15 Magdalene St, Cambridge CB3 0AF, United Kingdom
Italian classics with a modern twist, plus gelato ice cream, served in a smart dining room.
We had a family meal and it was very good. We last visited here a number of years ago, and the menu has changed very little. That said the food was very good and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Came to the restaurant for a birthday celebration. There is seating downstairs and upstairs. It's situated in an old style building so it has a quirky layout. The menu has a good selection of pasta and pizza dishes to choose from. We had the garlic bread to start, which was tasty but a little too dry for my taste. All of our main dishes came at once which was nice and we all tucked in. Overall everyone pleasantly enjoyed their meals. For me the lasagne was good but had a lack of seasoning and the texture was also a little too soggy. We also all had desserts. My family raved about the tiramisu. The ice cream was as expected and the chocolate cake is a good helping and very chocolatey so be warned! The staff were friendly but very busy so there wasn't much interaction with them. I do think the prices are a little overpriced but it is still worth a visit.
Accidentally stumbled upon this place late one night and the food did not disappoint. Service was okay, can do with some improvement. Price was good for the food that you get. Overall a nice place!
Ordered cream of mushroom soup, Seafood risotto and Creme brulee. All taste good. Service is attentive and friendly. Recommended for those who like Italian food.
La Margherita Is a lovely restaurant. Family run and part of Cambridge for several decades. The pizzas are fabulous. The service is very pleasant and efficient. And the Umbrian Artisan beer is great. A delightful treat and reasonably priced.
Food was average at best. The starters were very nice but the risotto rice was overcooked. The icecream was the best dish and it feels like it’s homemade.
A lovely meal with friendly and efficient staff. Great food and house wine! Definitely to return! Highly recommended! Returned! Another lovely meal for our anniversary! Calzone to die for!
I loved coming here. Decent range of Italian dishes and a wood fired pizza oven to go - doesn’t get better than this! I give it a three star rating because I was the last customer before they closed and although the food was good it wasn’t spectacular. I’d like to come here when the kitchen is pumping. Lovely friendly service so it’s a definite for another visit.
A warm place with very delicious food. We always order minestrone soup.
Our family of four had an amazing time at La Margherita. The service was amazing, very reasonable pricing, lovely tasting food, all from an authentic restaurant.
Came for dinner with a two year old and were made very welcome with the offer of a smaller version of whatever pizza we wanted for him. The service was friendly and attentive and even the bill was presented quickly when requested (and this often does not happen in restaurants much to my annoyance). The quality of the dough in particular for our calzone and pizzas was exceptional as were the toppings. The sharing antipasta classico was more than enough for 4 adults. The stand out dessert was the lemon sorbet with prosecco and limoncello, a knockout!! We particularly liked the atmostphere, the decoration and the wide spacing between the tables downstairs (I cant speak for the upstairs seating). All in all a good value, high quality Italian that is family friendly. We will be back. Kid-friendliness: As noted above very welcoming for our two year old with a high chair ready to hand and a small bespoke mains of any of the menu items.
Delicious meal and wine, great service. What a great place! Dietary restrictions: Gluten aware. As usual missing from the dessert menu! Food : 5/5 |
Loved the meal and it is very cozy
I was going to eat at a pub, but all had stopped serving. Lucky me. This was much better. I had a very good seafood risotto and a delicious creme brulee at at £10 less than yesterdays mediocre curry just up the road (both including a drink)
Authentic Italian restaurant. Great lunch and no pressure to get us off our table quickly.
Lovely restaurant, great service and good food. Wish Id had a pizza as they looked awesome. Will go back and try one.
We had a brilliant meal there. The pizza was excellent, the wine the best I had in ages, and the staff very very nice. Id happily give more than 5 stars if I could ! Food
Best restaurant in Cambridge Family run business, excellent food and service Food
Quick service considering we hadnt booked. Food came within 5 minutes so we felt a bit rushed. Bar staff not doing much and staring into space. £9.30 for a banana split.... A banana and some ice cream?! Overall.... Ive had better!
