The latest restaurateurs to open a second business are Sam Carter and Alex Olivier, the talented couple behind Cambridge’s Exceptional-rated Restaurant Twenty-Two on Chesterton Road. Just two doors down, Margaret’s is Twenty-Two’s easy-going younger sibling.
An ordinary furniture shop has been transformed into a modern-British bistro. Behind an unassuming burgundy exterior is a serene, light-filled space, all pale oak and natural clay-toned walls, chocolate-brown banquettes, cosy tables for two, gentle lighting – and a window bench that really took our fancy. The seating is over two levels, the upper part giving views of the open kitchen where head chef Seb Mansfield leads a busy team.
Lunch on Tuesday to Saturday is a keenly priced three courses for £45, while a ‘Sundays at Margaret’s’ lunch promises a leisurely afternoon for £65. For dinner, a longer £65 ‘Margaret’s menu’ is offered on Monday to Thursday (note the Monday evening service – a rarity), but rises to £75 on Friday and Saturday evenings. The menus have choice but are taut rather than rambling; that focus is welcome, no doubt for the kitchen too.
Opening sharing plates, anchored by warm focaccia, included broad bean pesto, hummus, and a puddle of rapeseed oil with fermented blackcurrant vinegar. Fresh-as-a-daisy crudités came with scene-stealing cod’s roe dip with punchy chilli, and a little cup of ajo blanco. Monkfish cheeks were swathed lacily in tempura batter, perfect with a swoosh of lemon aioli.
Then cod in a deliciously vivid parsley sauce – why question a partnership of the ages? – with peppy sea vegetables and capers; and pearl barley risotto with tiny girolles and fresh young leeks. Waxy Norfolk Peer potatoes and sweet Isle of Wight tomatoes needed little to improve their on-point seasonality. We finished with a duck-egg custard tart that jiggled satisfyingly next to mild fig-leaf ice cream, a savoury slump of truffled Baron Bigod cheese with fruit toast, and just-baked madeleines with a powerful espresso.
The front of house team is led with warmth and efficiency by Georgia Goddard. Formerly a sommelier at Restaurant Twenty-Two, she has continued the partnership with local suppliers, Thorne Wines and Cambridge Wine Merchants, to create a list that’s full of interest. There’s top-end Pinot Gris-Pinot Blanc from superlative Californian winery Au Bon Climat (£17 for a 125ml glass, £66 for a 500ml carafe, £100 a bottle), and discovery in the form of Pinot Noir Précoce from Staffordshire vineyard Pattingham (£66). Non-drinkers are well looked after, too: every cocktail has an alcohol-free version, and our driver-friendly margarita was every bit as zippy as its conventional counterpart. Big tick.
The full-on opening hours will ask a lot of everyone, but Carter and Olivier are nothing if not ambitious. We’ll be back soon with a full review, but Margaret’s is already a place to bookmark – and to book.
WHERE 18 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 3AX
FOLLOW @margaretscambridge
BOOK margaretscambridge.co.uk
The Good Food Guide allows three to six months before anonymously inspecting a new restaurant. Look out for a full review coming soon.
