Champion Of The Thames — Restaurant in Cambridge

First of it's full of great people: my family and I were stranded outside, locked out of the flat we had booked for the weekend (we're French coming over to visit some folks), it was pouring rain like nothing else, our phones had died, it was getting dark, the whole package. We came in a hurry in that pub, packed with luggage taking most of the space but they didn't even mind, gave us a charger for our phones and we had some nice chit chat with the clients in there, lovely people all of them. I wanted to drink something but didn't know what so one guy, Franck, made me taste half of all the ales he had until I picked one, we stayed for a good 30 minutes in that pub, drinking ale and listening to people telling their stories to their friends, but all in a calm yet heartwarming atmosphere. We don't have that in french bars. It was really nice and I was almost disappointed when we could finally enter our flat. Anyway the following night, a guy comes down in the alley completely drunk, crumbles onto the pavement and begins screaming at the top of his lungs. I'm not an early sleeper so I didn't mind but I came down to see if I could convince him to maybe leave or quiet down for the other people in the tiny street, and then out of the blue Franck and two other guys come out, apologise for something that isn't their fault and lift the drunk fellow onto the nearby park so at least he can sober up on the grass and far enough so he's not a sound problem to us. All around just a really nice pub with even nicer people inside of it. If I ever come back to Cambridge, I'll know where to go...

Cambridge Pub Tour – No. 7: Champion of the Thames is now my favourite pub in Cambridge. It is located on King Street behind Jesus College, and although it is only four or five minutes away from King's College, tourists rarely find it. As a result, most of the patrons are residents and regulars who live nearby. The pub is named after a rower who lived there more than 200 years ago. It’s quite small, but it retains the character of a traditional English pub. Upon entering, the barman, Adrian, greeted us like old friends. He makes drinks for the regulars without them telling him what they want. Such a small space provides everyone the opportunity to have a drink whilst having a chat with the bartender or with the guests next to them. In the era of social distancing, this natural and communal social atmosphere is really rare. The pub is too small to serve hot food, but Adrian told me that they have a range of bar snacks sourced from a farm three miles away in Cambridge. So, I ordered a quiche and it really tasted good. Adrian also asked me to try their 3-year-old pickled onions to go with the quiche! Later, when we were unsure about what to drink next, Adrian gave us a free blind beer taste. I was already half drunk after the first round. If you want to experience the atmosphere of a traditional English pub and meet locals and residents, this bar is definitely the...

The best pub in Cambridge (there are no others as far as I’m concerned). It seems to be run with real care and an understanding of what it means to create a pub that people want as their local. Some of the best bar staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of being served by. The atmosphere is incredible, and a large part of that is that it is one of the only places that does not feel the insecure need to play background music. The chatter of the people in the pub is the soundtrack, and when it is quiet, it is a wonderful quiet place to have a drink. It might sound like a little detail, but that confidence to just allow people to create the atmosphere, and to allow quiet, is something sorely lacking in basically every public space these days. It matters.

This place is a beautiful balancing act, and I’m happy to call it my local. As I said before, the best pub. Maybe...