The Stove Cafe in South Cambridgeshire

It was a Thursday lunch time when I visited. It was quiet with only four or five other customers. I was served quickly by friendly staff. The cheese scone and cake were good as was the coffee. The prices were reasonable making it reasonable value for money. Free WiFi was available, always a plus. Quite nice smart rustic decore, if that is not a contradiction. There is also an outside area to sir. I feel a bit mean 'only" giving it four stars; my head says it deserved five but my heart stopped giving it the full quota of stars. I have visited several times since my first visit, the latest in January 2022. In this latest visit I had a cherry frangipane tart and it was sublime; a nice crispy crust, soft frangipani, plenty of succulent cherries and a delicious pastry base. For this reason I have increased my initial 4-star review up to five. July 2022 - still great. June 2023 - still just as good. September 2023 - still great.

Absolutely fantastic find of a cafe just outside Cambridge, quality service and food in a relaxing atmosphere, perfect for couples, family and friends. You can sit outside to eat and drink if you want to take your 4 legged friends or cyclists are more than welcome for a bit of coffee and cake on their cycling route. Great team who serve and welcome you at the stove. A particular mention to Natalia who served me, I think she is from Ukraine, very polite, helpful and professional service.. Thankyou for a lovely lunch, I will definitely be back soon.

Used to be very busy when we visited last Saturday,but it was virtually empty.Its not a surprise the cheapest sandwich was £11 they must be joking.Can or will survive at their prices….

Great lunch and a nice selection of beverages. The food was served promptly and hot and a great piece of cake to finish. Would recommend . Nice outside area too..

Lunch was good, but rather overpriced for the location. I mean £10 and upwards for a sandwich. Can find better value in Cambridge and that’s saying something. As I grew up in Bourn the place has really got above itself.

I feel the stove has gone down hill. No salads for lunch just sandwiches and small pizzas. v standard fate for lunch, not that good but still quite expensive .

A regular stop over for me on my cycle trips. Good food, great service.

Amazing little find. Will recommend..food freshly prepared and a great onsite bakery for pudding and cakes to take home.

Had the Stove breakfast which was really small and mediocre at best. Definitely not good value as you can get far better elswhere especially for the rather steep price. To be honest, we felt completely ripped of paying what we did for a breakfast which wouldn't have satisfied a child. Maybe the chef was having a bad day..

We stopped off here mid week as it was close to Bourn Hall. Very nice setting. We were hoping for a spot of lunch but the offering is quite small and limited gluten free options unless you want a sandwich or happy to forego the meat. I mean, how hard is it to do a jacket potato? They also do not permit ingredient swaps which meant there wasn't anything we liked plus worth us paying the slightly high prices for to take out the ingredients we didn't want (like cheese or croutons on ceasar salad for example). Based on what others have said re. food quality and portions, sounds as though we didn't miss much though! The service was quite prompt (but then there was only 3 or 4 other tables occupied so I would expect that to be the case) and staff seemed friendly enough. It wasn't made clear if you were to go up and pay, as its table service, but that's what we did as no one came to the table. I did have a GF brownie to take away which was quite nice and there were quite a few cakes on display. As others have said, this place has such potential, but as it's the only cafe in the vicinity, it's like they don't feel they need to try too hard to wow you.

Tasty lunch for my friend and me but quite pricey - average £12 for a club sandwich with a bit of salad.

The service here is always great - very prompt and friendly. I thought the coffee was unpleasant - whether that was down the the type of oat milk used or the coffee blend itself, I’m not sure. The breakfast I’ve had here though was really lovely and we’ve been back again since (just without the coffee) The acoustics in here aren’t great either, so sound carries really easily from other tables meaning it’s quite difficult to hear people on your own table.

Very nice place. Prices are a little high but made a nice treat.

