Live Music Pubs in Cambridge

Blue Moon

2 Norfolk Street, Cambridge CB1 2LF

Since November 2013 the Blue Moon has been a sister pub to the Cambridge Blue, hence the name. As well as changing real ales, from smaller breweries, there are up to twenty craft keg beers. The pub usually has a tap takeover once a month. There are also 90+ gins available, and a good selection of rum. There are two bars, the brighter front bar contains pictures of old Cambridge pubs and an unusual wall clock. The larger, back bar is often used for events. There are colourful tables and flower tubs at the rear of the building in what was formerly a car park. Very popular pub quiz on Wednesdays. Live music mostly weekends, and frequent other events, check social media for details. Not open weekday lunchtimes, but late evening opening through the week. There is step-free access to the bar but no accessible WC. Cambridge & District CAMRA Young Members & Community (City) Pub of the Year 2020.

Milton Arms

205 Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XG

Large, popular, family friendly pub in the Greene King owned Hungry Horse group. It specializes in value for money food and televised sport with lots of special offers. The already sizable ground floor has been supplemented with extensions but still it doesn't cramp the plot. Large decking and patio garden, including children's play area, to one side and in front. Occasional live music.

Panton Arms

43 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL

Two bar pub which was once the tap for Bailey & Tebbutt's Panton brewery. The former public bar is now a comfortable seating area and doubles as a function room. The lounge is basically furnished with tables for drinkers and diners. The courtyard was the yard of the former brewery and now makes for a most attractive seating area. The former gates to the brewery are still present. Under new management since October 2020. It's hearty food is home made.

Portland Arms

129 Chesterton Road, Cambridge CB4 3BA

1930s, Basil Oliver designed, public house overlooking the tranquility of the Mitchams Corner gyratory traffic system. The main bar is opulently wood paneled with a real fire and comfortable seating. The smaller bar has a pool table and leads onto a courtyard garden. It is listed on the National Inventory as having a historic pub interior of some regional importance. Guests beers may be from the Greene King guest list but also from local breweries. Weston's Old Rosie and other ciders are available.Food includes burgers, homemade pizzas and pub favourites. Major music venue with bands performing regularly in sound proofed back room which can accommodate 200 people. Beer festivals are also held.

Prince Regent

91 Regent St, Cambridge CB2 1AW

The former multi-room layout here has long been opened out. Nowadays there are raised areas each side of the front entrance plus standing and some seating round the bar. A large conservatory has been added at the back and this leads to an asphalted area with garden tables. The pub was spruced up in 2014 without further changing the layout. Its 6 handpumps offer Greene King ales plus others from their guest list. The food is good value, Greene King pub food.

Rock

200 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge CB1 7AW

Large managed pub on the south side of town. The former two-bar layout has now become a U-shape though one side is still much more lounge-y, being smartly decorated and sporting an interesting selection of large framed photos. Patio seating area in front, and a gazebo and second patio to the rear. Standard GK managed-house menu with food served every day 12 - 10 and various offers e.g. two meals for £9.99 and curry plus drink for £5.99 on Thursday. Three ever changing guest beers, not limited to the usual Greene King guest list.

Sir Isaac Newton

84 Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AJ

Popular, modern pub specializing in televised sport but not to the the detriment of its well kept ales. IPA is its regular while the other three pumps serve a varied range including one stronger one. Attractively decorated, light and airy with a balcony over the bar and a small pavement seating area at the front. Friendly staff. Occasional live music. Sunday quiz.

Six Bells

11 Covent Garden, Cambridge CB1 2HS

Small, side-street pub off Mill Road, close to Fenners cricket ground. Traditional two bar pub in front with modern extension behind. There is an enclosed garden behind as well street-side tables out front. A real community pub which attracts locals, students, knitters, pub quizzers, art, book, music & poetry buffs as well as pool and darts players. Home cooked food. Thursday steak nights are popular. Cambridge branch Community pub (city) 2014.

Tall Trees

67 Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EN

Converted from the Spread Eagle in 2005, the eagle still sits above the main entrance. After 16 years as the Snug on 22 September it reopened as Tall Trees with live music a key part of its offering. Live music Wednesday to Saturday, Wednesday is Open Mic night No food served at the moment, occasional food trucks.

Tram Depot

5 Dover Street, Cambridge CB1 1DY

Large pub just off East Road,opposite Anglia Ruskin University. Justifiably popular for food and drink. Originally opened in the 1990s by the Earl Soham brewery of Suffolk and converted, as the name suggests, from a former (horse) tram depot. Extensively remodelled when bought by Everards including removal of the mezzanine floor. One end is a dining area and the lower section retains its mostly tiled floor. The guest beers often feature ales from Everards' Brunswick brew pub in Derby. Ciders are also popular.

