The Elm Tree

This quirky pub in a Cambridge backstreet five minutes from Parker’s Piece is a hidden gem. But not because of its food – it doesn’t serve any.

The atmosphere is so warm, though, and the place drips with such character that it fully deserves to be on our Cambridge list. This is a rare ‘proper’ pub – part of a dying breed.

The cosy single bar is festooned with memorabilia and ephemera from bygone times. The focus is on beer, with 10 cask ales and more than 50 specialist Belgian brews, together with traditional ciders, perries, fruit wines and mead.

Unlike most Cambridge pubs, The Elm Tree does not serve food, other than a few bar snacks. However, it does allow drinkers to bring in their own grub, and on our visit we enjoyed a couple of cakes from the excellent Norfolk Street Bakery with our pints of Young’s Bitter.

There is outdoor seating for the summer months and candlelight during the dark winter evenings.

By Philip Seaman, Cambridgeshire editor