Unfortunately the experience was less than great. I ordered a flat white which was possibly the worst cup of coffee I have ever had. I suspect the coffee machine is in desperate need of a clean as it had an ‘ashtray-esque’ flavour. We also ordered food from the specials board; ‘miso glazed salmon poke’ but what came was salmon that had clearly been nuked in the microwave and served on hot noodles with brocoli and sweet corn, all swimming in what I can only describe as ‘broccoli water’. Nothing like what was advertised. I politely sent it (and the coffee) back and was then on met with poor attitude from the staff who were complaining about me from only metres away. It was my first visit and I won’t be returning.

Ate here on our way to a destination. Lovely surrounding, pictures from local artist on the wall make it more welcoming. Friendly staff and service. Food we ate was good, did not think it was anything special but it was good, healthy and a good portion. Would return again and recommend to others.

This place was I am sad to say disappointing. It is not bad, however, it is pretty average for the price. My sandwhich, which cost almost £15, was limited filling between what was essentially Hovis bread. No crisps or salad (the few stray salad leaves does not count as a side salad). Having a bakery on site, I am surprised that they do not, like other similar places, offer a selection of fresh breads to choose from. My wife's more expensive ceasar salad left her hungry as it barely covered the bowl it was in. They also slathered it in dressing when she asked for the dressing on the side. We actually specifically visited for the cakes, so desert, however these were underwhelming and essentially, a few stray slices of cake on plates (presumably, from the day before), so we left it. I would expect a good selection of freshly baked cakes on Friday lunchtime. There is not much choice in the area, so I do not think they need to try very hard. It is a shame as they could be great! We will try somewhere else next time.

Great venue, but slow service, got order wrong and staff are just not attentive enough. If all was done properly I would have given better rating.

Have been here multiple times and finally remembered to add a review! Have enjoyed cakes and cuppas, brunches and lunches. Everything is always delicious, piping hot and well presented. This time I went for a fully loaded hot chocolate with eggs benedict ( with bacon) whilst my friend showed more restraint with a huge toasted teacake with jam and a skinny latte. In the same set of courtyards is a little deli and a local butchers. Definitely worth popping in if you haven't already!

What a great brekkie. Busy but very attentive. Will be back with friends very soon. Thanks stove team. Great for private venue hire too.

Absolutely outstanding food. Very tasty. Lovely atmosphere and would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a place to eat.

I’d use this place again for coffees and cake - hot food isn’t good at all and £10 for 3 microwaved pancakes and accompaniments isn’t what I’d call value - we left feeling ripped off,there are much better places locally which when the standard is higher you don’t mind paying these prices but this standard was low for the cost - service also very, very slow (90 mins for 2 brunch items).

Food mediocre at best (bread looked like hovis, was dry and egg was looked to death which for £2 addition to a sandwich wasn’t a good one) and service appalling (slow, forgetful and not personable). It was busy but they don’t deal with it well.

Take away order for local business with excellent service and last minute changes to my order which were accommodated without any issue at all. All staff were very friendly and will certainly be returning for more business breakfasts. Thank you very much.

Nice place this with a modern city-style menu. The service even seems to cope with the influx of people. My cake was wonderfully fresh. So thank you there. On my way out I popped into the bakery next door but on this occasion I came away with a loaf fit for the bin (pic).

We called in by chance for a quick Valentine lunch. It was very busy but they quickly found us a table and we enjoyed a stirfry with bang bang chicken. A gentleman arrived on a mobility scooter, and the lovely waitress guided him through to a table despite the restaurantbeing so busy She was.very kind! The bakery was an added treat with Valentine's Day Love Bug cakes!

Stale baked goods and rude staff. Would not recommend, however I must admit, nice space. It's a shame as the place has potential.

What an incredible little find, tucked right away and certainly didn’t disappoint, we had the turkey, Brie and apple cider chutney sandwich’s, seriously the best sandwich I’ve had in a long long time, up there with the best! Took some cakes home too

What a great little farm coffee shop .Bistro style food executed well and good value for money. I'll be back.

Such a great spot for breakfast, will be returning for sure :)

Met up with friends and had a great lunch. Food and service was excellent. Took advantage of a nice day and sat outside. Nice ambience seeing a group of cyclists turn up!

