I’m back with episode 2 of Cambridge Food Hunter, where I seek out unique and interesting dishes in the Cambridge area.

If you haven’t seen episode 1 yet, click here.

While all you lightweights are dieting and cutting back after an indulgent Christmas and New Year’s, I decided to jump straight back in and head to D’Arry’s, on King Street, a restaurant famed for its cheese. In fact, they have their very own cheesemonger  – Impressive indeed!

Raclette

I decided to visit D’Arry’s after hearing a lot of noise about their Raclette from fellow foodies. Raclette is a Swiss dish made from a block of cheese that is slowly melted inside a mini cooker at your table. As the cheese melts, it is scrapped off and put onto bite sized pieces from a platter at your table.

I am not aware of Raclette being available anywhere else in Cambridge, making it a real foodie find but I love the idea of being able to share a wedge of melting cheese between a table, bringing everyone together.

The team at D’Arry’s uses Ogleshield cheese, a West country cheddar, known for its subtle yet surprisingly complex flavour and low melting point. It starts at £22pp but you can upgrade it to an Alpen Cheddar for an extra £10pp (£33pp). Unfortunately, the team at D’Arry’s were all out of the Alpen Cheddar at the time, so I had to make do with the Ogleshield.

The spread comes with a selection of “award winning” cured meats, cornchicons, mini roast potatoes, and sourdough bread. You are given options to add steak (+£6), crispy chicken and crispy prawns (+£4). Since we missed out on the Alpen Cheddar, I decided to order the steak and crispy chicken.

The cured meats were truly special and (in my opinion) were definitely worth whatever award they had won. There are three different choices available, each thickly sliced, meaty, and with a strong flavour. I honestly can’t remember a time when I have had better quality cured meats.

The steak came out cut into long strips and was cooked medium/well done (or what my guest called “medium+”). I know people are very passionate about how they have their steak and may struggle to have it so well done but it made the steak easier to eat in a bite sized portion. I recommend cutting it into smaller bite sized pieces, as eating it as a whole strip while convered in gooey cheese is very messy!

The crispy chicken was big, thick, and meaty, though a little dry. I thought the cheese would help mitigate some of the dryness but it didn’t make a difference. The chicken was clearly good quality and tastes great but my guest and I both agreed that the steak and crispy chicken didn’t add much to the experience, as the platter that comes with the Raclette was already so good.

What I love most about the Raclette is that you can make it anything you want. You can pick at everything on the platter and cover it in cheese or you can make up little combinations. It is a great way of experimenting and is a lot of fun. I found myself using sourdough as a base, adding some salami, a cornchicon and some cheese into a little hors d’oeuvre. I also recommend using the tiny roast potatoes individually and just slathering them in Ogleshield cheese. Either way, you cannot go wrong.

I think some chutney would really bring this platter to life, even just a little pot to add sweetness to a very savoury dish.

Cauliflower & Cheese Soup

I just wanted to take this opportunity to also do a shout out to their Cauliflower & Cheese Soup. This beautifully presented dish came served with two cheesy slices of toast. The soup is made from Montgomery cheddar cheese, giving it a rich flavour. It was a perfectly prepared soup that was thick and creamy, and the toast added a satisfying crunch which also handled the soup well, without fear of it losing its structural integrity.

By the end of the meal, we were both full and satisfied. The Raclette is a perfect portion for two and despite being a dish that is almost entirely fatty meats and cheese, didn’t make us feel groggy or sluggish.

The waitress brought us our bill in a red book that fitted the quirky theme of the restaurant.

Conclusion

D’Arry’s Raclette is a fun and social dining experience that can be anything you want it to be. It is customisable with different cheese options and add ons, though I personally found the original cheese and platter works the best, so only upgrade if you really need steak or chicken in your meal.

The restaurant is beautiful, traditional, quirky, and very…Cambridge. Prices are mid-ranged but everything is well sourced, justifying the cost (especially for central Cambridge). If you love cheese then this is the place for you and a place you could easily put away a dangerous amount of red wine 🫣

Thanks for reading!