In what now feels like Week 562 of lockdown, there are definite signs that life is returning to the city with more people out and about and some cafes reopening for take out as they plan how they will operate longer term with social distancing etc. Here’s a round up of good things that are happening in Cambridge now.
Cafe Abantu on Hobson Street has reopened with a small take away menu of coffee, cake, sausage rolls and quiche. Abantu will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week but keep an eye on their social media as opening days/times will increase and the menu will evolve as the days go on. Welcome back, Wendy!!
Instagram @cafeabantu
The Botanic Garden may have closed its gates but, undaunted, the team is bringing the Festival of Plants 2020 to us online from 26 – 28 May. There’s a different theme each day (Plant Science, Horticulture and Conservation) with short talks, virtual Garden tours, events, family activities, films, Facebook Live sessions and a Twitter takeover. I know this is going to be fabulous but I’m sure I’m not the only one who can’t wait to wander round the Garden again, then get stuck in to some delicious cake in the Cafe!
https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-plants-2020-programme/
Aromi has their Peas Hill Gelateria window open every day from 12pm – 6pm for gelato and Sicilian coffee. So happy that this delicious ice cream is back! Opening times may vary so check their social media.
Instagram @aromicaffe
David Parr House is launching a new online exhibition “A Space of One’s Own”. Running from 25 May to 22 June, it comes at exactly the right time, as our lives have focused on our own homes for months now. This remarkable Arts and Crafts worker’s home has many fascinating stories to tell. The David Parr team would love people to respond to this exhibition with their own pictures and thoughts on the importance of having your own private space and the rooms or spaces that represent you and the way you like to live.
The Cambridge Oven on Hills Road has continued baking throughout much of the lockdown period and is now offering a full range of their gorgeous baked goods from a counter in the doorway with contactless payment only. They’re open Tuesday – Sunday 8am – 3pm with home deliveries still available for orders over £15.
Instagram @the_cambridge_oven
And finally, nature is doing her beautiful thing, crisis or no crisis! Here’s a wild flower meadow on the lawn outside Trinity College and there are other glorious wild flower areas in most of the city’s green spaces, which really make me smile. Now that we are starting to emerge into some sort of new normal, I do hope that everybody is doing ok and most of all that you, your families and friends are keeping safe and well x
It wasn’t long before she set up a gift shop, selling Fairtrade goods, at Manor Farm in Bourn, while a friend ran the coffee shop next door. When the friend left, Wendy took over the coffee shop and taught herself to bake. Gradually, that side of the business took over and ten years later, Wendy moved the cafe to Wysing Arts Centre, where it won a “Best Cafe in East Anglia” award.
The Abantu team enjoys working in the open kitchen which Wendy says is run more as a “home” kitchen than an industrial cooking space. They make all their own cakes and like to keep up with the latest baking trends. Abantu’s menu changes every day, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients used in a variety of dishes for breakfast and lunch. There are always three or four salads on offer and Boboti, a South African meatloaf, is a menu staple.
Vegetarians, vegans and those who eat gluten free are well catered for here and there’s a Bambino menu for kids too, so this really is a destination for the whole family. Staff are welcoming and the cafe has an airy yet cosy vibe with art from Naomi Davies, a Cambridge artist who works in pen and watercolour, on the walls and a couple of outside tables, ideal for watching the world go by on sunnier days.
New in Cambridge 