It’s finally open!

After much waiting Ely finally has a South American restaurant! I’m not even sure Cambridge can boast such a claim.

With its stunning riverside location and unique style of food, Urban Fresh offers something exciting and vastly different for our fair city. Being a 5 minute walk from the railway station, this is a place that can be easily reached by people from Cambridge or London alike.

Upon entering, the place is incredibly modern and actually quite neutral. Nothing seems to stand out as unusual or different. It really could just be another restaurant, albeit a very pleasant one. It’s when you start walking towards the back you begin to see the vivid South American art work and decorations. The place comes alive!

I absolutely love the back of the menu with a picture of this woman chugging a huge cigar. Thinking about it, sitting out the front by the river side would be the perfect place for it!

The menu had a fair selection, offering a choice of South American dishes which you simply can’t find anywhere else in Ely. Ones which partially stood out to me were the Paella Mixta, the Sticky Pork Tacos, and the La Plancha Ardiente.

Prices generally seemed about right with the steak heading towards the more expensive side at £29. I say expensive but we all know that with steaks you get exactly what you pay for.

There was a selection of two draft beers which included Neck Oil IPA and Bierrra Moretti. I’m really struggling to get used to beers at £6-£6.75 a pint these days but I guess this is just standard now. At least they are selling quality beer!

It would have been nice to see a South American beer to match the theme of the restaurant, even if it was just Brahma or Sol.

The bread board was fantastic. A generous selection of different bread with some juicy pip-less olives which were devoured in seconds.

My boy had the Wagyu burger which he said was absolutely fantastic. Sometimes you can tell the quality is there just by looking at it. It was incredibly succulent and very juicy.

My wife went for the grilled free ranged chicken breast in Aji & Chimichurrin sauces, with tomatoes and triple cooked chips. The chips also came with the Wagyu burger and were absolutely perfect. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, which is exactly what you want from a chip.

My wife loved her chicken breast. It was described as very moist and succulent. The portion didn’t look huge but managed to fill her up.

The side sauce was delicious too and complimented the chips really well. After her chicken was finished we were all fighting to dip the chips in! 😂

The highlight of the evening had to be the Sticky Pork Tacos. These were absolutely out of this world! I’ll be thinking about these for days afterwards.

This was slow cooked pork belly served on more of a wrap than a taco, along with cabbage, salad, and cashew nuts.

The nuts here really made the dish pop and gave it an incredible texture! The wraps were a little on the thin side which made the meal a complete mess but it was so much fun to eat. My advice is to give up trying to be neat and just dive in.

I’ll certainly be coming back for more of the Sticky Pork Tacos!

We had a fantastic time at Urban Fresh. I have a feeling this restaurant is going to take the city by storm. The service is impeccable, the food came out in good time, the interior decorating was bold and vivid, and prices were also fair.

With the weather currently being hot and sunny and no sign of stopping for a while, there is no better place to swing by and have one of their craft beers by the river

This is another excellent addition to the thriving Ely food scene!

Thanks for reading!