The Anchor

Ce pub au bord de la Cam est un super endroit de venir boire un verre, déjeuner ou regarder un match.
Il y a plusieurs salles, donc si le match né vous intéresse pas, il suffit de rester dans la salle du haut.
Au menu, burgers, sandwichs, fish&chips, tout était très bon.
Ce doit être très sympa en été sur la terrasse au brod de l’eau.

I went to the Anchor Bar to pay homage to Syd Barret, who went here a bunch as a kid with his buddies to watch jazz after school. He and his buddies, after a few reincarnations under Syd’s leadership became Pink Floyd, who wouldn’t have formed if it weren’t for Syd, but couldn’t go on with Syd and wound up parting ways with him due his schizophrenia made worse by his LSD use. There are some pictures/​paintings in the basement of this 3 story bar that pay tribute to Syd. Lots of pink Floyd fans come and basque in the basement which has become sort of a memorial to him. One can sit for a while in the place where this insane genius came of age. Those pictures, along with a cool framed write up about Syd, how he got his name and formed Pink Floyd are the best things about the pub.
Today the pub sits in tourist central. The outdoor seating area looks over the punt rentals. The Hop-​on-​hop-​off sight seeing bus has its first and last stop here. And there is a variety of cheap souvenirs being pedaled outside.
After spending the afternoon here, I am still not sure how this place works. I think you order food and drinks at the bar and tell them what table number you’re sitting at. The numbers are written in white plaques on the tables. Then when the food is ready, the bar tenders bring it to you. This is all well and good, but if this place has such an unconventional way of ordering food, it seems like there should be some instructions posted up somewhere. Or maybe the bartenders or someone could tell you the process instead of waiting around for a waitress or trying to figure it out yourself. When I finally did go to the bar and ask if there was a waitress, the bar tender just asked if I wanted to order food. She seamed incredibly beat down and put out that I even asked. When I said yes, she pointed to a paper fastened to a clip board with the day’s food on it. RUDE!
Just to get out of this awkward and uncomfortable situation, I just ordered the first thing that jumped out at me. I got the rare roast beef sandwich with cheddar. I had a feeling this might take a while, so I ordered a Pims. This is a hard cider drink popular in the UK. The bartender started by filling my glass with some fruit that she dredged out of the bottom of the container the Pims was in and dumped it in my glass, then filled it up with a little Pims for £5.80. Gross.
It took 30 minutes for the food to come out. When it did come out, it was a plate of soggy, wilted lettuce with some kind of sweet salad dressing on it, an open faced roast beef sandwich with chopped onions, mushrooms and and a slice of melted Swiss cheese on top of it. (yes it was supposed to be cheddar) Small bits of hard McDonald’s style french fries came with it also.
Ok– I came here to pay homage to Syd Barret. And that, I did. But even Syd, with his biggest buzz, wouldn’t be coming back here for the food or the service.
The only reason my review has a second star is because of the Syd Barret connection.

Don’t go here if you have any place you need to be, or if you care about the quality of the food you eat.
I was visiting a friend who studies in Cambridge. We went to the Anchor for traditional pub food, a questionable goal. I knew I had to be out of there within an hour so I could make my train. Ordering took a while, and the prices were obnoxiously high for what it was. We sat and waited for 20 minutes, and finally asked how long it would be. A very rude server told us that our food would be out right away. Another 20 minutes. The server was just chatting with the people at the table next to us, so we asked her again. She said it’s coming right out. We waited again. Now she was serving people at a different table. At last, the food came, right? Wrong, some of it came. One of my friends didn’t get anything and had to sit there another five minutes.
Add to this ludicrous experience the fact that it’s only pub food. I ordered a steak, and despite the fact that it was priced like a steak it was actually a very thin slice of beef cured like ham. If you’re British this is probably not news.

Hier schreit alles nach Tourifalle. ;) Direkt an der Cam der Außenbereich ist herabgesetzt und auf Wasserniveau innen kann man trinken und speisen auf unterschiedlichen hohen Etagen. Für ein Pub relativ sauber. Essen und Trinken gilts wie gewöhnlich an der Bar zu bestellen. Der hausgemachte Burger für ca. 9 Pfund ist nicht so groß wie man uns versprochen hat, und war auch ein wenig trocken. Den Kuchen hab ich hier nicht ausprobiert. Man merkt hier schon den Aufschlag für den Ausblick er ist aber auch schön. Das Publikum reicht von Touris an Wochenende (ziemlich voll) bis Studis, da nah an den Colleges. Ich meine hier gibt es auch Wifi, aber bin mir nicht 100% sicher. Achtung: Nicht den Kopf am niedrigem Balken stoßen, vor allem nach Alkoholgenuß nicht. ;)

Been to this pub a handful of times when I was on a travel-​study program in Cambridge Summer 2011. The pub grub is very good and the selection of beers is okay. The service is okay as well. 2 stars get knocked off because the place gets crowded with douchers; also, I think they need to turn down the thermostat in the place because it feels unnecessarily warm in there sometimes.
Oh yeah, fish ‘n’ chips were delicious!

I first walked through the doors of The Anchor when I was 17 and I’ve made it a point to hit this pub every time I return to Cambridge. It is situated on three floors right along The Cam right in downtown. The sofas and chairs near the main entry way feel like a cosy living room especially when it’s chilly and there’s a fire going. A great place to chill with friends.
The downstairs level gives you access to the bar and out glass doors is the outside seating along The Cam where you can watch the punters go by while enjoying a few pints. This is a particularly great way to spend an afternoon soaking up the atmosphere and having some drinks.
The service is good, not overly friendly but not rude by any means. The main reason you’ll want to go here is for the atmosphere and the location. The hours fly by when you’re here. On my last visit I arrived around 1:30pm to meet a friend for lunch and a drink. I finally got out after the sun had gone down. This place in not to be missed when you’re in Cambridge.

The layout of the pub isn’t that great since it felt really cramped, but the food was surprisingly good! The fish and chips (fresh fish and nicely fried potatoes), the duck spring roll (fantastic dipping sauce), and the Yorkshire pudding wrap (good horseradish sauce) were all delicious. I’d recommend staying away from the crab cakes and the samosas though…
(Brown’s v.s. The Anchor — Yorkshire pudding match:
I also tried the Yorkshire pudding at Brown’s, and while Brown’s had better Yorkshire pudding, the meat was tough and chewy. The beef in the Anchor’s Yorkshire pudding was much more tender and juicy, but the Yorkshire pudding was a little bit denser and the edge crusty. The horseradish sauce and gravy combination made up for the imperfections in the Anchor’s Yorkshire pudding though.
Verdict: The Anchor wins!)

The best here is the superior view to the punting tourists near Queens College, when sitting outside at the sunny Anchors river pier.
Varied menu but mostly not cheap. The meals we were not to complain about. A touristy spot, its not easy to get a free table.

I come here for the history, the food is okay too. Nice to be situated near the river and the punts.