Mill Road, Cambridge – My Top 5 Restaurants (by a Local!)
I’ve lived near Mill Road for a few years now and despite plenty of attempts, even I have not managed to try every restaurant.
I do have a few favourites that I always seem to return to though, from fine dining to North African and Chinese food, among others.
This is a completely personal list of those restaurants that I think offer excellent food and value for money but are not necessarily the ones you might see promoted the most elsewhere.
1. Liutaio
📍 224 Mill Rd, Cambridge CB1 3NF

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 | 💷 Cost: ££ | 🍝 Menu!
Probably the single restaurant that I have most visited down Mill Road, Liutaio is the best place for dim sum and for Chinese/Asian fusion food in a proper restaurant that isn’t like a typical Chinese takeaway.
There’s a lot of choice for dim sum (which I would highly recommend), plus char siu pork and the like, and a wide array of drinks that you don’t tend to find anywhere else in town, like yuzu and honey.

Liutaio is cash only, although there is an ATM across the street that you can go to after getting your bill, and they also do dim sum set menus only at certain times of the week, which I find to be really good value for money.
Really, this is a place for dim sum, and I’ve not found anywhere else in Cambridge that does it better (although if you want xiao long bao only, then Noodles Plus further up Mill Road is the place to be).
Note that some weekend evenings they do have music being played on the guqin, and they charge 10% extra to your bill for this.
Our typical cost is £50-60 for two people all in for dinner.
😋At a Glance:
Dim Sum!
2. Fancett’s
📍 96A Mill Rd, Cambridge CB1 2BD

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 | 💷 Cost: £££ | 🍝 Menu!
Fancett’s is my preferred “fine-dining” spot, although it’s still pretty casual, as you would expect from Mill Road.
Lunch is the better value option than dinner, with 2/3 course menus available for both, with courses changing depending on available ingredients.

There are not many tables in Fancett’s which leads to the only real problem, and that’s getting a booking, which are released about 6 weeks in advance. Weekday lunchtimes tend to have the most availability (I’ve never seen space on weekend dinner reservations).

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and ambiance at Fancett’s, and would go more often if there were spaces!
The only other restaurant offering a similar experience down Mill Road is Van Der Lyle’s, which is even harder to get a reservation for and much more expensive. Personally, I think Fancett’s is the better choice.
Our typical lunch cost is £100 for two people for everything.
😋At a Glance:
Mill Road style fine dining
3. Bedouin
📍 98-100 Mill Rd, Cambridge CB1 2BD

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 | 💷 Cost: ££ | 🍝 Menu!
Bedouin have the best-dressed restaurant in Mill Road, with the interior decorated like you are inside a Bedouin tent. There’s a great atmosphere and it feels like a really special place.
The food matches the decor, with plenty of choice of North African cuisine (tagines), which are like a more fancy version of the tagines you get in Morocco. The bread is also excellent!

They don’t serve alcohol but do have a wide range of non-alcoholic cocktails, which are so much better and more inventive than the usual non-alcoholic stuff you get.

I always end up ordering the lamb meatball tagine and the 77 cocktail, and honestly, this is one of my favourite meals down Mill Road.
Our typical cost is £60 for dinner for two.
😋At a Glance:
North African food
4. Scott’s All Day
📍 Mill Rd, Cambridge CB1 2AZ

⭐️ Rating: 4.5/5 | 💷 Cost: ££ | 🍝 Menu!
Scott’s are one of the best places in Cambridge for a pizza, with a wide menu of less common toppings along with the old favourites. They also do one of the best brunches down Mill Road.

Because they use sourdough for their pizza bases, with everything made on-site, and most of the meat that you can add to your pizza coming from Mill Road Butchers across the road, the flavours in the pizza are just fantastic.
It’s difficult to describe, but the base has a kind of softness that you don’t normally get with a pizza.
They also sometimes have 2-for-1 offers on their pizza depending on the day of the week and if you order takeaway in person. They don’t have this on their website, so you might want to call or wander down if you are looking for takeaway pizza.

If you want to eat in, then the windowless room at the back can be a little dark, but as Scott’s tends to always be full, you might need to book in advance and request a space near one of their big windows that fronts the restaurant.
There’s definitely more of a cafe-vibe to Scott’s than that of a formal restaurant, but this doesn’t detract at all.
Our typical 2 person brunch is around £40-50.
😋At a Glance:
Italian food and brunch
5. Noodles Plus
📍 24A Mill Rd, Petersfield, Cambridge CB1 2AD

⭐️ Rating: 4/5 | 💷 Cost: £
Noodles Plus is the closest I’ve seen to one of the local restaurants in China, with a few plastic tables and chairs crammed into a small space.
I don’t come here that often, because you will wait at least an hour to eat, if not longer if there’s a long queue, but the xiao long bao are essentially the same as you get in Shanghai.
If you’re really craving xiao long bao, come here and order a couple of portions and I guarantee you will be satisfied. I’m not so keen on their noodle dishes, but there isn’t a better place in Cambridge for dumplings.
They are cash only and don’t take reservations, and are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but you can call up for takeaway.
Typical cost for 2 people is around £30.
😋At a Glance:
xiao long bao!
Other Recommended Mill Road Places to Eat
- For Indian food, I like The Curry Queen, although I only get takeaway from there.
- For cafes, Cafe Blue Sage for Turkish breakfasts, Black Cat Cafe for toasties, and Botany Foodie for Turkish sweet treats are all excellent.
- ABC Barbeque is a kebab shop that recently had a makeover to give it some nice indoor seating, and their food is surprisingly good.
- Limoncello is a traditional Italian restaurant with a good selection of less-common Italian products.
Read More:
My Top Italian Restaurants in Cambridge