Very nice setting, friendly staff. £9 for a small Americano and bacon sandwich, ouch. That said, bacon superb, brown bread limp flaccid and unexciting (all the more strange when one learns they actually have a bakery on site)

The food tasted so good and had interesting menu choices which I loved! Unfortunately my first two choices weren't available. Hoping next time they will be! I'll definitely recommend anyone to go here for a lovely plate of food

very up to date and modernized cafe in Bourn. somewhat hidden, but extremely busy and obviously well known about by insiders/locals! popular with locals and with cyclists.

Fairly limited menu, coffee perfectly OK though. Very odd policy that you can't plug in your laptop, and I and a few other people told off fairly robustly by the staff. If you're looking to have a coffee and work would go elsewhere - it certainly put me off staying longer than necessary. Also, strange number of flies in the place. Given the other positive reviews (save the use of power plugs) maybe I caught the cafe on an off day.

Amazing food fresh ingredients well presented fast service. good decor friendly staff ample parking take away option cakes yummy had the mint tea lovely 😊

This was an amazing lunch with restaurant quality food in a cosy country setting..Great service and friendly accomodating staff. Will definitely recommend.

Love grabbing a bite to eat here, they are so flexible with the menu which is great when you are gluten and dairy intolerant.

Cracking food and friendly staff, nice place to visit!

The stove always provides great local food, a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff.

Great place, staff very welcoming and quick service. Food was delicious! Would definitely be coming back soon. Lovely place would definitely recommend.

Friendly place - if only the bacon sandwich was in a brown bap it would be 5*.

Quick efficient service and breakfast was good, not exceptional. They kindly made a children’s portion of breakfast for our toddler, as they don’t offer a children’s menu. Would also be great if they had children’s cutlery. We took a couple of fruit scones to take away and when we got home discovered they were raw inside unfortunately.

Really quite good for Tea and (good) cake. Plan to a meal sometime soon

At first sight the Stove looked inviting, there was a pleasant atmosphere and people sitting at many of the tables, however, the staff were not particularly welcoming. We ordered the 'special' for the day, a savoury flan with rice and salad. To our surprise the flan base was sweet, almost a biscuit mix. Some of the lettuce leaves were black at the ends. It was not a pleasant combination. We shall not be going there again.

Our walking group went here for refreshments about 11am on Friday in May and were not made to feel welcome. They seemed well staffed (I counted 7 people) but they told several of us that we should have called ahead and warned them that we were coming. They were generally grumpy with us about this. It's quite hard to know how many people will join the walk - it can be anything from 5 to about 20 and we walk at a different pace depending on who is there so cannot give a definite time for us to be at a cafe. We always let other customers go ahead of us if we are causing a queue and we always sit outdoors, no matter what the weather, unless there is a lot of room indoors and the cafe are okay with that. It's a shame we were made to feel bad about our visit as the cake and coffee was good and all served very quickly so we didn't understand why they were so upset with us. I doubt we'll go back as a group.

Afternoon tea - Good points: The food was fresh and of good quality, they had listened and followed our requirements. The food was tasty and the taste combinations good. The quantity of food was also very good. Downside: Wish we could have eaten in the garden area or the terrace, when asked we got told this wasn’t possible. But couldn’t see a reason why this wasn’t possible. Ag the very least an area set for tea parties would have been more desirable and we would have returned if the garden was an option. Cutlery, tea cups and tea pot were all very low quality and that you would expect at an old persons home or hospital. No offer of what type of tea we would like either. The elderflower drink tasted like sparkling water with a touch of elderflower cordial - this could be improved. Staff weren’t ready for our arrival and stated “sorry we’ve been busy” but half the restaurant was full. The atmosphere was lacking. No offer of anything else. Lacking some finishing touches and details but was ok.

Great cafe find after the Cambridge Club Festival. Friendly staff, great food - we had full English breakfast for 6 which was lovely. Also their range of drinks try the elderflower and apple, sublime.

