Damasbridge – Mill Road

I was lucky enough to be able to swing by a Syrian joint on Mill Road for lunch recently.

Every time I go through Mill Road I see more and more venues which I do not recognise, so I was glad to be able to catch up on the new restaurants in Cambridge’s essential food hub.

This cafe/restaurant is small but a very pleasant place to dine in. It’s light, beautifully decorated, and the service was spot on. The chap serving and cooking for us was friendly, attentive, but also engaging. He spent a few minutes hanging out with us and joking around. They really make an effort here.

We only really intended to go in for a few sandwiches (which they also serve) but upon looking at the menu we couldn’t resist the temptation of some of the other wonderful things on offer.

The one thing which particularly stood out to me was the Damasbridge special. For £13 they served meat balls in a damascene stew with tomato, peppers and a side of rice.

This was absolutely incredible!

The mince used was incredibly fine and certainly a lot higher quality than I am used too. It fell to pieces on my fork and was incredibly filling, even for a dish we shared between two!

We also chose their selection dish which lets you pick 5 things from their menu as a sharer. We ended up going for a beetroot salad, two types of hummous, halloumi salad, and something else which has escaped me.

Even though the meat balls for the mains were amazing, I think this was my favourite dish. I could have easily eaten two whole platters to myself. The hummous especially was fantastic and the pita bread was just perfect.

The bread was thin enough for lunch (so it was not too bloating) but also strong enough to catch a lot of the hummous in without it collapsing everywhere!

This my favourite part of the meal and I highly recommend everyone try it if they visit. It’s a great way for someone who isn’t sure about Syria cuisine to dip in their toe (into the hummous) and sample several things at once.

We also had a coffee each which was thick and bursting with deep earthy flavour. I’m no expert on coffee, so I’d love to know what others thing if they visit. This is how I feel coffee should taste. Keep this in mind the next time you are going for coffee down Mill Road.

Afterwards, we finished off with some Baklava. A Middle Eastern pastry dish with syrup and nuts, which, quite frankly, is one of my favourite foods! They absolutely smashed it too. I have to say that it was some of the best I’ve ever had. I think I could eat this all day without stopping.

Top marks all round. Faultless.