday roast here. Both flavour and portion size was great. Staff were very friendly and the price was reasonable considering the quality. Would eat here again. 5/5.

Editing my old review and dropping few stars. Under new ownership,. Never saw it so empty. They need to tweak their new menu, they should even test it themselves. So of the food was massive and some were a joke, so small as a main and not cheap.

We had a really great time for my partner's birthday celebration, thank you very much