Bould Brothers Coffee — Restaurant in Cambridge

I am a bit of a coffee geek and since the demise of the Massaros on Regent street a few years ago, Cambridge has been missing a good place where I could go and get a really good espresso. In the meantime I pretty started drinking espresso only at home and avoid as much as possible to consume coffee in any high street shop as their coffee is truly horrible. My normal supplier of beans has increased their prices recently and when searching for local roasters of coffee I found this shop and was immediately excited about. I couldn't believe my luck when I realize there was finally another good coffee place in Cambridge and that somehow I had managed to completely miss it. Had a look at their website they actually seem to know what they are doing which got me even more excited so I decided to do a stop on my way to give them a try and potentially buy some beans. Unfortunately this is where my dream ended. Don't get me wrong they know what they are doing, the espresso was well presented (I would have still preferred a different cup), the body and clarity of the espresso was all there but the flavor profile just doesn't suit me. There is just too much caramel and roasted fruit notes and an horrible aftertaste that I don't really appreciate. My guess is that they are roasting probably quite dark to match the more traditional Italian espresso which is disappointing as I was really hoping they would offer something different. That also stopped me buying any of their others beans. So in conclusion my quest for good espresso in Cambridge will unfortunately continue and I will relegate this place to either filter or milk...

We had a flat white and an iced latte, both of which were incredible and just the way we liked them. However, I noticed small flies flying around the shop. We initially planned to sit downstairs, but the number of flies was too much for me, so we moved upstairs.

We ate half of a croissant and then realized there was a fly on it. We informed the staff, and the staff member apologized and offered us another pastry or coffee. We opted for the coffee. She handled the situation with kindness, which we appreciated.

However, I felt that if there were a significant number of flies around the shop, something should have been done about it. The photo I posted of a wall with flies was taken upstairs, where the situation wasn't as bad, but imagine five times more of these in a smaller space while you're trying to enjoy your coffee downstairs. It's not exactly pleasant.

Lastly, there were four ladies working downstairs. They weren’t very busy, yet no one cleared the dirty cups and plates on our table from the previous customers until our...

Best. Cappuccino. Ever.

If you are in or even near Cambridge, and you fancy yourself a good coffee or cappuccino: do yourself a favour and make the time for Bould Brothers.

My wife and I travel a lot and we always seek to find local coffee shops and roasters. We’ve hit up San Francisco, L.A., New Orleans, London, Lisbon, Berlin, Prague, and many other smaller places. Fortunately work brought my wife and I to Cambridge in October 2018; we immediately got to searching, and lucky us, stumbled upon Bould Brothers Coffee. They had us coming back daily (sometimes multiple times per day). I found myself rushing back from work so I could get one before they closed.

Their cappuchino has become our “Gold Standard” of quality and satisfaction. No other place that we have been to before or since has quite lived up to the Bould Brothers. Many are really good, some come very close, but none have met the bar that this place has set.

We look forward to our next trip to the U.K. so we can visit the Bould Brothers again (and maybe see...