Being a content creator means I am constantly asked what my favourite restaurants in Cambridge are, but it is always an impossible thing to answer. What constitutes a favourite depends entirely on my mood, the situation, or the budget.

Running the Cambridge Foodies blog means I am free to visit anywhere I like, but I am often pulled by different factors – whether it is ensuring the blog covers a wide enough variety of choices for the readers, the budget at the time, or realising I have left a place (or area) out for far too long.

A birthday, however, is quite liberating. I get to choose without any of these restrictions. Though many great places flew through my head, Tradizioni kept calling me, especially since they have recently set up a new al fresco dining area on The Broadway stretch of Mill Road. I have always been a big fan of the restaurant but don’t get here nearly as much as I would like, so I knew I wanted to try it out and catch up for a well overdue visit with one of the nicest guys on the Cambridge foodie scene, Andrea – Especially since they recently won Best Italian Restaurant in the East of England for 2026.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with my family, so we decided to put the al fresco area to the test. The tables outside even have little heaters, which will make them great spots for winter too. It is easily one of the best spots in the city for a sunny day.

Anti pasto

We started things off with the Antipasto board, a perfect sharing platter featuring prosciutto umbro, olives, salami, and imported Italian cheese. It is exactly the sort of rustic, high-quality start you want. All the ingredients were top tier, imported, and presented beautifully.

The highlight for me was the Crostini con Salsa Tartufata; a type of truffle and mushroom paste on top of crusty crostini bread. It was dark, rich, and intense with a lovely salted flavour, that was as delicious as it was unusual.

Grilled Seabass

For the main event, we ordered a mix of land, sea, and pizza. I chose the grilled seabass after seeing a picture of it on the Cambridge Foodies group.

It is “cooked the authentic Italian” way and comes served with mussels, croutons, fresh tomatoes, and salad. It is a stunning dish to behold and was the ideal summer meal. The fish was light, perfectly cooked, and everything on the plate was just so fresh.

Eating this while sipping a carefully paired bottle of Sardinian White hand picked by Andrea, and sitting outside under the shade of his grape tree pulled it all together. If i closed my eyes, I could almost be in a sleepy alleyway in Rome.

Italian Pizza

Naturally, I had to see how the pizza was holding up. Tradizioni is well known for its square pizza and revisiting it reminded me that it is still everything I love about their style – thin-based, perfectly cheesy, and loaded with pepperoni right to the very edges. There is no giant, empty crust here; it is pure topping from corner to corner. Their dough is also 72-hour fermented and made fresh on-site, resulting in a beautifully soft and gentle base without being doughy. You can just tell that it is real quality just by looking at it!

Dessert

We couldn’t leave without hitting the dessert menu. I went for the tiramisu, a great benchmark dish to compare Italian restaurants. Unlike many other rivals, I found this to be more delicate and subtle than some others I have had. It was much smoother, creamier, and ideal for the hot weather. Like everything else today, the presentation was a work of art.

My mum had the vegan basil panna cotta that offered a really interesting, fresh contrast. It was great to see a vegan dessert get something so special on the menu as at many restaurants they are an afterthought. I didn’t get to try this one myself but it got two thumbs up from my mum.

A meal abroad without the flight

My sunny afternoon at Tradizioni was the perfect way to celebrate another year. It genuinely felt like being on holiday and once the grapes have grown up the canopy in a few years’ time, I think it will get even more beautiful with much more shade. Who knows, maybe you will eventually see a Tradizioni wine? 🤣

If you are looking to kick back and watch the world go by with some genuinely authentic Italian cooking then this is the ideal spot.

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