White Swan

107-109 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2AZ

Popular late night corner pub situated on Cambridge's busy Mill Road. There is a strong sports focus with 4 large televisions showing various different events. Split across multiple bars at various levels and a beer garden to the rear. An extensive menu is offered specializing in simple pub food. The White Swan was refurbished in August 2017.

Town & Gown

8 Market Passage, Cambridge CB2 3PF

Formerly the Arts Cinema it opened in 2002 following a stylish conversion as Baroosh, a large, multi-floored bar-cum-restaurant owned by McMullen's. In 2019 it shut and underwent a further conversion finally reopening in September 2020 as the Town and Grown, Pub & Theatre. The top floor is the Black Box Theatre for live performances. Some features dating back to its days as the Arts Cinema have been uncovered and restored. The pictures currently date from its Baroosh days. Four cask ales and four keg beers, all McMullen's, are available. Extensive food menu.

Carlton Arms

Carlton Way, Cambridge CB4 2BY

This large two roomed community pub was reopened in July 2011 after a fire in the upstairs living accommodation caused considerable damage. There is a comfortable lounge with a large area available for diners, while the public bar has darts and pool to offer. There is also a large patio garden which is ideal for warmer weather. Good, reasonably priced, food is available. Pie night Tuesdays. Spanish food Fridays. Sunday carvery. Breakfasts served from 9:30 every day except Sunday. Its ales and up to 10 real ciders are gravity dispensed in the tap room. Branch Cider Pub 2014.

Royal Cambridge Hotel

Trumpington St, Cambridge CB2 1PY

The hotel has a public bar in which a small range of keg beers including IPA, Ice Breaker Pale Ale and Noble Lager from Greene King, Crafty Wolf lager from Norfolk based Wolf brewery and Aspall's cider.

Queen Edith

Wulfstan Way, Cambridge CB1 8QN

The first new build pub in Cambridge for around 30 years, this is Milton brewery's third pub in the city. A pub of the same name was sited to the rear of the current pub and was demolished to make way for housing. Mock Georgian design inside and out. The larger bar to the left of the entrance has large windows on two sides and a wood burning stove. The other bar has wooden booths down one side. Regular and changing Milton ales. Quiz night Mondays. Open mic night first Saturday of month.

Royal Standard

292 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3NL

The Royal Standard was originally built before most of the Victorian housing in the Romsey Town area was, thanks to a far-sighted brewer who presumably predicted the expansion of Mill Road past the railway line - it's at a slight angle to the road, probably as a result of predating it. Following almost a decade when it was a restaurant and then a charity shop, and after several rounds of planning applications from the developers who bought the site, the Royal Standard reopened on 22nd October 2015 as a pub, albeit smaller, and with a vastly reduced garden. It immediately became a fine addition to Cambridge's pub scene. Bottled beers, changing keg beers (including Duchesse de Bourgogne) are frequently Belgian but there are plenty of British options as well, including locally and regionally brewed cask ales. Locally produced real cider available. Wide selection of gins. Greek food. Branch Most Improved City Pub 2016.

Boathouse

14 Chesterton Road, Cambridge CB4 3AX

Although essentially open plan, the smart interior offers a choice of drinking areas, including a snug. There is also an upstairs function room. The pub's star feature is the terrace which descends in stages to the River Cam. Food is served all day until 10pm and features the GK managed house menu with its plethora of good-value deals. Quiz night Tuesday & Friday. Live Jazz & Blues alternate Saturdays.

Cambridge Working Mens Club

125 East Road, Cambridge CB1 1BX

Cherry Hinton Constitutional Club

144 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge CB1 7AJ

Cherry Hinton Constitutional Club, also known as the Cherry Cons Club, was formed at the start of the 20th century as a Conservative working men’s club. Originally meeting in a private house, Glen Villa. Before the First World War two houses were joined together to form the present club premises. There are meeting rooms, the Albion Rooms, that can be hired. The Albion Boxing Academy occupies part of the building.

Salisbury Club

272 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3NF

The foundation stone of the Salisbury Working Men's Conservative Club was laid in 1891. The club consists of a row of three red brick building which includes a function hall that is available for hire. Greene King IPA on handpump.

Alma

26 Russell Court, Cambridge CB2 1HW

The low-ceilinged interior has remnants of former walls and some columns but is basically open-plan with bare boards and carpeted floors and wood-panelled wainscotting below cream walls. Sport is important here, especially rugby, and major events are shown on the three big screens. Benches out front and a tiny rear patio. Excellent, home cooked pub grub with the pies being a particular attraction. Ruby Tuesday offers a choice of six curries for £5 when bought with a drink. Quiz on Thursday. Open-mic "Songsmith Sessions" on Sunday evenings. Full advantage is taken of Greene King's guest beer scheme both for regular and changing real ales. Weston's Old Rosie cider is also available.

