Fancetts, Mill Road-Cambridge
Fancett's-A class of their own
With what cannot be more than 24 covers at a time, Fancett’s has the time to cater to a small group of diners with 3 servers and a small brigade. The menu changes between lunch and dinner, day to day, depending on the best seasonal ingredients available.
Grilled Cornish mackerel with smoked beetroot, horseradish crème fraîche and lovage
The reason that I am a food writer is not because I know any more about food than other people; it’s because I can communicate why I like or dislike food. That skill was rendered completely redundant with this dish as it was so utterly perfect that I forgot to think about why it was so perfect. It is simple, clean and effortless.
It is all about the mackerel. This dish emphasises how confident the team in the kitchen are. No pomp, no needlessness, just simple, elegant and clean presentation of wonderful ingredients in perfect harmony together. I’m seething with jealousy.
Seasonal salad of burrata, blood orange, scorched Tardivo radicchio and pine nuts
Loin of monkfish, Fowey Mussels,agrettiand saffron aioli
This dish is my highlight of 2023 so far. I grew up in Carmarthen, West Wales where I spent most of my summers on Llanstefan beach in Carmarthen Bay. There, I would dedicate hours and hours to paddling through rock pools looking for crabs, shrimp and small fish for supper. One summer, armed with a small plastic bucket and spade, I ran towards my usual foraging spot to find the rockpools had all been wiped away by a strong tide. It was my first memory of being completely and utterly crushed. 
With one bite of this dish, there is suddenly sand between my toes, salt fills my nose and the wind whips around my ears that are being filled by the gentle lapping of a calm low tide. I can even feel the pinch on my toe where a crab that did not want to be supper exacted a bit of self defence on me. This dish transported me immediately to somewhere I thought was gone for good, a physical place that does not exist anymore. There is no set of descriptions or flowery adjectives I can give for this dish that will do it any more justice than its transportation to a time I had forgotten. Complete joy on a plate.
Wedges of salt baked celeriac with kale, onion soubise, toasted hazelnut and winter truffle dressing
If the last dish is the ocean, this is the forest floor. Like taking a bite of the earth itself, I am once again completely and utterly unable, reader, to deliver anything other than gushing praise. The onion soubise was the star of the dish
and rangled all of the punchy earth tones from the hazelnut and the truffle together; coating them in the sweetest glaze. I am emphatic that celeriac is getting more attention as an alternative for vegetarian diners; too long have they had to put with either mushroom risotto or a halloumi burger.
At this point of my writing process, I am beginning to become frustrated at myself for not being able to provide any level of critique whatsoever. Even the cheese course was an absolute triumph, every single option beautiful. Even the bloody Red Leicester was fantastic. How often can anyone say that? Absurd.
Dark Chocolate Fondant with Pistachio Ice Cream
To finish everything off, almost as much as myself, a gushing dark chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream. Pistachio ice cream is the best ice cream on the face of the planet. This is not an opinion, but pure, objective fact. At Fancett’s it is still the best ice cream on the planet, and even better alongside the decadent delight, dark chocolate fondant. Not sickly in its sweetness but, surprise surprise, balanced perfectly with light and dark notes.
Colomba Bianca, Lavi, carricante, 2021, Sicily
To pair with the fish, straw coloured freshness. A lot of acidity and stone fruit with sweetness in the beginning with plenty of grapefruit and lemon lasting a long time on the finish with a really fantastic sharpness that cut through the richness of the second dish perfectly. Despite the freshness and acidity still very soft on the palette, a solid Sicilian.
Chateau Lestrille Rouge, Bordeaux Superieur, 2016, France
For the cheese, Bordeaux Superieur. Immediately a strong nose full of lychee and passion fruit. On the palette, a lot of red berries, blackberries and a bit of cherry. Medium tannins and a good balance of acidity. A very easy drink but not a particularly memorable option.
Concluding Thoughts
Completely flawless. Highlighting each ingredient in an elegant balance of simplicity and sophistication without even the hint of an air of a whisper of pretentiousness creates the most wonderfully clean dishes executed with pristine technique. Elegance, balance, sophistication and a complete feeling of ease and confidence, the team at Fancett’s are in an absolute class of their own. I have not had a better meal in Cambridge than at Fancett’s and it will be a herculean task to have me change my opinion; Fancett’s is the best in Cambridge.
At £45 for 3 courses, you cannot choose another option for an incredible experience. Mr Dan Fancett and his sous chef are even nice enough to let an annoying food writer pester them for a photo halfway through service. On service, our servers were impeccable. I had written “1 vegetarian, 1 pescatarian” when I booked online and completely forgotten when I ordered a meal with Chorizo in. My plan was to request to take the Chorizo out but had completely forgotten. Luckily the servers picked up on this and informed the kitchen as soon as my order came in. I never even had to ask. There is truly nothing to critique.
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