Food Review: The Red Bull

Parvizi Eats: The Red Bull, Barton Road.

Il-Toro Rosso (do excuse the gratuitous Italian, I’ve taken up the language as a means of getting out and meeting people) is a rare gem on the Cambridge pub scene that allows disasters like The Eagle to make it onto the pages of Cambridge prospectuses. Situated in Newnham village this pub is both close to the centre of town and far out enough to avoid the chest-cream licking crowds of post-Mahal drinks. The village itself is rather quaint with its very own butchers, post office (whatever they are), grocers and a small Co-Op. It’s the sort of place you like to think you’d move your family; children play in the streets without the fear of Gary Glitter at number 14, nannies pinch babies’ cheeks, and then you realise it’s awfully too dull and you prefer the crack-infested smog of London, or Cindies.

The Red Bull is a lovely addition to this picturesque Famous Five scene; there is a log fire with very comfy sofas, and friendly bar staff – now I have to be careful here due to The Tab coming under fire from the national press recently, but the female barmaids do have a lovely pair of personalities. The bar serves a good selection of ales, and for those less pretentious lagers, the usual Nobby’s Nuts and praise is to be specifically lavished on the pork scratchings. But the food is the real jewel in this parochial daisy-chain. It’s quite lovely to be able to have a stonebaked pizza (student deals Wednesdays 2-4-1) that is in novel surroundings and not the usual PizzaExpress Regent St or even (when we’re feeling frisky) Jesus Lane. The atmosphere is that of a Cambridge community with fewer students, more locals, college groundsmen, and Rory McGrath (the fat bloke from They Think It’s All Over) who regularly pops in for a nightcap.

On my visit I chose the Affuciato (£7.95) which is a spicy chicken pizza, now I do have a penchant for chicken on pizzas, which is the culinary equivalent of business studies, but it was great. The pizzas are of a good size, and looking round at my fellow diners it seemed as though everyone else was enjoying their choices too. My fellow diner, an American, New Yorker and a self-proclaiming Pizza Tsar agreed the food was very good. It was rather nice to see the elderly, students, families and drunks all together enjoying the hearty fare. The Nachos (£4.50) were less of a pleasure but then what did I expect from Mexican crisps topped with melted cheese and guacamole?

This independent pub also offers the usual – scampi, roasts, heavy puddings but it is the pizza that stands out and must be lauded. The Red Bull is a great find and certainly well worth the effort, and if all else fails and you’re still not impressed then there’s another van nearby that can provide the usual cheesy chips and doner.

Overall Rating: Cheryl Cole

To read the previous installment of Parvizi Eats click here.