Bedouin has been open in Cambridge since 2011. Located on Mill Road, it offers North African cuisine that has proven to be unanimously popular, not just with the Cambridge Foodies, but with local and national awards too.
It is also a restaurant that has a special place in my heart. My wife and I had our first date here and my mum and I used to visit back when it first opened. It has always been a favourite of mine and is one of the consistent gems on Mill Roads thriving foodie scene.
With that said, it has been many years since my last visit and with Mother’s Day approaching, my mum and I decided to pop back and relive our experience. I was looking forward to seeing if it was as good as I remember. The chefs have over 22 years of experience between them, so I was confident that it was going to be a quality dining experience.
🅿️ Free parking at Gwydir Street car park after 6pm and Sundays.
One of the strongest things Bedouin has to offer is its warm atmosphere and vibrant beauty. This can be credited to the authentic bedouin carpeted walls and dimly lit lighting – giving a real Saharan vibe. The tables are lower down giving a more communal feel when compared to other restaurants.
Note: The dim lighting did unfortunately mean that photos didn’t turn out great for this review but rest assured it was worth it.
Cocktails
Bedouin has an alcohol free menu. They do, however, offer a wide range of alcohol free cocktails (mocktails) made with home made syrup with fresh lemons and limes. I entirely understand the cultural reasons for an alcohol free menu but I felt like it was a shame as a bottle of wine would be perfect in a place like this. With that said, I liked the fact that this encouraged me to move out from my comfort zone and try something different…cutting down on the alcohol is only a good thing too!
There are seven mocktail options on the menu, with four being vegan friendly. Prices ranged from £6-£7. I decided to go for one of their “go to” cocktails – the ’77’.
This is designed with the sole purpose of being refreshing and is made with Seedlip 42, lime, ginger beer, lemongrass and grenadine. I must admit, refreshing is exactly right. It was also beautifully presented and full of complex flavour. The drink didn’t last long, which is clearly a testament to its deliciousness but I still struggle with the idea of something being non-alcoholic at the same price as a regular cocktail.
Starters
We started off with a sharer platter called Kemiette. This is a selection of dips and salad served with a brick pastry and warm pita bread – perfect for sharing.
There is a choice between small and large, with the small being enough for two and the large being enough for four. We had ordered the large but was brought out the small by accident. Not a big deal, the restaurant was very busy (being mothers day) and the portion was still enough to give us all a chance to sample a bit of everything.
The brik pastry box was sublime. This is similar to filo pastry but more sturdy and less crumbly, likely due to how it’s cooked. It had a pleasant sweetness from the powdered sugar which I thought was a nice touch.
The hummus was absolute perfection, with a nice thick texture and earthy flavour. The salad was also beautifully presented and added a lovely colour to the dish as well as a welcome crispy freshness.
Mains
I can never resist their iconic Tagine Beldi when I visit. This stunning dish is a slow-cooked lamb shank in a rich tomato sauce with paprika, garlic, cumin and chilli, served with potatoes, chickpeas, and carrots.
You are given an option of Tagine bread or cous cous, so I opted for cous cous.
The tagine (which is the North African cooking pot it is presented in) is served at your table and opened in front of you. This suddenly hits you with steam and complex spicy aromas. A real sensory exploding that I will never tire of.
The cous cous was incredibly light and fluffy. I am used to cous cous with a deeper flavour but it made complete sense once I mixed it with the rich Tagine Beldi. The cous cous complimented the dish perfectly and did a great job of soaking up that delicious spicy tomato sauce.
The lamb itself was superb. The slow cooking process resulted in the meat just falling off the bone. It was tender and succulent with a juicy texture. Due to the high cost of lamb, I was surprised at how generous the portion of lamb was, especially for £18.50. I found myself thoroughly satisfied afterwards and I’m a hard man to fill up!
The chickpeas were nice and meaty, the carrots were also well cooked but the potatoes disappointed slightly. They weren’t undercooked per se but I found them a little harder than the rest of the dish and felt slightly out of place. I was expecting them to be slow cooked in with the lamb but I got the impression that they were added in towards the end as they were a little tough and lifeless.
My sister ordered the Achet Khodar, ‘brik pastry parcel filled with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, feta cheese, and basil. Served with tomato chilli bulgur and a fresh leafy salad’.
I can’t say anything negative about my dish, beautifully cooked Mediterranean vegetables with feta cheese in a crispy pastry. A kick of spice, enough for me! It was accompanied by delicious rice that worked so well together with the pastry, with a generous side salad. Excellent portion size, very light but filling. It was also a vegetarian dish 🙂
Sister
My mum ordered a dish from their tagines menu – the Tagine El Marsa. This was a sea food equivalent of my lamb shank dish but came instead with cod, mussels and king prawns. This was accompanied in rich tomato sauce with peppers and spices. This also came with cous cous.
The sea food tagine will definitely be my new go to meal when I visit Bedouin again.
Mum
It was steaming hot, full of cod, prawns and mussels. There was also plenty of red/green peppers & onion, and a generous amount of cous cous, that was light and fluffy.
My step dad ordered the Rayesh Mechaoui, made from grilled lamb cutlets that are marinated in cumin and paprika then served with homemade chips and a feta salad.
He thought the portions were good, as the cutlets were numerous and meaty. Unfortunately, the chips were not cooked properly. I tried one of his chips myself and I must admit they felt almost soggy. We didn’t bring it up as the staff were insanely busy. There were no complaints with the salad which looked lovely.
Dessert
I had my fingers crossed for my favourite dessert on the menu and Bedouin didn’t disappoint. Their baklava was gorgeously presented with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. It was thick and crispy with a sweet syrup coating that holds it all together in a small block of ecstasy. I tried to be polite and share them fairly but I ended up being a total pig. Sorry, mum!
Conclusion
You don’t stay open on hyper-competitive Mill Road for 13 years for no reason.
Not only is Bedouin a warm and a truly unique experience in Cambridge but it seems to improve over time.
The lamb from my Tagine Beldi was even better than I remember. My family all enjoyed their meals and there were very few complaints throughout the entire evening. A perfect mother’s day evening.
The service was friendly and despite being very busy, managed to serve us well.
I was struck by the value too, with the bill coming to a very reasonable £30 a head, that included a tip. Considering we had mocktails, a dessert, and starters, I thought the value for a restaurant of this quality was fair.
Bedouin will always have a special place in my heart and I look forward to coming back again and again. I won’t be leaving it so long next time.
Thanks for reading!
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