Midsummer House

2 Michelin Stars, so we were very keen to compare this with Le Gavroche

Food

We were very impressed from the start. They had delivered some “thinking snacks” while we deliberated on the menu.

• cheese stick - looked spectacular, and were very more-ish
• balsamic vinegar foam and crisps - wonderful balsamic foam and crispy crisps!
• green olives - so fresh and so beautiful

I was sad that they took this away very early on, but in hindsight it was a good move, as I was already filling up on this, and there was so much more food to follow.

Based on the quality of the start, we decided to go the whole hog and get the tasting menu.

• foccacia - was soft and beautiful
• brown bread - ok, but the butter was excellent.
• Grapefruit and Champagne foam - was dramatically presented, a decanter was brought out and our foam squirted into lovely pink glasses. The coldness combined with the texture was heavenly. Nothing disappointing so far.
• Tiger Prawn, Cucumber and Cauliflower - this was a soup that has also been “foamed”. The prawn was so delicious, the other flavours quite light, a great start to the meal.
• Langoustine and King Crab - I really like this one, the crab was encased in a tortellini with the most delicious pastry and the best texture, the langoustine did not pale against the crab either.
• Piquillo Pepper Cannelloni - was totally not what was expected. A liver mousse was wrapped, lolly-pop style, with red peper sauce for dipping. Looked wonderful but I don’t think the taste quite work.
• Sauteed Scallop, Bay Leaf, Pigs Trotter - as usual, the scallop didn’t have the scallop taste, and the bay leaf didn’t add much flavour. The pigs trotters were little cubes and tasted like fried croquettes.
• Risotto of Parsley, Garlic Snail, Yeast Foam - I was really looking forward to this one, but the risotto was actually quite disappointing, the rice being still hard. The garlic snail was presented in an ingenious way. The snail is skewered on the end of
• Roast Zander, Red Wine and Nettles - again, the fish taste was a bit of a letdown, and I’m not that keen on the nettles, but the fish was perfectly cooked and the red wine sauce helped to impart some flavour.
• Pousse Café - an appetiser of cream, egg and sweet stuff. Different, interesting, if not that refreshing.
• Bourbon Smoked Pigeon, Iceberg Lettuce, Sweet Potato - the flavour of the pigeon was excellent, so gamey and moist. The lettuce was still crunchy, the bourbon sauce a bit sweet
• Camomile, Lemon and Ginger - presented as a jelly of three flavours, I especially like the camomile layer, but make sure you mix them together to get the best taste.
• Pear, Black Olive and Fennel - the olives certainly didn’t taste like olives, instead, more like grapes, and very strange. I am not so sure what the point of this one is.
• Coffee, Chocolate and Passion Fruit - I thought this was literally what it was, but it turned out to be 3 rectangles of foam of the flavours. The coffee was the best, white the passion fruit didn’t quite carry through.

I was very very full after this, but Slokky decided he needed coffee to help his long drive, so we ordered Cappuccino (ummm… as usual, very very foamy), which actually came with:

• Baignet with crème anglais and plum sauce - so so so delicious. It was warm, lightly dusked with icing sugar, and the dipping sauces so so good, I actually ate too even though I really couldn’t fit anything else in.
• chocolate – mandarin, pineapple, green pepper, dark - surprisingly, the best was the green pepper, even though it was encased in white chocolate. They have definitely used very good quality chocolate. These are some of the best I’ve tasted, and I would come back just for that!!

I really can’t fault the technique and the presentation. I like it that they are willing to experiment, but some worked much better than others.

Rating - 8

Atmosphere

This literally was a house, but a big one at that, with a garden on the side and a stream running down the back. We were seated in the back room which had large open windows looking out to the garden. The weather was horrid, snow, wind and periods of sun, so we really enjoyed watching the changes during our 3 hour meal, after which we retired to have coffees and petit fours upstairs, where there was a small bar and a balcony, and views of the river.

You must definitely pay a visit the bathroom to check out the pictures they have in there. They are very cheeky and totally not what you would expect to find in a restaurant like this. The clientele seems to be intellects, dressed smartly for lunch but not too stuffy.

Rating - 3

Service

Excellent, as you would expect from a two-star restaurant. Attentive, polite, and good wine recommendation. We didn’t feel like we were rushed at all.

Rating - 5

C-factor

At lunch time, you could choose from a limited 3 course menu for £30, but we decided we might as well go the whole hog and try the tasting menu, which at £80, is not something you should have very often. The price is really justified by the amount of work that goes into preparing those beautiful dishes.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 17

Info

Midsummer Common
Cambridge
CB4 1HA
Phone +44 (0) 12 2336 9299
Website