Copyright cambridge-news
A gastropub in Cambridge has been given a prestigious award thanks to its ambience and Caribbean-inspired dishes. The Burleigh Arms has been awarded two AA rosettes for culinary excellence, which puts the restaurant "up there with the best in the UK". Tom Arnold, the owner of the gastropub, said it feels "great" to be recognised for "such a prestigious award". He continued: "It's tough and it's a mystery diner who judges our food and you don't know when they're coming in. "So you always have to be on your toes and always prepared for it. It feels good because obviously they're professionals. They're seeing everybody around the UK so it puts us up there with the best." When asked why he thinks the restaurant won the award, Mr Arnold praised the head chef, Kareem Roberts. He said: "I think Kareem has so much passion and his passion comes out in the plating of his food, his recipes, and the menus. "He locally sources his ingredients as much as possible but also gets influence from around the world, especially the Caribbean so some of his food is quite spicy. He gets a lot of influence from the Caribbean and his heritage." Mr Arnold also believes the "lovely" ambience of the restaurant also helps it to stand out in the city. The Burleigh Arms wants to create an atmosphere where people "can come in, enjoy themselves, and get good service" and feel comfortable to talk with other guests. For any new customers visiting the Burleigh Arms, Mr Arnold had two dishes he would recommend they try out. He said: "I would say, for starters, I would recommend the braised ox cheek, which takes 24 hours to produce and marinade. "Then it has whipped celeriac on the side and crispy shallots on top. It's very autumnal, very rich but it's very easy to eat. "Then, for the main, I would go for the lamb mint madras lasagne, which takes 48 hours to produce. It has a bit of influence from Kareem's background with the madras spices in the lasagne. It's just a really amazing dish and you can tell it's produced with love and care." Alongside the two AA rosettes, Mr Arnold would like to get into the Estrella Damm's top 100 gastropubs again after coming in 96th place on the list for 2025. He added: "We got into the Estrella top 100 and we broke in just at 96. "We're hoping to get further up the leader board. Obviously with the rosettes, more people come in and they hear about us. So we're pushing for that again. Eventually, we want to push for three rosettes as well." The Burleigh Arms can be found at 9 Newmarket Road in Cambridge. The gastropub is open from 12pm to 11pm every day apart from Mondays, when it is closed, and Sundays, when it shuts at the earlier time of 7pm.