Very nice place to eat , staff very nice and the food is amazing!
1st time. Food was good. However if you dont pizza or pasta the meal its fairly basic. Lamb only comes with what look tin tomatoes and Salad. For £24 I would expect something else... Creme Brulei was very creamy had a lot better on the past. Out of my found I wouldnt have that again here. A bit pricy compared to some other Italian restaurants near by. Overall ok.
Absolutely fantastic food, so friendly staff, understanding, willing to chat.
One of the best Italian restaurants in Cambridge.
The food tasted very good. Can only be recommended. The restaurant looks much smaller from the outside. It has several floors and rooms. We really liked it.
Four of us had an excellent meal here on a busy Friday night. I d be surprised if you don t enjoy your visit!
Unfriendly & incompetent service
This is a fantastic restaurant, the food was beautiful and the service was fantastic. My wife and I had a shared starter, main each, dessert and drinks and came to just over £70 which was well worth the money
Only issue is single toilets
VERY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE I tried to buy a gelato from the gelato shop of the restaurant. The customer before me was apparently an international tourist from East Asia who didnt speak English. The white woman selling gelato seemed very annoyed with the tourist and asked where he was from, which is frankly none of her business. After the tourist finished purchasing, it was just me and my friends waiting to order, and we had been politely queuing. For some reason, this woman then decided to ignore us, possibly because we are Asian as well. Another customer walked in, and she immediately took their order. At this point, we still politely asked her where the queue was, but once again, she pretended we didnt exist. Now, I cant find any excuse for her other than she either has a hearing problem or a racism problem. Absolutely unacceptable. Update: I just checked Google Maps reviews and found multiple similar cases where Asians are discriminated against at this store. I wonder if this is their signature practice.
Lovely meal for my daughters birthday.
Excellent food. Friendly service. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
Excellent food and good portions, but the service was slower than Id have liked, which meant we ran out of time for desserts (which looked great)! There was some commotion in the restaurant from one table which they dealt with well.
Fantastic food, serene service. No fuss. Fungi calzone was perfect with a cheese sauce inside with a hint of a kick. Affogato finish so good. Thank you. Food
A wonderful authentic Italian restaurant with a great atmosphere and friendly, attentive staff.
Italian restaurants in Britain often spoil the food by adapting it to what they think are British tastes, e.g. by over-cooking things like pasta and rice. However, my seafood risotto was not overdone and was tasty. My companion also reported favourably on her stuffed aubergines. Wine and coffee were fine and service friendly.
Wonderful host, incredible food Definitely recommend! Food
Had a lovely lunchtime meal here. The food and the choice of food was excellent. Service was great, and the restaurant is a cozy environment. Parking: No parking on street outside. Nearest parking some walk away. Wheelchair accessibility: Accessible from the street, but some stairs within (unsure about lift). The pavement outside is reasonably narrow and busy.
I recently dined at this charming Italian eatery, and it was a fine experience from start to finish. Despite being slightly overpriced (though where isnt and it is Cambridge), the warm ambiance and outstanding service more than made up for it. The staff were incredibly cheerful and attentive, making us feel right at home. Now, lets talk about the food! The calzone was an absolute winner - perfectly baked with generous fillings. And lets not forget about the ice cream! It was simply divine, the perfect sweet ending to our meal. Get the Ferrero Rocher! Overall, if youre looking for a no-frills Italian spot with great service this place hits the spot. Would recommended! Vegetarian options: Like all Italians, plenty vegetarian choice on offer! Dietary restrictions: Gluten free pasta available
Have eaten here many times and have always had an excellent experience
If you enjoy authentic Italian food, you cant get better than this. Food is always very good and the service from the chap that served us was outstanding. Really enjoyed our meal here. Would certainly recommend
This is a lovely family run restaurant. Excellent pizzas. Also enjoyed a really delicious Sicilian white wine with our meal. Their gelatos are pretty amazing too.
