A good breakfast out in Cambridgeshire is not hard to find, but the best ones are spread thinly and keep their own hours. Some stop serving at 10:30am, some only do brunch at weekends, and one opens at 7am for anglers and early starters. Knowing which is which saves a wasted drive.
This guide covers eleven places across Cambridge and the south, Huntingdonshire and the Nene Valley, and the Fens and Peterborough.
Details were accurate at the time of research in November 2026. Menus, prices and serving times change, so please check each venue’s own website before you travel.
Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
Cambridge has the most brunch menus in the county, but two of the four places here sit just outside the city, in Histon and on the chalk at the Gog Magog Hills. Both are easier to park at than anywhere in the centre.
Scott’s All Day, Mill Road, Cambridge
Indoor activity
- A neighbourhood restaurant on Mill Road serving weekend brunch, sourdough pizza and local beer, with bread baked in house
- Brunch runs until 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and the doors open at 9am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
- The Lumberjack is the big plate: pancakes, a sausage patty, streaky bacon, two eggs, crispy potatoes and maple syrup for £18.45
- Three American-style pancakes cost £13.45 with a choice of toppings, including bacon and hot honey, berry compote with banana and yoghurt, or Nutella with banana and toasted almonds
- There is a vegan fry-up for £16.95 and a gluten-free plate called No Carbs Before Marbs for £14.95, and any dish with toast can be made gluten free
- Children eat free on Saturday and Sunday between 9am and 10am, one child per adult main
- A bottomless brunch option adds fizz and unlimited drinks
- The restaurant is closed on Mondays except bank holidays, and opens at 11:30am from Tuesday to Thursday
Address: 111-113 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2AZ
Website: scottsallday.com
Phone: 01223 311105
How to book: Reserve a table on the website, call or email hello@scottsallday.com
Scott’s is where Mill Road goes when it wants pancakes, and they are thick and properly fluffy rather than the thin supermarket kind. The menu names are playful, but the plates are generous and the prices sit in the middle of what Cambridge charges for brunch. The free kids’ slot between 9am and 10am makes an early start with small children much cheaper. Mill Road has no parking to speak of, so walk or cycle from the station, which is about ten minutes away. Come back on a weekday evening and the same room is serving pizza.
Hotel du Vin Bistro, Trumpington Street, Cambridge
Indoor activity
- The bistro inside Hotel du Vin, a boutique hotel on Trumpington Street close to the Fitzwilliam Museum, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner
- The breakfast and brunch menu leans French and British, with French toast, crêpes, kedgeree and smoked haddock with poached egg on crumpets
- Steak and eggs, smoked salmon bagels and a full cooked breakfast cover the heartier end
- Scrambled Burford Brown eggs with truffle are the dish to order for a special occasion
- Children have their own options, including dippy eggs and soldiers, cheesy beans and French toast fingers
- Granola with Greek yoghurt, banana bread and madeleines suit a lighter start
- The hotel has been cashless since October 2024, so bring a card or phone to pay
Address: 15-19 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA
Website: hotelduvin.com/locations/cambridge
Phone: 01223 928991
How to book: Through the Hotel du Vin website or by phone
This is the most grown-up brunch in the guide, served in a building that feels a world away from a high street café. It works well before a morning at the Fitzwilliam Museum or a walk down to the Botanic Garden, both a few minutes away on foot. Expect hotel prices rather than café prices. The kids’ menu is better thought through than most, so it is a fair choice for a family treat as well as a quiet breakfast for two. Use the park and ride, as there is very little parking on this side of the city.