Thrive

5/7 Norfolk Street, Cambridge CB1 2LD

A bistro-cafe-bar that also hosts art exhibitions and, in its downstairs function room, live music and poetry events, dance and even yoga classes. The ground floor has a relaxed cafe feel as does the large mezzanine floor. Outside there are tables on an attractive patio area. Bottled and draught keg beers available. Formerly CB2 which closed in Autumn 2019. During the Covid-19 shutdown it transformed into Thrive a plant based café, bistro and venue reopening on 6 July 2020.

Brook

25 Brookfields, Cambridge CB1 3NW

Community local with central horseshoe shaped bar and light wood furnishing. The area to the right hand side of the bar is predominately a games area and the left hand side has seating, flat screen TV's in all areas. Pub hosts darts and pool teams and has a quiz on Thursday evenings. No food on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The guest beers are usually from Greene King range. The Brook underwent a six figure refurb in 2017 reopening on 10th August.

Carpenters Arms

184-186 Victoria Road, Cambridge CB4 3DZ

A 19th century street corner pub that was saved from conversion to residential use by a planning inspector in 2011. It then went though a few of changes in licensee before it became part of Charles Wells' Pizza Pots Pints wing in December 2017. Following extension and major reshaping work that saw it opened out with the bar relocated to the side, the pub reopened on 5th April 2018. Its four hand pumps offer Courage Directors, one from Young's one from Well's Wandering Brewer Project plus one other. Food is focused on pizzas and pots cooked in its stone oven.

Corner House

231 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JE

Attractive 1930s pub with a half-brick, half-timbered exterior. The main bar has a stage in an alcove area and live music happens two to five times a week. The bar also has a real fire, bare board floors, high ceilings and a traditional bar counter and bar back. The light and airy dining room also has a real fire. To the rear of the pub is a covered patio garden and also an open garden. Its three guest ales change weekly. Home cooked food is served 12 - 3 (not Monday) and 5 - 9 during the week and all day weekends. Gluten-free meals are a speciality and the West African curries have a strong following. Student saver menu. Roasts available on Sundays. The Corner House had an extension and refurb in summer 2019. Cambridge & District CAMRA Most Improved (City) Pub 2020.

Architect

43 Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AH

Attractive mock-Tudor pub opposite Shire Hall. The bar has been re-furbished giving it a modern feel. The bar area is all on one level with a large disabled toilet. A cosy area at the back was reconfigured to give access to a small partly covered courtyard. Guest beers include some from local breweries and it is our 2015 LocAle (City) pub. Sunday lunches. 2 for 1 pizzas Tuesday evenings. 2 for 1 steaks Wednesday evenings.

Devonshire Arms

1 Devonshire Road, Cambridge CB1 2BH

Rescued from decline and opened in 2010 as Milton Brewery's first pub in Cambridge. Just off Mill Road, the Dev attracts a mix of characters for beer, food and a chat. A deceptively large pub given its small frontage there are also small patio areas both front and back. Inside it was impressively renovated with front and rear drinking areas offering a mixture of wooden booths and larger tables. Tall windows and a high ceiling with fans. Generally five Milton cask ales are available including at least one dark beer with a further three guests from other micros. There are also bottles and two keg beers including Moravka unpasteurised lager plus two ciders. Good quality food, including pizzas cooked in their own stone bake oven, on offer at all sessions. A beer festival during the first weekend of December coincides with the Mill Road Winter Fair.

Dobblers Inn

184 Sturton Street, Cambridge CB1 2QF

A true community local with regulars drawn from all walks of life. The pub is very big on sport, both in terms of showing events on TV and in being HQ for many teams - football, cricket, darts, cribbage, pool etc. Popular quiz night every Tuesday. Cask Marque accredited. Occasional Cider and Beers Festivals. The pub was once part of the CAMRA Investments portfolio and most of the decor dates back to then (previously a Whitbread pub called the City Arms). Cambridge & District CAMRA (City) Community Pub of the Year 2019.

Earl of Beaconsfield

133 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3AA

Busy urban corner local with an Irish feel, with regular Irish music nights, though there's also a blues jam one night a week. Irish paraphernalia adorns the walls. Simultaneously the first and last pub in the Romsey town area of Cambridge. No kitchen, but Pizza is available all day from the bar, and there are plans to extend the food range in the future. Beer garden at the rear which leads on to a bar billiard room. Real ales £3 a pint on Wednesdays.

