The Best Pubs in Cambridge

Pint Shop is a pub rooted in the history of the original ‘beer houses’ from 1830, celebrating the comeback of craft beer. The menu features meats, chicken, and gyros, with a focus on amazing craft beer selections. It offers a spacious, heated beer garden and is known for great Sunday roasts. The pub is a fantastic spot to visit with friends or family, and it is recommended to book a table in advance on weekends for lunch.

This is a pub that truly knows its beer, with a constantly rotating lineup of excellent real ales and keg brews that will thrill any enthusiast. The service is consistently warm and welcoming, making it a cozy spot where even four legged friends like Dusty the Dog are treated like regulars. While the food has received mixed reviews, the fantastic drink selection and inviting outdoor seating make it an ideal destination for anyone looking to enjoy a quality pint in good company.

The Kingston Arms is the 2025 CAMRA Pub of the Year and a 2024 Cambridge CAMRA Most Improved Pub of the Year. Its new custodians are proven beer enthusiasts focused on restoring its reputation as a modern beer house built on old fashioned foundations. The pub is renowned for its conviviality and quality liquid refreshment, with a large range of real ales. It also features a pleasant walled garden and is dog friendly.

The Cambridge Blue is a multi award winning freehouse and a real ale paradise, with up to 14 real ales, 12 keg beers, and 7 real ciders on at any one time. It also boasts one of the largest whisky collections in the city, alongside three fridges filled with hundreds of Belgian and European beers. The pub is now home to Wonky Kitchens, serving fantastic pub food daily, and has brought back its highly anticipated Sunday roasts. With a biergarten for outdoor seating and a vast selection of fine beverages, you will find it difficult to find something you don’t like here.

The Free Press is a traditional backstreet pub run by Cambridge born siblings, offering locally sourced food and award winning beers. It features a cozy snug with large open fires in winter and a courtyard garden for summer outdoor seating. This dog friendly spot is a proud winner of the Guinness Harp Guide, serving excellent Guinness. With a rich history dating back to 1834, the pub is filled with original features like 1940s handpumps and walls full of local stories.

Welcome to The Geldart, a back street pub where you can enjoy cask ales, draught beers, and home cooked pub specials alongside innovative hot rock meals. This venue features a cosy real ale bar with an open fire, a large restaurant, and a beautiful courtyard garden for outdoor seating. It is a regular live music venue and is decorated with music and film memorabilia, making it a fantastic spot for great food, real ales, and a lively pint.

This pub is a Greene King establishment, described as "the place to be" and a "second home" where the welcome is instant. It offers a range of food and drink, including delicious fish and chips, and is known for its history, making it a worthwhile visit despite getting busy. You can enjoy a pint of DNA here, and the pub provides outdoor seating. It is a great English pub with a good food variety that has something for everyone.

The Portland Arms is a traditional English pub that serves fine real ales, specialty beers from around the world, and awesome pizzas. It is also the city's home of live music, featuring a dedicated 200 capacity venue that hosts local, national, and international acts. Beyond the main bar, the pub offers a snug games bar for smaller gatherings and even has on site recording and podcasting facilities. With a courtyard, a warm welcome, and a new Spring/Summer menu with great light bites, it is a fantastic spot for lunch, dinner, or just drinks.

This craft pub is a hub for beer lovers and pizza fans, serving scorching stone-baked pizzas. It offers a range of irresistible weekly deals, including 2-4-1 pizzas on Mondays and a £12 pizza and pint on weekdays. You can enjoy quiz nights, live football, and a welcoming bar area that even welcomes dogs. The friendly staff and delicious pizzas make it a fantastic local spot.

Welcome to King Street Brewhouse, a brewpub that brews its own mighty fine craft beer on site and serves food that actually slaps. They show all the live sports and World Cup action on big screens, and their weekend brunches and spritz menu are perfect for long afternoons. The menu features elevated messy food with seasonal ingredients, plus smoked meat plates and loaded yorkies for Sunday. With a brewery on site, private event spaces, and a focus on no pretence, this is a place where you can enjoy fresh beer and bold food without any corner cutting.