Dropped in for an early morning breakfast en route to a function in cambridge. What a find. Absolutely delicious home baked and cooked food. Warm barn atmosphere and friendly staff. A perfect stop off

Always a really nice place to have a coffee or breakfast! I go here every Saturday for breakfast and it is always amazing!

A lovely place to meet up with friends for lunch.

Stopped serving food at 2.30pm but we had amazing sausage rolls and cakes from the shop.

Choice of food not as good as a year ago

Delightful setting and wonderful staff.

I visit with a Group, we usually come alternate months. We have coffee when we arrive and then order lunch a bit later. The food and service is excellent. Nothing is too much trouble. I would recommend a visit.

A lovely little hidden gem amazing food lovely staff, I would definitely book if you want to get a table.

Lovely place amazing food! The menu isn't as big as it used to be which is a shame as there isn't as much to choose from. The English breakfast is the best around in my opinion! Everything is really fresh and delicious 😋

Lovely place to go to relax and have coffee. Very reasonable prices friendly staff.

Food was nice a bit overpriced a club sandwich white sliced bread came to over £10. To be honest a bit upset about the service.....they just finished breakfast time we come in for a spot of lunch place was empty, when we asked if we could sit by the window got told they are waiting for the rush hour lunch so I could sit just on a small table for 2.....the next couple of people after us they sat where they wanted on a table for 4 no questions asked and so did an other couple after us..I don't think I'll go back in a hurry....

Thursday lunchtime, not too busy. Pleasant surroundings, friendly and efficient staff. A limited menu. We had soup, a tasty butternut squash and carrot which came with a couple of small slices of sourdough toast, £6. My husband had the squash and halloumi on homemade flatbread. This was a piece about the size of a pitta bread , smeared with squash and 3 bits of halloumi, served on a wooden platter with a few bits of salad. That cost £11:50. I know costs have gone up enormously but I can't make this a value for money dish, however tasty it was. The cakes were very good.

Lovely lunch in a lovely atmosphere.

What a lovely place to meet up with friends, have a beautifully cooked and presented meal and a drink all at prices that are very reasonable. The service offered by the lovely young ladies there is quick and efficient. This tucked away place is a real find, I recommend to give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

Girls took me for Lovely hot chocolate & Chocolate Victoria Sponge .... "Naughty but necessary" did the downpour ruin it! No! It was worth it!!!

A lovely place to visit for a late Saturday breakfast...be careful though they stop serving breakfast at 11.30....but the staff were pointing this out to everyone...the staff were friendly and efficient..most importantly the food was brilliant...the restaurant is much larger than I expected and quite busy... Go there you'll have a love5 time

Paid a fortune for homemade bread in the deli which was as hard as a rock, and the miserable woman who served us seemed uninterested in my questions and had little knowledge on her own produce and may be better suited to a job where she's not involved face-to-face with the public

Lovely quaint restaurant in a typical country village, the service, food and atmosphere are excellent. Absolutely recommended for a casual relaxing lunch. Daily specials are available, and I recommend looking at them as they are often interesting or novel dishes.

This little cafe is a gem. Perfectly situated for walking, it serves lovely coffee and tea, delicious lunches and the cakes are fabulous. (Actually, my only complaint is that the cake portions are too big, big enough for two people to share, but also so yummy that if I order a whole piece I end up eating it all) Afternoon tea here was a great treat and I look forward to coming to one of the pop up restaurant evenings at some point- diary allowing.

Coffee and a fantastic cake selection. Shame it isn’t open on a Sunday!

Lovely lunch. Great salads, scones and cakes!

The menu is not as large and the cacks range could be larger allowing a better selection in our opinion, but the people and food is always good a the layout comfortable. One feels it's a great place to drop in for a light lunch or quick bite. We go there around once a month and like it but as we say it could do even better we fell if the memnu grew in what is offered. It does have at the end of the seating area a very tempting cake selection that can fill you full of delights if a tea/coffee and cakes treat is desired more than a meal.