Delicious pizza, somewhat attentive staff
Overall really nice. The pizzas were a bit difficult to cut, they need better knives really, but thats my only quibble. Staff are friendly and the food tasted lovely - recommended (but not if you have arthritis!)
Myself and 5 others had a lovely meal here last Friday night. The service was excellent and the food was really delicious. Would definitely recommend to others and be coming here again!
Best pizza in Cambridge
We dined here after seeing the restaurant mentioned on a few blogs as family owned and the place to go in Cambridge. As both me and my partner are foodies we asked for recommendations, and we were recommended the salsiccia and the chicken milanese. Both dishes were £20+ The dishes were an insult to italian cuisine. The Salsiccia turned out to be a British style sausage, as far away as possible from the Italian sausage. The Chicken milanese was a frozen breaded chicken breast baked and served with a portion of spaghetti with canned tomato sauce. As we were leaving I asked the host if the restaurant is still owned by an italian family, to which I got a positive answer. What a shame. The atmosphere was good as the restaurant was packed for one reason or another. We will not return.
Remarkably good food. Only downside was queue for the solitary ladies loo.
Such friendly, efficient, professional service. Food was excellent. Great family friendly restaurant and the food is like being in Italy. Highly recommend.
Great place
Apart from the screaming child on the table next to us (not the restaurants fault) it was a lovely meal. Amazing Lasagna and fast service.
Amazing food for a great price !
Honestly the best dining experience I ve had in a long time. We booked a table for 6 and the cosy atmosphere and professional, friendly service did not disappoint. As for the food, I recommend the antipasti sharing platters (veg option available) and all our mains were superb. Wine selection was amazing and we just about had room for dessert!
Lovely food and such nice service.
Amazing food and very friendly staff. Looking forward to trying the pasta next time
Will visit again
Very good, real Italian restaurant. Very kind staff.
Love this restaurant. Everything is just so good!! This was our 5th visit over the last 4 or 5 years and it never disappoints on any level.
I came across this restaurant at noon time and decided to be here for my evening meal and looked forward to it. I arrived here around 19:40 and noticed only a few tables were occupied. Half number of tables in the restaurant are empty. Yet I had kept waiting at the reception for minutes without being attended, though I had spoken to a male staff twice and noticed at least 3 staff were there. I felt quite embarrassed waiting there as a solo traveller. Eventually another staff who came up appeared to be very rude and arrogant and said if no reservation then you just have to wait (without attendance). If no reservation means no service, why the first staff I asked twice didnt tell me, but kept telling me waiting at the reception?! It is just so disappointing that a restaurant doesnt welcome guests, who travelled long distance to here and wanted to enjoy their meal. It is my first time coming to Cambridge and it is really an unfriendly experience here.
Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, good drink. Didnt like the food the sauce was too sharp. My friend ordered the lasagna it was nice. Guess bad food choice Food
Good? maybe just ok. Italian? Are you kidding me? Not at all. I was attracted by the rating of 4.5 but that is not deserved at all, not if they claim to serve italian food. Bruschettas were burned, the tomatos on top were not cut the right way (indeed they fall down and this should not happen), and they did not use the right condiments. The vegetables tasted like nothing, and they even screwed up with the chicken break. THE CHICKEN BREAST. How can you screw up with such an easy thing to cook???? Just change the type of cuisine and maybe you can be considered ok. Plus, super expensive.
A Cambridge gem
Every time delivering above expectations in both taste and service
Pizza good, nice service.
One of the best restaurants I ve been to in a long time. The place is nothing fancy but the food and service is fantastic. I ll be back when we go to Cambridge next!
Absolutely the best Pizza we have ever had, anywhere on this planet. Wonderful staff, so attentive and warm. Love this place. We will recommend it to everyone. Vegetarian options: Very, very good.
Its the best place with good food. Great staff
This delightful restaurant never lets us down. Delicious meal as usual. Food
Excellent
Excellent service! Excellent food!! Ive been there twice and always had the same polite service from everyone at this restaurant.
