St John’s Chop House

Went because this made top ten list of independent budget eateries in Cambridge [
. Very friendly service, excellent ale, nice ambiance. Food, meh. Ordered the lamb chop, nicely crisped at the fatty edge and tasty, but in the end, the dish was merely serviceable – nothing special. And, definitely not very budget-​y.

Needed a coffee a this pub was the nearest. Nice ambiance inside and surprisingly busy.
Menu looked really good.

Meaty yums.
This place was recommended by a friend and I turned up with 12 other girls to feast on a huge amount of meat. I’m sooo glad we came here!
I tried:
Seared Scallops — they came perched on top of black pudding, and the flavours went together perfectly! These are soooo good.
Suffolk Lamb Barnsley Chop — This chop was looovely too. The accompanying veggies weren’t completely amazing (which surprised me as the potatoes were cooked in goose fat… which I normally love) but this chop made up for it.
I had food envy in all directions as between us we ordered the whole menu, and everything looked delicious! Two of the ladies with our group are vegetarian… and there wasn’t much on the menu for them to choose from (that’s fair enough! It is a chop house after all!!) BUT the veggy hotpot was apparently really nice so meat lovers can even bring their veggy friends here without feeling TOO guilty.

I award this joint 4 stars with the caveat that this rating applies heavily upon the particular dish ordered. In short — skip the starters (Rating= «blah») and desserts (Rating = «meh»), and save that belly room for the mains. And when I say «mains» I mean the MEAT… this is a chop house after all. The pork chop was juicy and flavorful, and my friend’s lamb chop looked enviously tasty. Tom B. is probably right concerning their medieval-​looking bread provided, and Jason G. why did you order sausage & mash at a chop house? It’s like going to a diner and ordering a hot dog. All in all, St. John’s Chop House is great for meat eaters looking for that scrumptious slab of meat and little else. Rawr.

My expectations were high, but alas, I had an underwhelming experience here. I got sausages and mash, and the choice in sausage was exciting. They had several options, and I got pork, cheddar, and leek. But it was completely unspectacular sausage. Oh well. I’d certainly give this place another chance if I’m ever in Cambridge again. I’d get something gamey and more special than sausages and mash.

A very good modern take on traditional English food. Unashamedly traditional and gamey food is on offer with a few more standard offerings for the less adventurous. They seem to take their food quite seriously and the service is attentive but unobtrusive.
The only things that were really wrong were that the complimentary bread was rubbish — basically just large chunks of a sandwich loaf (they’d really have been better not bothering) — and the music selection was incongruous and awful but was thankfully on very quietly.
Be sure to ask to be seated upstairs, it’s much nicer up there.