Combining food and culture! The Cambridge Dining Company (CDC Events), who have an established reputation, are now operating Courtyard Kitchen at The Fitzwilliam Museum. This newly refurbished contemporary café is a real gem, offering delicious food, a cheerful ambience and excellent service for brunch, lunch, cake, pastries and drinks. This delightful eatery, located by the museum shop, offers so much more than a simple café.

Anyone can pop into the café. It’s not necessary to visit The Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibitions and galleries to eat at Courtyard Kitchen – although I highly recommend a wander to admire the beautiful art and artefacts in this historic Cambridge landmark – all free entry. Friends of the Fitzwilliam members receive a 10% discount on Courtyard Kitchen’s food and drink.

I was kindly invited by CDC Events to sample a variety of Courtyard Kitchen’s dishes. For my lunchtime visit, Paulo and I took the opportunity to explore the museum’s current exhibition Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean (which is also free but needs to be pre-booked).

Courtyard Kitchen is an impressive, bright space with lots of seating. Their counters are laden with tempting homemade cakes and bakes, Stir Bakery flaky pastries, freshly prepared salads and generous sandwiches – letting your eyes do the choosing.

For a nutritious and filling lunch, their Ottolenghi-style Courtyard Plates menu features one choice of main (Roast Suffolk Chicken Breast, Hot Smoked Salmon or Aubergine & Tomato Tart) with a whopping three salad choices, including Fine Beans Salad, Sweet Potato Salad, Greek Salad, Fennel & Pomegranate Quinoa, Grilled Courgette & Roasted Pepper and Green Leaf Salad. Our sample plate included several of these options. All delightful!

We also tried Courtyard Kitchen’s Avocado & Bacon on Toasted Sourdough, one of their most popular menu items and with good reason. The avocado was perfectly ripe and the bacon nicely cooked, complemented by Stir Bakery’s top quality sourdough.

Drinks include coffee (cappuccino, latte, americano, espresso, flat white), various teas, a selection of soft drinks, beer and wine.

The specials on their menu tie in with the museum’s Islanders exhibition. Paulo and I shared a hearty Sardinian Minestrone served with focaccia, as well as a deliciously tender Braised Lamb Souvlaki with flatbread, veggies and coriander yogurt. Ticket holders for the Islanders exhibition receive a 10% discount off these specials.

We tried two of their lovely homemade desserts – tiramisù with a proper coffee-soaked sponge and chocolate toppings as well as a creamy salted caramel cheesecake topped with caramel squares. A satisfying end to a great lunch!

On a final note, it’s worth mentioning that the Cambridge Dining Company cater for all kinds of events at various venues.

In March, I was invited to experience their catering services for events at The Fitzwilliam Museum, for exclusive hire in the galleries as well as the eatery.

There was a beautiful table laid out in the spacious contemporary Courtyard Kitchen and a mounted display of the table set up in one of the galleries surrounded by some of the greatest art collections. Both gave us an idea of the special ambience that can be created in two very different event spaces.

We enjoyed a range of tasty canapés (all freshly prepared at various stations throughout the eatery), such as Smoked Duck Croute, Seared Tuna, Whipped Goats’ Cheese Tartlet, Beef Fillet Carpaccio, Beetroot Smoked Trout and Fig Jam. The Sustainable Canapés were Carrot & Fennel Jam and Smoked Aubergine & Tomato Caponata – part of CDC Events’ sustainable approach to food.

Menu samples included Black Truffle Gnocchi, Sirloin with chimichurri, Blackened Cod with miso noodles, Blackened Roasted Cauliflower and more. All cooked on the spot.

The drinks menu featured prosecco, beer, a low alcohol ‘gin’ & tonic, a ‘gin’ & sparkling cucumber & mint mocktail and sparkling elderflower.

The celebratory atmosphere was enhanced by a DJ, and service by CDC Events staff was friendly, helpful and welcoming.

The Fitzwilliam Museum and Courtyard Kitchen are stunning and unique spaces for fabulous events and excellent food. The courtyard entrance is to the left of the museum’s main entrance. The café is open Tuesday to Saturday (10am – 4:30pm) and Sunday (12pm – 4:30pm).

AD – PR invite: I was invited by Courtyard Kitchen / CDC Events for a complimentary lunch for two. I did not receive compensation for my review. All views are my own.

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