Hidden gem!
The food was reasonably good. We had pastas and a small, salad starter; which was fresh. The dessert (Tiramisu) was watery and avoidable. The service was lovely, the location easy to get to and the ambiance very nice - well visited family restaurant.
Hadnt been here in a long time, delicious pizza, great cocktails and wonderful staff. Will be back sooner, thank you!!
Food was wonderful, don t think i ve ever had such good Italian before . Truly the best i ve ever had in cambridge . Waitress was also a gem. A lovely irish looking ginger girl with long eyelashes was serving us with a smile. She did seem a bit on the shy side though bless her, hopefully she warms up to the job as i think she was a newbie. Overall was just a delicious restaurant with nice staff and a clean environment
Nice place, good food but the staff is too short when the restaurant is populated. Pizza is a good option, also pasta is perfect.
Great food, fast waiters, cosy atmosphere and delicious dessert. And it is also inexpensive compared to neighbouring restaurants. I highly recommend it to connoisseurs of Italian cuisine!
Brilliant!
One of the best restaurants in Cambridge, delicious food, impeccable service, five .
Was walking back to our car after a punting trip and saw this place. The ice cream flavours were really good and the young blonde lady behind the counter (forgot her name) was really friendly.
My partner and I reserved a table for lunch here whilst visiting Cambridge for a day. The reservation process is very easy and they were happy to accommodate us to the table even though we were early. We were visiting in the middle of the heatwave and it s important to note that the whole restaurant is in an old building with just one fan to cool it. The food was out of this world, easily comparable to authentic Italian food in Italy. Fresh, flavourful and overall amazing. What let this place down for us was the waitress - we ve found her to be very unwelcoming and uninterested. We ve felt like we were an inconvenience to her by being there.
Good food and good service!
Unfortunately I have to rewrite my review. I used to like this place a lot, as I visited here many times with my friend as a PhD candidate. I went back after a few years (I was gone for years due to COVID, and I basically finished my PhD overseas) for graduation, and I concur with other reviewers who said the staff were rude. There is one waiter who always greeted me (and this time my family too) well, but the rest, especially the waitress , were quite rude. I will not detail the incident here, but she obviously didn t want me and my family there (while my family visited here all the way from another country just for my graduation). While we were having a great time in Cambridge prior to the visit to the restaurant, she almost ruined our evening. As an alumnus of Cambridge, I will certainly go back to the city, but I probably will not return to the restaurant again.
Very impressed. Faultless starter, main and desert with great vegetarian/vegan options. And top notch service. Highly recommended!
Had dinner here last Friday. The food was excellent, with prompt service and a very classy, pleasant atmosphere. They were also very accommodating when we asked to make a slight adjustment to a dish for dietary reasons. Would definitely return if back Cambridge - quality Italian food; especially recommended the huge pizzas.
Nice Italian
BEST Pizza in Cambridge!! I loved this place.
Good restaurant in Cambridge, good service
Our favourite Italian restaurant in Cambridge
Really quick and efficient service with a smile. Loved my plate of pasta and great coffee.
Service was fantastic and attentive, friendly and chatty waiting staff, pizza was the best I ve had for a long time, wouldn t hesitate to recommend to others and will 100% return! Thank you!
Consistently great Italian food. We ve been going here for years and the pizza, pasta and everything else is excellent. Prices aren t unreasonable for Cambridge
Best restaurant I know. Food delicious and helpful, patient staff who make the whole experience a delight.
Our favourite restaurant
Excellent Italian cuisine and slightly off the beaten track.
Good tiramisu, pizzas average
Always welcoming. The food is always excellent.
Have been dining here for over 20 years and its always been a great experience. Friendly and helpful staff and a decent range of well cooked and tasty Italian food. Good range of wine by the glass too. They open early evening, currently 17:45, so ideal for eating before concert or theatre.