Stir, Histon
Indoor activity
- An independent café and bakery on School Hill in Histon, part of a small Cambridge group with sites on Chesterton Road, at the Old Swiss building on Cherry Hinton Road and on the Biomedical Campus
- The Histon café opens from 7:30am to 4pm on weekdays and from 8am to 4pm at weekends
- The brunch menu changes with the seasons, and its Big Brunch plate brings avocado, bacon, grilled halloumi, roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, two poached eggs and sourdough together
- Stir’s own chilli jam goes on the brunch menu and is sold in jars to take home
- Sourdough, rye and spelt loaves come from the group’s own Cambridge bakery
- Other brunch dishes have included huevos rancheros on flatbread, Welsh rarebit and smashed avocado with harissa-roasted sweet potato
- The coffee is from Assembly, and food can also be ordered through click and collect
Address: 10 School Hill, Histon, Cambridge CB24 9JE
Website: yourstir.co.uk
Phone: 01223 237008
How to book: No booking needed; walk in, or order ahead through click and collect on the website
Stir is one of the names Cambridge people mention first for brunch, and the Histon branch is the one to pick if you are coming from the north. It opens at 7:30am on weekdays, early enough for breakfast before work, and the village setting makes it calmer than the city sites on a Saturday. The bread is the best reason to come, so buy a loaf on the way out. Histon is also on the Busway, which makes it an easy cycle from Cambridge or St Ives.
The Shack at The Gog, Shelford Bottom
Indoor and outdoor
- The Shack is the café at The Gog, a farm shop and butchery at Heath Farm on the Gog Magog Hills, on the south eastern edge of Cambridge
- It opens from 9am to 4pm on weekdays, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays
- The breakfast menu includes a butcher’s breakfast, and the farm shop’s butchery counter is a few steps away
- The Gog’s breakfast croissant comes filled with a pork sausage patty, fried egg, cheddar and jalapeños
- Kimchi pancakes with a fried egg and a gochujang glaze sit alongside smoked salmon bagels and whipped feta on Stir sourdough
- A new autumn menu with more warming bowls and seasonal plates launched at the end of October 2026
- There is an outdoor terrace as well as indoor seating
- The Bradford family has farmed the land here for more than a century
Address: Heath Farm, Shelford Bottom, Cambridge CB22 3AD
Website: thegog.com
Phone: 01223 248352
How to book: No booking needed for the café
We covered The Gog in our farm shops guide for its butchery, but the café deserves its own mention for breakfast. Because the meat comes from the counter a few steps away, the sausage and bacon are a cut above what most cafés buy in. The menu is more adventurous than the farm shop setting suggests, with kimchi pancakes sitting next to the fry-up. Wandlebury Country Park is just up the hill, so a morning walk followed by breakfast on the terrace is an easy plan. Car parking is on site, which is a relief after the city.
Huntingdonshire and the Nene Valley
The west of the county does breakfast in unexpected places: a fishing lake on the edge of the Fens, a former bank in St Ives, a dog field farm near Alconbury and a heritage railway station. Most have free parking and none of them feel like a chain.
Rookery Café, Rookery Waters, Pidley
Indoor and outdoor
- A family-run café at Rookery Waters, a fishing lake complex in open Fen country at the bottom of Fen Road in Pidley, about five minutes from St Ives
- The café opens daily at 7am, which suits anglers, cyclists and anyone wanting an early start
- The full English is the most popular dish, made with sausages from Johnson’s of Old Hurst, the butcher a few miles away
- The Rookery Brunch Burger and a hot honey halloumi dish are the other dishes regulars talk about
- Avocado on toast and salmon with egg cover the lighter side of the menu
- Hunts Post readers voted it Huntingdonshire’s best breakfast in 2023
- After breakfast it stays open for snacks, drinks, ice creams and bottled beer and cider
- The site has seven fishing lakes, holiday lodges and caravan pitches, and 42 bird species have been recorded around its reed bed and planted trees
Address: Rookery Waters, Fen Road, Pidley, Huntingdon PE28 3DF
Website: rookerywaters.co.uk
How to book: No booking needed; walk in
You would not find the Rookery by accident, which is part of its appeal. The café sits among the lakes, so breakfast comes with a view of anglers settling in and reed beds rather than traffic. The cooking is simple and done to order, and the Johnson’s sausages give the fry-up a real local connection. Local MP Ben Obese-Jecty wrote up his weekend brunch here in August 2025, and the Brunch Burger he described has become something of a calling card. It is a good stop on a ride or drive between St Ives and Chatteris.
