Midsummer House Restaurant

After a quarter of a century at the top of the culinary tree, Midsummer House continues to be one of the best restaurants in Britain. And you certainly can’t argue with the location, which is idyllic, although it may not have felt that way when the restaurant was recovering from catastrophic flooding in 1999 and 2000. This elegant Victorian villa has its back to the River Cam and views across Midsummer Common from the front. The conservatory dining room is airy and spacious, the atmosphere welcoming, and the seasonally evolving menus offer a choice of four courses at lunch, or different tasting menus offered at lunch and dinner. This is modern British cooking of the very highest calibre, with Daniel Clifford’s passion and respect for quality produce and seasonality clear to see. Technical skills are absolutely spot-on and the wine list is impressive. A window into the kitchen means you can see where Clifford, along with head chef Mark Abbott and their team, are busy constructing precise, thoughtful dishes, with intriguing combinations of flavours. A tasting menu might take in duck liver mousse with red pepper and strawberry, smoked salmon rillette with black radish and apple, and French rabbit with Agen prunes, duck liver, lovage, while braised Cornish turbot might be accompanied by cockles, cuttlefish and sea herbs. A coriander dome might look simple, but this is a complex and technically challenging dessert of white chocolate and coriander, with refreshing lemongrass jelly, mango, coconut and koji foam.

Awards, accolades & Welcome Schemes

5 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence

AA Notable Wine List