Not bad. Antipasti were okay, pasta was fine. Service very mediocre, we sat with empty drinks through most of our primo and no one ever came to ask if we wanted another. Chocolate cake for desert tasted like it came from Costco and they had no tiramisu. In an Italian restaurant on a Saturday night.....beggars belief really
Great Italian English
Lovely family run restaurant, great food and service. Highly recommended
Amazing pizza! They got us the best sit by the window too!
Currently our favourite restaurant in Cambridge. Food and service are excellent and the price is reasonable.
A super place for dinner! Food was great, staff were friendly. I now feel comfortably full and satisfied.
Me and my family went for a lunch there. I would definitely go back and recommend the place to everyone. The food was so delicious hospitality was amazing and just everything was perfect. We sat on the second floor where the atmosphere is better than the first floor. Definitely coming back, thanks!
Such a lovely meal.
Good site, good CP ratio and above all excellent personal treatment!
Simply great itallian food. The staff is welcoming and the place feels authentic. Waiter took our order quickly and the food was brought under 20 minutes. Despite place being busy the waiters seem to manage place well. Would come back :)
Really enjoyed eating here. The service was fantastic and the food very tasty. There was just the right amount as well. I ordered fettuccine al Ragu and my companion ordered the linguine con gamberi. Desert was coffee plus rum& raisin ice cream.
Very nice part of Cambridge and many meals here . Also good ice.cream to be had.
The staff was friendly. The food was good. It is Italian and it is not too expensive. Recommended.
Really nice food Especially the Tiramisu, which Is not heavy
Nice Food and a good menu. Limited vegetarian pizza options but still very tasty.
Very good
One of the best lasagne we have ever eaten great place to eat.
Amazing food and excellent service. Nice and tasty and healthy food which are good sized portions. Friendly staff
Excellent,tolerant mature staff made for a great evening
First the atmosphere was tense: waiters they were slamming dishes and bottles, acting like it was very busy but the restaurant was half full. I asked for the house white and got the red wine instead but I didn t make a fuss. Pasta was mediocre at best: store bought overcooked linguine, drenched in oil with precooked prawns. Pizza was good: chewy, pillowy dough, but the sauce was definitely from the can. It was relatively cheap, but I would prefer to pay more and get better quality.
Besides the pasta, I love their gelatos. I tried their pizza just recently and it was good. We also had a wonderful window seat at the first floor.
Absolutely lovely food. Wonderful service. Cambridges own little Italy
Great service, delicious food paired with some Italian wine...perfect combination and made a wonderful dining experience!
Delicious food and friendly, very good service. We will go back.
Vegetarian options: Plenty, including a couple of vegan options. The aubergine parmigiana and calzone are fantastic. Meals are prepared fresh and the staff are accommodating of special needs. Kid-friendliness: Fairly good. They will do smaller sized pizzas or portions and offer to let you take leftovers home if a kid is unpredictably full! Theres not very much for kids to do though - no park, no kids menu with puzzles.
Good food
Lovely staff host an authentic Italian restaurant with a friendly family feel. Perfect for a smart casual date night or relaxed meal with friends or family. Lovely house white wine from Puglia one of my favourite go-to places in Cambridge Vegetarian options: Also has a vegan pizza option!
Lovely aubergine
Loved our meal here last night! I had the seafood risotto which was full of assorted delicious seafood, portions just perfect size. Our elderly friend had a smaller pizza as she has a tiny appetite, no problem for them to do this and she said it was delicious! My partner had the pasta with broccoli and sausage which was delicious! Great varied menu, attentive and helpful friendly staff, we will definitely be returning! (Oh, and the best Tiramisu Ive ever had but dont tell my Sicilian daughter in law to be.... ) Dietary restrictions: Good choice for gluten free options, veggie too, smaller plates happily provided for those with a tiny appetite!
Super food and service. Very welcoming and friendly. Great choice of food and drink. Skipped desert because we were so full. Opted for coffee instead.
