Located in the beautiful village of Histon, The Boot has excited the Cambridge Foodies for years. I have lost count at the number of reviews I have read in our community praising its seasonable gastro menu and picturesque surroundings.

I have been keen to visit, especially since the winter is firmly here. The weather is dark, wet, and cold, something only a warm cosy pub with traditional comfort food can save us from.

Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by a lovely fireplace covered in festive decorations. Behind it, there is a wholesome looking bar area with another separate bar around the front. It looks like a great place to spend a couple of hours with a pint, hiding away from winter and get lost in time. What I would give for something like this in my village. The beers on tap weren’t overly exciting but there wasn’t a bad one on the list either.

The restaurant area looks like a reasonably new extension that has been added to the pub within the past decade but you really couldn’t tell by looking at it. You can tell it has been built and decorated with respect to match the aesthetics of the original architecture of the pub, which can mostly be credited to the lovely wooden beams supporting the building. It is a warm wholesome venue and even has cushions on the chairs for that added homely feel.

What more could you ask for?

Scotch egg

I cannot resist a scotch egg, especially when I learned that it is one served with an interesting Japanese twist.

This little beauty is made from a free-ranged egg and served with umeboshi (a pickled plum fruit from Japan) with plum ketchup.

I know with some people, a scotch egg is a “as runny as possible” competition but I have never subscribed to this idea. I found the balance with this execution to be egg-cellent (I’ll never apologise!) with a slight runniness, while still not being overly so. The outer shell was crispy but also rich in flavours that complimented the soft and delicately flavoured sausage meat on the inner layer. The sausage meat felt less fatty when compared to ordinary scotch eggs, giving it a cleaner taste.

Absolutely divine!

Steak& ale pie

It has been a long time since I’ve had a good pie. Frankly, I have been disappointed by so many over the years, which has resulted in me giving up on them almost entirely. It is winter now, however, and I felt like a good pie is a decent way of measuring a restaurant (while also warming my cockles at the same time). Maybe the team at The Boot can rekindle my trust and make me fall in love again?

Their menu had a lovely sounding steak and ale pie, served with green beans, mash, baby onion, and mushroom gravy.

I’ll admit, my first impressions of the steak & ale pie wasn’t great. It looked rather ordinary and plain by eye but that is the last time I ever doubt the team at The Boot, as from the moment I cut it open, this exquisite example of a pie rewarded me with a filling that was absolutely packed, with a rich and vibrant filling and a beautiful deep colour that screamed flavour.

The crust managed to pull off the trick of being soft and crispy at the same time, with a light flavour that acted as a blank canvas for the filling to stand centre stage…and that is exactly what it did!

Boom! What flavour!

The mushroom gravy was thinner than I would normally like but complimented the steak and ale with a subtle flavour and a moistness to the crust without making it soggy.

I think my love affair with pies might be back on the menu 😍

Chateaubriand

I had never heard of a chateaubriand dish before but it immediately jumped off the menu. This is a steak that is cooked “between two inferior cuts of steak, which are later discarded”. I have no idea what this actually does to the meat but the prestige and elitism behind it was enough to make me want to try it.

All the steaks are sustainably sourced, grass-fed, and 30 day dry-aged steaks from the award-winning family butcher, Aubrey Allen. The chateaubriand is served as a portion for two people and comes as a 14oz steak that is pre-sliced.

We asked for the steak medium rare and it came out with a beautiful pink colour. The photos really don’t do the colouring justice and no amount of photo editing could bring out the colour in a way that demonstrated its beauty in person.

The steak was tender, juicy, and delicious. You could tell it had been seasoned well and I enjoyed the fact that the slices were slightly more well done towards the ends.

The steak came with two small portions of fries, garlic tomato, and a leafy salad. Everything that came with it was well executed in its own right but felt entirely overshadowed by the steak. Any time I mixed something with it on the fork, it felt like it was simply getting in the way of the steaks flavour.

The salad was the stand out favourite of the dishes that came accompanied with the steak. It was served in a big bowl with salad leaves and dressing and was easily enough for two large portions. This is where their sourcing really shines, as the leaves were beautifully crispy and tasted so fresh, like it was picked that day. I found myself munching the entire thing to myself 🤣

And a fine evening was had by all

Both my guest and I were on agreement that it was a flawless evening at The Boot. The reviews in the Cambridge Foodies community were absolutely right, as usual (not that I ever doubt you all! 🤣).

The Boot offers a warm, cosy, and wholesome dining experience, worthy of an American movies stereotype of what an old English pub should be. Stepping from the Histon High Street into the pub is like stepping into a bubble of comfort filled with culinary delights and beautiful surroundings.

Thanks for reading…