Cambridge’s smallest pub has reopened after four years

Cambridge’s smallest pub has opened its doors after four years of renovation work. The pub on King Street, formerly called The St Radegund, reopened last week as The Rad.

The revamped establishment is expected to attract attention from beer-lovers. In spite of its small size, the venue’s 25 taps offer an extensive range of brews from hoppy hazy IPAs and imperial stouts, to cask ales and fruited sour beers.

There is a big focus on “independence and quality,” the pub has told The Cambridge Tab, with lines soured from some of the best local and international breweries.

In addition to beer, there is also a range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on offer. Due to the venue’s limited spacial capacity, food is currently limited to bar snacks, but there has been talk of teaming up with local vendors to have food delivered in the future.

To accompany its fresh new name, The Rad has transformed its interior. The velvet-topped bar stools and wooden benches that made up the traditional-style St Radegund have been swapped for a contemporary look of white walls and naked light bulbs.

The pub’s general manager, Ben Harradine, informs The Cambridge Tab he is not posting any images of the new interior because he wants to encourage people to come in for a drink and see it for themselves.

During the building work, exciting discoveries were made that play tribute to the venue’s deep history. Under the floor boards and behind plasterboard walls the renovation team found square head nails and cigarette boxes from the 1700 and 1800s, as well as rusted stoves and room call bells from its time as the Garrick Head Inn which was demolished in the early 1900s.

However, Ben has told Cambridge Independent that, because of the pub’s age, “it had a lot of rotten joists, rotten floorboards and the ceilings” and “everything had to be replaced.” Consequentially, the renovation process took longer than he originally thought, amounting to four years in total.

The anticipated reopening is the culmination of years of hard work by Yvan Seth, Steve Saldana and Justin Rivett, who are well known in the UK beer industry. Between them they have a combined industry experience of over 40 years, in roles as brewery and Taproom owners, beer wholesalers and brewery business consultants.

Ben Harradine will be handling the day-to-day managing of the taproom. He is also a familiar face in the beer scene, having brewed at some of London’s top breweries as well as previously managing an award winning Bottle Shop in Cambridgeshire.

Despite its size, The Rad has many exciting events planned and is looking to open its cellar event space later in the year. Customers have been told to expect everything from “meet the brewers” and guided tastings to quizzes and exclusive gigs.

You can visit The Rad on 129 King Street in central Cambridge.

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