Earl of Derby

129 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1PG

Single bar pub hosting jam sessions on Saturday nights. The scattered pillars betray the footprint of the old three-room layout. Bare-boarded floor, walls painted red, ochre and green and a nice mix of furniture (including some leather settees).Accommodation is available in rooms above the pub and in an annexe to the rear and built in style similar to the existing building. Opens 7.30am (8.30 Sunday) for breakfast. Two changing guest beers are from Greene King range.

Elm Tree

16a Orchard Street, Cambridge CB1 1JT

This relaxed backstreet pub is decorated with brewery memorabilia, quirky bric-a-brac and photos of regulars. The flags and crests on the ceiling are of Belgian towns and regions. A small bar on entry with a narrow seating area extending from front to back. Tables outside. Seven hand pumps dispense several changing Charlie Wells ales, the remainder being used for guest ales from small breweries nationwide. A real cider or perry is also served. To complement these there is a printed menu of about 100 bottled Belgian beers, with occasional beer tastings - the landlord has written a small but informative book on Belgian Trappist Beer, if expert advice is needed. Regular live music. There is step-free access to the bar but no accessible WC.

Emperor

21 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1NW

Situated on the main route between the rail station and the historic heart of the city. The pub changed hands in spring 2015 and now offers a modern Latin American tapas menu as well beers (both cask and keg) and other drinks. The single room has a bare board floor, smart, unfussy decor with Latin American pictures and decoration. The bar has a colourful tiled front. Upstairs there is a large function room. Behind the pub is a decent sized patio garden. Latin dance music events alternate Saturdays.

Geldart

1 Ainsworth Street, Cambridge CB1 2PF

Large two-bar backstreet corner pub with enclosed patio garden behind. Decorated throughout with film and music memorabilia. Don't miss the glass piano. The handpumps are musical instruments. Food menus in the diners' bar are written on 12 inch vinyl. Local artists exhibit their paintings here. The Geldart has an excellent reputation both for its food and its drink. The larger room to the right is mainly for diners and functions. To the left of the entrance is the drinkers side with eight ales and a wide selection of malt whiskies and rums. The changing guest beers are from small breweries nationwide and always include a dark beer. Good homemade food includes 'hot rocks' available in both bars. Bar snacks include biltong from cattle grazed on Midsummer Common. Frequent live music.

Golden Hind

355 Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1SP

One of a series of huge suburban pubs built in the 1930s by the Ipswich brewery Tolly Cobbold and known as "Tolly Follies". Over the years, the former multi-roomed interior has been much changed and opened-out but you can still spot some original features - the oval skylight over the bar, oak panelling in what was the lounge and the collonnade which formerly gave access to the patio. Large patio areas both front and back. Nine handpumps. Up to eight changing real ales, four (bag in box) real ciders and good value food available all day.

Grapes

19 Histon Road, Cambridge CB4 3JB

Capacious and welcoming community local. The wooden-beamed ceilings, now painted white, and stained-glass windows are all that survive from the Thirties original. The open-plan layout cleverly offers several nooks and crannies. The guest beers come from Greene King's own list. Good honest pub grub. Breakfasts available 10 - 12 on Fridays and Saturdays. Pool table. Live music Saturday nights.

Green Dragon

5 Water Street, Cambridge CB4 1NZ

A local village riverside pub and one of the oldest in Cambridge. In 1630 it was described as an "ancient victualling house". The skeletally exposed beams reveal where some of its interior walls used to be. Despite serial refurbishments, including some modern furniture, it still retains some of its character. A large central inglenook fireplace divides the bar into two distinct areas. There is a lovely beer garden by the river on the opposite side of the road and also a walled rear garden which is non-smoking (there is a well-furnished smoking area in the gazebo attached to the rear of the building). Guest beers are often non Greene King, typically from East Anglian breweries. Food ranges from pub classics to changing specials. Children's menu available. Quiz night each Wednesday.

Haymakers

54 High Street, Cambridge CB4 1NG

Re-opened in April 2013 after being closed for two years it became Milton Brewery's second pub in the city. Popular both with locals and employees from the nearby science park. There are a number of separate drinking areas: one either side of the door, a snug, and another room off to one side. Dark wood and warm colours abound. To the left of the bar the ceiling has been raised to the rafters. The wood and glass walls around the front door hark back to an older incarnation. Behind is a good sized beer garden. The car park has been converted into the largest pub cycle park in Cambridge, leaving a few spaces for cars. Eight real ales (5 from Milton and 3 guests from micros usually incluing one dark), four real ciders or perries plus Moravka unpasteurised lager from Taddington, Derbyshire. Well regarded for its stone baked pizzas (available to take away) but other options exist. Re-opened in 2013, Returned to the Good Beer Guide in 2014 after a twenty year absence. Cambridge & District CAMRA LocAle (City) Pub of the Year 2019. Cambridge & District CAMRA Lockdown Community Award 2020.