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I went to school in Cottenham, so I spent a lot of my time in the village growing up. It’s a beautiful place with some great pubs and restaurants. Yet, until tonight, I had never stepped foot into The Chequers.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, as it’s a pub that doesn’t get mentioned often on the Cambridge Foodies but I was looking forward to finding out what it has to offer. This is because the pub has two good looking menus – English classics and Italian pizzas.

The Chequers is also a free house, giving it the freedom to order whatever beer they want without being limited by the brewery.

I also caught wind of their summer beer festival which is something I know I’m going to have to come back for.

Upon entering you get the choice between the bar on the left and the restaurant on the right. The restaurant side has a beautiful fireplace with a wood burning stove. The interior is basic but traditional with wooden tables and historic photos of Cottenham on the wall. It’s a relaxed and quiet atmosphere, perfect for dinner. A true English pub experience.

As previously mentioned, the menu is divided into two. English and Italian (menu). There is also a specials board on the fireplace with added hand picked extras.

The English menu had many of the pub grub classics – think burgers, steaks, sausage and mash, and hunters chicken etc. There is also a kids menu with several options for £7.50.

The Italian menu consists of a 12″ thin-based woodfired pizza, made from hand-made dough. Gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options are available.

Starters

We started off with their baby baked camembert. This is infused with garlic and rosemary with apple chutney and a toasted baguette.

I had some brilliant camembert from Three Joe’s a few months ago but this was trumped by what I had from The Chequers this evening.

The camembert cheese was soft and creamy with subtle saltines. It oozed all over the baguette without any trouble from the rind (which can sometimes make dipping awkward and messy). It was light and smooth, making it a perfect starter for our meal. We were also impressed with the portion size. We had split a single portion between us but were in agreement that this was enough for both of us.

The apple chutney was sweet with little soft lumps. The rocket added much needed colour to the dish but also complimented the garlic baguette really well by adding a fresh crispiness and a peppery flavour. It was absolutely beautiful when it was all put together with the camembert!

Perfection!

Pizza

There are 14 pizzas on the menu with an extra on the specials board. Garlic bread and dough balls also available.

The ‘cream of pistachio pizza mortadella’ stood out as particularly interesting and something I have never had before, so we decided to give it a go for curiosity’s sake.

The pizza came to £12, which is roughly what I would expect for a pizza outside of Cambridge. As mentioned previously, it is woodfired and served on a thin base.

The pizza is garnished with rocket for a lovely peppery and slightly spicy flavour.

This is then topped with a generous portion of finely sliced mortadella. This is Italian cured pork/sausage from the bologna region of Italy that adds a savoury yet delicate flavour to the pizza.

The cream of pistachio had a prominent nutty flavour with a subtle sweetness and a smooth texture that removes any hint of dryness on the base. It was certainly different from your usual tomato and mozzarella pizzas and a truly unique experience. 

This is likely a personal preference but we both found after a few slices that the pizza got a little rich. It is something you absolutely must try, especially for someone looking to explore pizza or for a foodie on the hunt for something different, but otherwise I would recommend sharing it with someone else.

Duck

The confit duck was from the specials board. It was a modest portion but incredible in its execution. It was beautifully presented with mash, red wine sauce, carrots, and runner beans.

A common theme that we were beginning to notice was the quality of all the ingredients. The carrots and beans were fresh, well cooked, and could stand out on their own.

The duck was exquisite and had my guest and I blown away. It fell to pieces and had a succulent and juicy texture with a nice crispy skin. It was rich and proud with a beautiful flavour. The red wine sauce was the icing on the cake and pulled everything together perfectly. It was thick and sweet that worked well with the mash as it soaked in.

This dish is a delicacy. I recommend savoring every bite. If you have a big appetite like me then you may find the portion a little small for a mains, so make sure to order a little extra to go along with it but otherwise it was a flawless dish. I will be looking to order again!

Steak

A great way of telling the quality of a restaurant is by ordering the steak. We ordered the 8oz rump which came grilled with double cooked chips, onions, mushrooms, a tomato and rocket. We also ordered an added peppercorn sauce.

We ordered the steak medium rare and this was honoured with pinpoint accuracy. The steak was beautifully presented and had very little fat accompanying it. It was thick, juicy, and tender – exactly as it should be!

The peppercorn sauce was nice and smooth with little pepper corns that made it pop. The sauce had a refined and subtle flavour when compared to other peppercorn sauce I have had in the past. This was welcomed as it didn’t overshadow the steak or the other quality ingredients on the plate but instead complimented them.

The tomato was incredible. I can’t remember the last time I had a tomato quite like it. Granted, we aren’t spoiled with quality tomatoes in the UK but this was delicious. It was incredibly meaty and cooked throughout. It really stole in the show…I can’t remember the last time a tomato did that.

The onion rings are fantastic. There were three in total but they were large and incredibly crispy. The same goes for the double cooked chips.

Dessert

We ended the evening with one of the best examples of profiteroles I have had in a long time. The portion was deceptively large and big enough to share between the two of us. The chocolate was a blend of both milk and dark chocolate, giving a balance of creaminess and chocolatey flavour that left us thoroughly impressed. The chocolate was gooey, warm and mixed in with the cold cream, creating a satisfying temperature clash in my mouth. I couldn’t recommend this enough!

Conclusion

We were both impressed with our visit this evening. As I had never set foot in The Chequers or heard much about it, I didn’t really know what to expect but the team have provided a meal that went beyond our expectations.

The staff are all lovely and couldn’t do enough for us. We even got talking to a few regulars at the restaurant who couldn’t speak highly enough of the pub. They visit weekly and have said they never have a bad experience, giving good evidence to their consistency

The stand out favourite this evening was the duck, camembert, and the profiteroles but I could fault a single thing this evening.

The value was fair and the restaurant is a pleasant place to be. I was particularly fond of the historic fireplace and the historic photos of Cottenham on the wall.

I was a little disappointed to see a rather ordinary beer selection, with Birra Moretti being the best choice I could see. I saw a few good ales available but I couldn’t help but feel like a free house could be offering more exciting options (maybe a craft beer?).

I am undecided on where to put the pizza on my Simon’s Quest pizza ranking, as it’s such an unusual pizza and difficult to compare to the others. It looks like I might have to pop back again just to make sure. Oh, well! 😂

Thanks for reading.