Fancett’s Bistro
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Entry
You can eat your way round the world, it seems, on Mill Road, such is the diversity of independent restaurants, food shops, bars and cafés along this lively street. Flying the flag for – or at least inspired by – the French bistro is Fancett’s. It’s a warm-hearted spot for excellent, unfussy food and the sort of value for money that has kept people beating a path to its unassuming door ever since Dan Fancett and his partner Holly Minns opened the place in 2021. A set menu is tweaked daily and served in its simplest form at lunch (two choices per course) and with a few more options at dinner. It fits the bistro vibe, though the repertoire strays deliciously beyond predictability. Open a summer lunch with mackerel tartare accompanied by oyster mayo and a briny scattering of sea vegetables balanced by sweet pops of grape and bright pickled cucumber. Pork cutlet – beautifully, tenderly cooked – comes with charred broccoli, the chilli nudge of ‘nduja butter and a smoky romesco sauce in a plate of satisfying layers of flavour. There might also be battered pollack with vivid-green crushed peas and homemade tartare sauce – or come in the evening when the ambition is upped and you might find (for a small supplement) a fillet of wild bass on a pile of saffron orzo with crab, fennel and samphire. Finish perhaps with cherry clafoutis – we’re in bistro territory, remember – or apricot frangipane tart. Restaurant manager Theo Armyras is an engaging enthusiast of all things drinkable; he steered us towards a delicious Spanish rosado from Rioja’s family-owned Bodegas Perica (at £10 a glass). Selections by the 500ml carafe keep proceedings true to bistro-dom, but there’s plenty to explore, from minerally Chablis Premier Cru, Thomas Labille ‘Montmains’ 2020 to big hitters from Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Wheelchair access, Credit card required
96a Mill Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 2BD
01223 354093
