Menu
Great food, attentive waiting staff. The environment was great and the quality of the food was second to none.
Lovely little bistro right in the middle of Cambridge.
Booking is essential as this place gets very busy.
Recommended
Food, ambiance, drinks and service was super - highly recommended
I booked this for a Birthday dinner and invited guests. We were not disappointed. The food was cooked and presented very well. Drinks were nicely presented. Service was attentive without being intrusive and the overall ambience was just right. I would recommend The Senate for all occasions.
Thank you, you all do a fantastic job.
Intimate eatery perfect for dinner with friends, attentive and friendly service where nothing is too much trouble.
Friendly, lovely food, nice casual but intimate ambience
Excellent food and drinks in a cosy, classic bistro setting. Service was a high standard and only slightly slower than you might normally expect due to a very large party occupying the front room. However, the staff were still attentive and courteous, and food was served in good time. The beef cheek main was a highlight, as was the crumble for dessert. Would definitely go again and would recommend to friends.
Had an absolutely great time at The Senate! Food was really tasty and good value but the highlight was the service. The staff could not have been better, even bringing our drinks and bill outside to let us enjoy the square. Definitely recommend!
Very good food and atmosphere; also, good outlook. Value for money.
First impression was a small cafe with a pervasive smell of frying and a slightly sticky table. We ate early after a wedding and as I have health issues with food we didn’t want anything too fancy or expensive. My husband ordered fish and chips and I had chicken breast in Panka crust with new potatoes but I asked for no salad just green beans instead. I also asked for the mushroom sauce on the side with no blue cheese. Service was very good and helpful for me and I enjoyed my meal except for the green beans which were very al dente. They were replaced but still not cooked properly so we were not charged for them. Unfortunately my husband did not like his fish and chips. We had yes and coffee and left.
Music far to load but food very good came out lovely and fresh.
We booked a table for a Saturday at 7.15pm and arrived 10 minutes early and was welcomed in. However we felt extremely rushed by the servers, our starters came along with our mains and the servers rushed everything else in-between. We left around 7.40pm - even though it was a busy Saturday, I had booked way in advance and wanted to relax and enjoy my time at the restaurant which unfortunately didn’t meet expectations.
Great service and amazing food!
Great food. Very fresh. Lovely evening. Would highly recommend
Lovely setting. Friendly and attentive staff. Good food and quick service.
The Senate is in a lovely location near the market square and King’s College.
The restaurant is quite small. The staff were friendly and helpful. The baked Camembert was sublime and the rest of the food was fine. Fair price, considering the location.
Didn’t meet our expectations in any way, shape or form. Atmosphere non existent and a distinct lack of customer service. The food was less than average, not value for your money. Given the magnificent surroundings it was a complete let down.
We really enjoyed our meals. The staff were friendly. The food and drinks great. Food very well presented and tasty too.
Me and my friends have been to the senate before and enjoyed it a lot, especially the sharing boards. This time we found the sharing boards had changed and were excited to try the new items. However, the cheese selection was not tasty at all as we’d hoped. They were all very strong cheeses that don’t go next to each other on one dish. We struggled to finish eating. Everything else was very good, but the food was rather disappointing for the standard of this lovely placed venue.
Came for dinner and drinks for a hen do, we all loved the food and had a great time, will hopefully be back
Nice central location. Friendly staff. Decent wine list. Good buzzy atmosphere
The 2 (male) waiters who served us were lovely, friendly and diligent. Overall we had a good time and the ambience was buzzy, food and service were great. We did however, have one issue regarding communication with the kitchen - having discussed with our waiter food allergies which he noted and checked, the main course had to be returned to the kitchen and there was an unnecessary interrogation by the waitress (owner?) as to whether we had an epi-pen or not! We understand the need to be cautious but we do know the details of what allergy exactly is involved - it is already hard to always have to check ingredients without feeling awkward and a little empathy from the waitress would have helped no end.
Always love going to the Senate. We had a lovely evening although there were a few little hitches the staff were very happy to help sort them out.
Great location, sunny evening, nice food and wine, looking out over Kings Parade....doesn't get much better.
Randomly booked here after using Open Table to find somewhere for an impromptu dinner. Service was good, the food was excellent and, I think, very reasonably priced. We will return.
I liked the informality. It wasn't a linen table napkin experience, but the occasion was all one would hope for from a friendly bistro on a busy Saturday evening.
Service was a tiny bit slow but the staff were very friendly. Lively atmosphere, food was good, I had the tortellini, which was home made and while well filled and tasty it could have done with more of a sauce as was a little dry. The rest of the party enjoyed their food.
I love this little place! The attention to detail is wonderful- in service, menu, and execution. It's an excellent space for a dinner date, or a business lunch/dinner. Cozy, but not cloying.
Really disappointing. My husband's cod with mushrooms and samphire was ok - nothing special. I had a plate of charcuterie which was atrocious. It was promised with bread and chutney which suggested much more than what I actually got - thin slices of part baked supermarket baguette and branston pickle in a pot. The poor selection of meat had been emptied on a board with a salad that had spent too long in a bag at the back of a fridge and was definitely past its best. Very expensive for what it was.
Great food good service and great location would highly recommend
Excellent location in the heart of Cambridge and excellent variety on the menu. The calamari starter was wonderful and I wish it had been available as a main! Only downside is that it is very quiet inside and our table for 2 was in the middle of two other groups so I actually felt like my conversation could be heard very clearly which ruined the ambience for me sadly
Our favorite pre-theatre dinner venue has never failed to deliver flavoursome food and the location is both convenient and thought provoking.
We enjoyed our lunch at The senate. The food was very good and the staff were very nice, attentive and helpful.
The Senate was chosen for the menu which included a good variety of dishes. Everyone in the group enjoyed their food. The staff were attentive without being intrusive. This was a first visit for each of us, we all agreed we would eat here again. We had a great evening, thank you.
We had an enjoyable evening. The staff are very welcoming and attentive. The food was good and our group enjoyed their meals.
Food, service and atmosphere were excellent. Really enjoyable evening. Highly recommend. Will definitely eat here again.
Lovely ambience, great food and good service. Had a lovely evening.
The food was reasonably nice but the portion size of my meal (pork belly) was tiny! My friend has the cod and her portion size was normal. What i did have was quite tasty and nicely cooked. My friend was underwhelmed with hers. The wine was nice and the service was pleasant. I wouldn't risk it again because of the portion size and underwhelming food but if i did, I would come at lunchtime or at the weekend. We went on a Monday evening and it was completely empty (well literally one other person there) so lacked atmosphere and made you wonder what was wrong with it...
Our table was reserved and waiting for us when we arrived! Right in the window! Their artisan cocktails were the best we had the whole time we were in England. Our server was so hospitable and helpful without being obtrusive. Our dinners were sublime- from the Mediterranean appetizer through entrees we ate every bite! I loved the pork belly and truffle dauphinois!
New chef got orders mixed up and we waited for 30 minutes for simple tapas whilst watching people who arrived after us get their food first. WiFi down so unable to take any card payments on Good Friday (!!!) so they took my boyfriend hostage while I walked to the bank to draw cash. Not the best lunch ever!
