karohemd | Entries tagged with the punter

I've written about The Punter in Cambridge before (apologies for the horrible phone shots), which is my favourite gastropub in Cambridge, not least because it's on two convenient bus routes so I can get there easily from work and then home. I've been a few times since the post linked above and the food has always been superb. It's on the pricier end of the scale for pubs (starters 3-8, mains 11-14.50, puddings 5.50) but the quality of the food is worth it and the £5 lunch specials are hard to beat. The place also feels more like a restaurant than a pub as the bar on one end of the pub is rather small.

Last night I had a bit of time to kill before a gig I was shooting so I had dinner again:

Deep-fried whitebait with chilli mayo. Crispy, crunchy little fishies served whole (but without heads) with a nice kick from the mayo. I think they serve this as bar snack, too.

Rolled, slow-cooked breast of pheasant with a generous slice of dauphinoise with mushrooms and leaves on top and a nice jus. The meat was very tender and flavoursome and the sides were perfect. A joy to eat.

The dessert was a rather decadent "chocolate terrine". Good dark chocolate, similar to a chocolate pot in texture with a nice bit of tart fruitiness from the passionfruit jelly.

I fully intend to make a visit to The Punter a regular affair.

Current Mood: content

This month, Ben Pope, head chef at The Punter in Cambridge, and his team are growing moustaches for the men's health charity Movember. To add a little excitement to this, he's also added lamb's testicles to the menu with one pound going to the charity.

So this evening I went along to try them. It was the first time I had them and they were really nice (poached, sliced, breaded and then deep fried), served with a herb salad. The texture is not unlike soft liver, very subtle in taste so the well-dressed herb salad and the crunchy breading were definitely needed. As with all offal, there is no reason why anyone should be put off by them.
If you would like to donate to Ben specifically, click here.

As main I had a confit duck leg with puy lentils and curly kale.

Confit duck leg, puy lentils, curly kale

(apologies for the rubbish phone pics)
Wonderfully moist meat, crispy skin, just as it should be. I also loved the use of lentils instead of a starch. This was a very generous portion and had to leave some lentils behind. The food at the Punter might be pricey for a pub but then you get a lot on your plate and the cooking is definitely restaurant level.

After years of mediocre chain restaurant fare (and very few fine dining places), Cambridge is finally getting somewhere with a few pubs where you can get food cooked fresh and with love, not from the common larder like chain pubs do. Apart from The Punter, there's The Old Spring on Chesterton Road and more recently, The First and Last (used to be The Cricketers, across the corner from The Elm Tree) and I'm sure there are few more where I haven't been yet.