Great coffee. Very friendly staff.

I went for lunch last week and had the Chicken Caesar Salad with Croutons (without the anchovies). Although the meal tasted good, it wasn't worth the £10.00. There was very little chicken and croutons, and a handful of lettuce leaves. When you are paying that much for a meal, you shouldn't leave the restaurant feeling hungry.

80th,50th,47th birthday BBQ Excellent food provided by the Stov and staff it comes highly recommended.

Great place for lunch with fab selections, or just a cuppa and cake. Signage isn't great but well worth it once you find it.

Wonderful food great service. Lamb fantastic

The Stove delivered a lovely afternoon tea to my friend's hen party this weekend. The food was tasty, felt like good value and they were fab at catering to our requirements (vegans, nut allergies etc). All email correspondence was answered quickly and the team who came to deliver the food were very friendly.

Very well presented and food and drink options provide good choice. Recommended.

I ate here with friends for dinner, which this lovely cafe offers once s month. The food was amazing, and really good value. The service was great as well, everything went really smoothly. We have booked to go to next month's dinner as we had such a good time.

2 coffees a sausage sandwich and toasted teacake for £17.50 ...bit pricey for my liking!

Excellent service Great choice and lovely staff. Can highly recommend this venue with good parking available.

Lunch with friends, booked here merely because Bourn was almost an equal distance from us all. Lovely food, friendly service and amazing home made cakes. A lucky find. We will return!

Great choice of food and snacks at reasonable prices. Great speedy service

The April Friday night dinner was superb. Excellent and interesting food with a good ambience and pleasant helpful staff. And good value!

Lovely lunch with family. Good food, good service and a pleasant atmosphere. Bought a couple of bottles of red wine too! Very nice cafe, if a bit pricey!

Underwhelming and a disappointing lunch. We both chose the ‘special’, a salmon and crayfish salad. The salad was very heavy on raw red onion slices and not a lot of salad leaves. We asked if it was served with bread whereby the waitress said we...

Nice little coffee shop and bakery. The kitchen was closed by the time we got there but the bakery items we ordered were all good.

Best breakfast I have had being a scaffolder I've had my fair share staff are friendly A+

Met friends for lunch here and ordered the halloumi and potato salad and I wasn’t disappointed It was absolutely delicious Would definitely recommend

really friendly atmosphere and lovely breakfast until 11.30 .would certainly go again . lunchtime menu a little limited for myself but they are very welcoming even if one just wants a drink .

Lovely place to eat, a nice chillaxing friendly setting

Peaceful setting with lovely service and great tasting food.

Lovely food in a pleasant ambiance but what does a damp, germ ridden piece of cloth covering the faces and smiles of the staff does achieve after two years of this other than sending a message to the clientele that this is going to be...

Friendly, efficient, perfect service , znd scrummy delicious cake !!!

Each time we visit we enjoy the fresh, healthy food. Delicious cakes and you can take a slice home. Tables outside too so you can go with your dog. Nice bakery attached and a butcher within few minutes walk. Advise booking ahead for a Saturday lunchtime. Popular for cream teas.

We had a wonderful Friday night dinner as well as Saturday afternoon tea at The Stove recently. I would definitely recommend it for a standard buffet as well as for its cakes, brownies etc.

We went for a pre Christmas dinner in a group of three friends. It seemed incredibly complicated to book, fortunately I wasn’t doing it as I think I would have lost patience. There seemed to be numerous calls just to clarify and confirm our booking....

Extremely good food and very cosy, great staff and great atmosphere, definitely recommend!

Excellent breakfast. Maple syrup, waffles and bacon.

The festive cream tea was absolutely lovely! Staff friendly and the setting is fab 😊 thank you!

We enjoyed an incredible breakfast this morning. The service was excellent and the staff very friendly and warm. Thank you for a lovely morning.

Incredible breakfast and wonderful staff who made us feel welcome! Couldn't fault it! Thank you.