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Summer is here and the Gonville Hotel has opened up their lovely garden and a brand new menu to accompany it. I was already smitten by my last visit to the Gonville garden where I had afternoon tea in their lovely gazebo, so I was keen to visit again, especially since the sun was shining!

My first impression of the garden was just how big and open it is. Tables are considerately spaced out so you don’t feel crammed in. You would never know this is located in the centre of Cambridge either, as the garden is tranquil and quiet. It felt almost like a secret garden where you enter through the side gate and are instantly removed from the hustle and bustle of the city into your own hidden getaway.

The sun was shining, so naturally wine mysteriously appeared. The wine menu is always excellent at the Gonville Hotel with a wide selection of hand picked bottles from all over the world. I am not very technical with wine, so I always enjoy coming to a place that I know and trust to pick quality bottle for me. As it was a beautiful summer evening, we went for their house pinot grigio, which was versatile enough to pair with everything we had this evening and served us perfectly well.

There is also a small area in the corner with deckchairs for casual relaxation. You’ll notice that they also have a small wooden bar in the garden which is manned by two waiters who were incredibly helpful and attentive. Both were both very chatty, engaging, and made a real effort to make sure I was relaxed and comfortable. This is the sort of customer service I have come to expect from the Gonville Hotel and there was no exception this evening.

Anyone who knows me will be aware that I am a big scotch egg fan. Once I saw this on the menu, I just had to have it.

This Newmarket pork scotch egg in jalapeno picallili is a perfect take on what a scotch egg can be. The choice to go with locally sourced pork over low quality sausage meat made the dish lighter and the jalapeno picallili gave the scotch egg an exciting kick. The bread crumbs were a thin layer but incredibly crispy. This gave the soft and light insides an exciting crunch on the bite. I am not a big advocate of scotch eggs having a super runny yolk but found this one to get the balance just right.

I also want to point out that this scotch egg only costs £6. This matches the same price of other scotch egg specialists and even food vans that hovers around the £5.50-7 mark. For a hotel in the centre of Cambridge, I think this is pretty good going!

Next, we were presented with fresh burrata and broad bean pesto, served with basil, persevered lemons, and smoked almonds.

This is the sort of thing I would never ordinarily order myself but I was so glad I got to try it. The burrata was creamy, mild and smooth. It was also incredibly fresh which made it perfect for a hot summer evening or someone with a delicate palate.

The burrata was accompanied with two slices of toasted bread that gave the bite a satisfying and earthy crunch. This also made it ideal for sharing between two.

In fact, it was so delicious that someone was scraping every last bit of our plate. 🤣

Next on our culinary journey was spice roasted cauliflower, cumin pomegranate with raisin couscous. This is a vegetarian dish that came with a cucumber lemon yogurt dressing.

I thought this was an exceptional dish, especially considering I can be a bit funny with cauliflower but I finished the entire thing. The pomegranates really gave this dish a fruity pop and some nice colour to the presentation.

For our mains, we were given the signature Gonville dish ‘The Gonville Burger’. This came accompanied with some large crispy onion rings and koffman fries covered in truffle slices. This may be a place that considers itself to be fine dining but the team at the Gonville also understand that there is a time and a place for summer fun food, even for the people who are exclusively gourmet.

The burger was served in a brioche bun with applewood smoked cheddar cheese and a brisket burger. Everything was presented excellently and the portion sizes were decent.

The Gonville Burger is a worthy demonstration of what a burger can be. It was big, unapologetically juicy, and very tasty. In fact, the burger was so juicy that the brioche bun struggled to contain it and started to lose its structural integrity towards the end.

I was lucky enough to try the newlyn roasted hake, curried lentils with carrot coconut puree, and spring onion chilli salad.

This beautifully presented hake may be the highlight of the night. It was delicate, flavorful, and healthy, making it perfect for a hot summer evening. I am a big curry fan and it was great to see the curried lentils used in such an interesting way. This gave the dish a thick creamy texture and an exciting flavour. I sometimes worry that fish isn’t going to be enough to fill me up but the cut was generous and meaty.

Finally, we had dessert, which came in the form of a roasted pineapple and a 5 spice crumb and mango sorbet. I have never had roasted pineapple before but it was incredibly refreshing.

This is the closest thing you will ever get to pineapple steak and the sorbet was very well prepared.

My sister and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening in the Gonville Hotel. The food from the new garden menu was superb and the service provided by the team was second to none. What made the evening particularly special for us was the beautiful garden. It feels like a slice of tranquil paradise in the bustling centre of Cambridge. You can just stroll in from Gresham Road into the garden or if you are coming from out of town there is evening free parking. Everything is easy and painless with the Gonville Hotel which is why it has been a family favourite for years.

Make sure you check it out and let us know how you got on in the Cambridge Foodies community. The garden closes for the season in September so don’t procrastinate!