Alimentum, Cambridge

This weekend we were in Cambridge. We’ve both been before but a long time ago and neither of us could really remember what it was like so we plumped for the academic city for our first romantic getaway of the year. We arrived in blue skies and merged with the hoards of tourists to view some of the stunning colleges around the city centre. Sightseeing was followed by an uninspiring lunch at Revolution and a trip to Hotel Chocolat for some luxury evening nibbles.

The day led way to night and we got ready for the big treat of the weekend – a meal at Michelin starred Alimentum, just outside the city centre. After much deliberation, we opted for Alimentum over local (and 2 starred) Midsummer House for 2 reasons. 1) It was cheaper 2) Daniel Clifford came across as a grumpy sod on last years Masterchef the professionals and it put us right off him!

So, we arrived at Alimentum to be greeted by a fantastic New York style bar complete with gentle jazz piano in one corner. We had a drink in the bar before being escorted to our table.

Olive crisps with orange mayonnaise

We opted for the Ala Carte menu which is priced at £36 for 2 courses or £49 for 3 courses. The menu is clean and simple with ingredients listed out leaving everything to the imagination! The Amuse Bouche was a parsnip veloute with salted caramel popcorn. The popcorn was a surprise and worked well with the creamy parsnip sweetness.

Parsnip Veloute with popcorn

To start I went for Quail, hubby for Ham Hock. The quail was absolutely delicious, full of subtle Thai flavours, the ballotine sweet and tender and the legs crispy and full of flavour and slithers of roasted peanut were to die for. The hubby’s ham was salty and smoky with a delicious broth which the waitress poured at the table!

Hamhock parfait, smoked hazelnut, pickled mushroom

Quail breast and legs, broccoli, lime and peanut

Overall, we felt that the service was quite rushed – within 45 mins we’d finished eating and they were turning the tables over quickly around us. The food was absolutely delicious but this wasn’t the best Michelin experience we’ve ever had. In my opinion, Michelin starred dining is about more than just the food, its the ambience and the experience from start to finish should be special. I do want to give a shout out to the Sommelier though – he was very knowledgeable and friendly. We often drink the same wines so he helped us choose something different and actually, he got it spot on!  Thank you Alimentum for a lovely night but not a great night.

Maybe next time we’ll try Midsummer House after all.