Cambridge Foodies

Returning for the pizza!

As part of Simon’s hunt for the best pizza’s in Cambridge, Sean and I headed to our local pizzeria ‘The Pharmacie Cafe’ in Waterbeach. A venue I’ve visited several times in the past and have decided to update my previous review to allow new readers a more rounded review.

We were promptly greeted upon entering and ordered our drinks while looking at the menu.

We had a lovely chat with the staff who told us about making the dough and sauces in house. Thin crust, white dough, freshly prepared just like the tomatoe sauce and pesto. I settled on the Polo, a tomato free pesto base, generously topped with cheeses, chicken, sweetcorn and peppers. It tasted lovely and while the edge seemed a little charred In a small area the pizza was very enjoyable and not overcooked.

Sean’s take…

I’ve visited Pharmacie a few times since it opened, originally as a healthy lunch stop, and now in it’s current pizzeria form. The chap we spoke to has only recently taken over operations, and we’re told changes are afoot, so we’ll definitely have to come back soon to see what’s changed. That being said, I might be a little disappointed if they change the pizza too much, because mine was bloody delicious!

I went for the Napoli which comes on a tomato base, with anchovies, capers and oregano on top. Pizza is pizza at the end of the day, and it’s quite hard to differentiate yourself at the best of times. What I liked about the Pharmacie pizza, is that despite being in the traditional Italian style, there wasn’t 3 inches of crust encroaching on the middle and there was enough cheese for a little cheese pull. Puritans might be horrified that they dare smother their Italian style pizzas with loads of cheese, but for me, when I order pizza it’s really the oozing cheese I’m craving! 7/10 for me, but deep-down I’m a deep-dish kind of a guy!

Conclusion:

Pizza prices currently range from £10.90 (four seasons) to £13.50 (meat feast) and are 12″. I found this to be a fair price and will definitely return for another dosage from the Pharmacie. Simon requested a score out of 10 for his quest and I find that quite difficult, I’m unsure anyone could top this pizza and if so it wont be by much in the same price range. A solid 8/10

Original review.

I had an unplanned vist to a small local cafe/pizzeria for lunch today with my 2 children, so I thought I would let you know what I thought during my visit.

Situated next to the village green, it has plenty of parking close by. It is a small venue with some outside seating that makes it perfect for a group of upto 4 to sit together. You can order your food to collect or eat in. They also plan to start local deliveries soon.

https://www.pharmaciepizzeria.co.uk/

The staff were friendly and welcoming. They are also dogs friendly (for well behaved dogs). The manager told me he had recently taken over. He also said they were thinking about changing the name. They would welcome feed back on this point, so if you do visit let them know your thoughts.

They provided fresh baked bread while we looked at the menu and it was great! Very tasty and light.

I had a lovely traditional breakfast. Would prefer a hash brown to chips but with the quality of locally sourced butchers sausage and bacon it more than redeems itself. The sausage in particular was top notch. The eggs are very well cooked with a runny center and at £7.75 good value.

The kids had a chicken burger. My daughter was very impressed to get a decent bit of chicken rather than “A giant nugget in a bun.” Honestly never seen her so impressed by food, it simply beat her expectations. The salad was fresh and crisp with a light dressing.

My son had a beef burger. It was rather basic and I think he would have preferred the chicken if I’m honest. However, it was good value but I would have happily paid a little more for a better quality.

They mainly serve pizza and sell themselves as a pizzeria, so I must go back to try them! I’m sorry I haven’t this time but watch our blog for future posts!

All in all the service was quick and felt personal. The space is clean and the open kitchen looked well stocked and the staff seemed to enjoy their work. It was busy with people collecting lunch (the staff would take it to the kerb for driver’s) and every table was taken. I would recommend this place both for the food and service.