Decent service, only one waiter did a terrible job with us. The rest were kind. It took 45 mins from ordering to getting our pizzas at the table. It could be better
Great little restaurant. Nice to see an independent in a location dominated by corporate businesses. Good food too
Best Italian in Cambridgeshire by a long way, awesome food and lovely people serving Vegetarian options: Good choice of vegetarian Dietary restrictions: My mum is a celiac but they do gluten free pasta
We came for a meal with friends before Xmas, having pre-ordered. Theres a nice private room that takes about a dozen guests. The food was excellent and so was the service - a really enjoyable evening!
Amazing food and great service.
Lovely seabass, pasta and tiramisu
Lovely restaurant. Friendly staff and great quality food.
Truly delicious pizzas with great flavour, served in a very clean, comfortable restaurant. The waiters were really friendly and welcoming and we felt at ease as soon as we arrived. The tiramisu is probably the best I have tasted....fabulous! Our daughter loved the gelato too!
La Margherita might be the best Italian food outside of Italy in the U.K. I can t get over the Linguine con gamberi e funghi. We tried the 12 mini gelati and they are as delicious as they are adorable. A true gem of a restaurant.
Nice real Italian restaurant. It looks like the only one in Cambridge. The business is family owned and run by them plus a couple of employees. Still a tiny space for improvements but the food was really nice. Thanks guys and keep it up.
Wonderful meal. Thank you
Whilst staying in Cambridge for few days found this lovely Italian restaurant and what a find. Food and service very very good and very reasonable prices. We managed to get a table without a booking and they were busy ,would thoroughly recommended the risotto with clams, prawns, mussels and squid, define.
Great food and good quality. Very friendly and helpful staff
We had a very enjoyable experience at La Margherita. Tasty, authentic Italian food and a nice atmosphere in the restaurant.
Not the best Italian restaurant Ive been to and unfriendly staff. The garlic bread worked out to be over a £ a piece but was didnt have much of garlic taste. The seafood linguine was bland but full of oil. I will not be returning anytime soon.
Calzone and ice-cream were delicious.
Wonderful meal and friendly staff, what more could you want? Its a small-ish restaurant with a lot of character in an old Cambridge building. They have managed to cram in a lot in small space. Food was good and not to greasy and they make a Nutella pizza for dessert but be warned, its big i.e. the size of one of their regular pizzas! It would be 5 stars if the toilets where improved. I realise that the dont have a lot of space but one minor improvement would be to change the dryers to either one the works or paper towels (currently its a way, dry, wipe on bum dryer )
Nice Pizza!
Really authentic Italian food !!!!
Decent Italian restaurant. Great service and delicious food.
Ive been going to La Margherita with family and friends for many years and have never had a bad experience. On the contrary, lovely friendly staff and great food. Its my favourite Cambridge restaurant.
Excellent place, delicious food, I would return without a doubt!!
What a gem, lovely italian food and great value for £. Will definitely return!
Amazing food and very well priced. Great value. We had pizza and calzone. Bottle of red wine also very reasonable. Family run independent. With so many chains in Cambridge it s well worth going. Staff super helpful and generally nice atmosphere in the restaurant.
Great food, atmosphere and helpful staff.
Very good food, proper Italian
If I had to choose to eat in one restaurant for the rest of my life, it will be La Marguerita. The menu options are so good that it is always difficult to chose. Ive tried almost everything. You always get it right, no matter if it is pasta, pizza o meat. I usually eat pasta, because it is so difficult to get a proper pasta dish in Uk... but this time I ordered a pizza and OMG! People think that pizza is always good everywhere, but when you tried here, its SO PERFECT! Best dough ever with high quality ingredients and generous cheese. Soooo tasty. Also, best place for desert! Best tiramisu ever or you can have nutella pizza! Furthermore, the service is soooo nice and professional!! I Totally recommend it. Perfect option for every occasion Only bad thing is they dont have the farfalle with salsiccia, anymore
Good
Waiter we had was really good, was the owners son I believe. Was very friendly and officiant.