Buren — Restaurant in Cambridge

I don't know why our experience was so different from every other review here - but it was.

In short; Food was okay, not the quality I expect from S&H but that might be because the special burger sauce (Nduja topping on the burger, nduja sauce on the side for chips) didn't really feel like it went with the burger or chips. Both were cooked well enough just the flavour wasn't great. Chicken terrine also from the special menu was nice. Found hair like plastic running through a slice of the lemon meringue pie (see pics) There was a black hair in one of our pints which we asked to return once it was noticed, none of our group have black hair and weirdly... I don't think the waitstaff did either? Wait staff took some time to come over / acknowledge us trying to get their attention several times (10 minutes, quite some time in a 40 top restaurant) The waitress, while trying to sort out the bill, re-added the comped meringues that had been removed by another waiter I had to flag down. She then re-added the beer that had a hair in it, even though we had asked for both items to be taken off the bill. On top of that, we were still charged for two meringues from other members of our group, although these had been eaten so by the by. We only realised the discrepancy with the bill when my partner pointed out that the receipt didn’t match what we had been charged. When she tried to explain the issue, the waitress became very flustered / frustrated, and didn’t handle the situation well. Instead, she asked me if I had added a tip to account for the difference (obviously not) before taking some time to figure out why we had asked for 2 items to be removed. Apparently behind the scenes there are two receipts and each waitstaff updated the other receipt? No idea why. The atmosphere was decent, it wasn't too crowded or too loud with Mill Road being right outside and our party of 6 were able to eat and drink while still chatting and being able to hear each other. It wasn't particularly busy when we arrived...

We finally made it to Buren for a very early dinner 3pm with our two children (in an effort to prevent their chaos impacting others wanting a peaceful dining experience 😅). We sampled a variety of items, the bread and butter went over really well with the children- to be expected as grain culture bread is amazing. The bitterballen were delicious. The olives were very good but do have peppers in their brine so our daughter who loves green olives was not a fan of those as too spicy. I had the steak hache which was delicious. The peppercorn sauce was divine and great for soaking the fries. My husband had the burger which was good. Our daughter loves her pasta and found Leo and made sure to thank him for it. We managed to get some pies from the pie trolley as well. The apple pie was good but if going to have it with cream would like it to be heated. Warm Apple pie is always a treat. The lemon meringue was in and also had that. The meringue and lemon filling were exceptional (I’m very fussy with my crusts which I thought too thick). Absolutely delicious meal and we look forward...

Buren is one of those rare gems where everything just feels right - a warm, informal atmosphere, friendly and attentive staff, and food that’s simple but executed to an exceptionally high standard.

We started with the bitterballen - crisp, golden and packed with flavour alongside the mustard dip - a brilliant way to kick things off. We then tried the steak haché and the hake, both cooked beautifully with clean, confident flavours that let the quality of the ingredients shine. The menu is refreshingly unfussy but delivered with care and precision.

The highlight of the evening, though, was undoubtedly the lemon meringue pie. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s one of the best I’ve ever had - the perfect balance of sharp, silky lemon curd and soft, toasted meringue, all sitting on a crisp pastry base. Absolutely outstanding.

If you’re after a place in Cambridge where the food is excellent without the pretension, Buren is well...