The Teller’s Table, St Ives
Indoor and outdoor
- A modern British restaurant with European influences that opened in February 2026 in The Old Bank on The Pavement, St Ives
- Brunch is served from 9am to 11:30am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
- On Monday to Thursday the restaurant opens at 11am, so brunch here is a weekend plan
- There are two dining rooms and a courtyard, which comes into its own in warm weather
- After brunch the kitchen moves on to daytime plates, then seasonal evening menus
- Other regular dates include a Monday Wine Club, a Sunday Supper Club and family-style Sunday lunches
- Tables can be booked online through the restaurant’s reservations page
Address: The Old Bank, 2 The Pavement, St Ives PE27 5AD
Website: thetellerstable.co.uk
Phone: 01480 782570
How to book: Online through the website’s reservations page, by phone or by email to enquiries@thetellerstable.co.uk
The Teller’s Table is the newest place in this guide, and it has given St Ives a proper weekend brunch in one of its handsome old buildings. The Pavement runs along the riverside end of the town centre, so you can walk off breakfast along the Great Ouse or over the medieval bridge with its chapel. The brunch window is short, finishing at 11:30am, so do not turn up at noon expecting eggs. Book ahead for a weekend table. Park in one of the town’s pay and display car parks and walk in.
Holly Lodge Café, near Alconbury
Indoor and outdoor
- A farm café in the Mill Shed at Holly Lodge Farm near Alconbury, which also runs secure dog paddocks and a soft play
- It opens every day from 9am to 3:30pm, with last orders for hot food at 3:15pm
- Breakfast is straightforward: bacon, sausage or egg baps, and avocado on toast
- Yoghurt and açaí granola bowls were added to the menu for a lighter start
- There is an al fresco patio, which is dog friendly in the summer months, and a top garden with bike racks
- An outdoor play area sits next to the café, and the soft play is on the same farm
- The farm closes for Christmas from 19 December to 2 January
- Christmas trees go on sale at the farm from Wednesday 25 November 2026
Address: Holly Lodge Farm, near Alconbury PE28 5XZ
Website: hollylodge.org
Phone: 07384 812208
How to book: No booking needed for the café; dog paddocks are booked online
Holly Lodge is a breakfast stop with a purpose. Book an hour in one of the secure dog fields, then sit on the patio with a bacon bap while the dog dries off. It also works for families, with the play area and soft play close enough to keep children busy while the coffee goes down. The menu is short and does not pretend to be anything fancy, which is the right call for a farm café. It is a few minutes from the A1 and A14 at Alconbury, so it makes a useful stop on a longer journey too.
Wansford Station Café, Nene Valley Railway
Indoor activity
- The café at Wansford Station, headquarters of the Nene Valley Railway, is run by Origin8, which also ran the Thorpe Meadows café in Peterborough
- It opens from 9am to 4pm on Wednesday to Friday and from 8:30am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, plus special running days such as bank holidays
- Breakfast is served until 10:30am
- Bacon, egg and sausage baps cost £3.25 each, with an extra filling for £1.75
- Sausage rolls and pasties cost £2.95
- Gluten-free and vegan options are available
- The station sits beside the A1 near Stibbington, just over the border from Peterborough
Address: Wansford Station, Stibbington, Peterborough PE8 6LR
Website: nvr.org.uk
How to book: No booking needed; walk in
This is the cheapest breakfast in the guide, and one of the most atmospheric if you like steam. A bacon bap and a mug of tea on the platform, with the railway’s locomotives across the yard, is hard to beat for children who love trains. It is plain food and it is meant to be, served quickly so you can catch a departure. Get there before 10:30am if you want breakfast, as the menu moves on to lunch after that. Sacrewell Farm is a couple of minutes away, so a breakfast here can open a full day out on this side of Peterborough.
The Fens and Peterborough
North of Chatteris the best breakfasts are often in garden centres, which have the space, the parking and the early opening that Fen towns lack. Peterborough adds a new brunch café in Queensgate for anyone shopping in the city.
Café Skylark, Skylark Garden Centre, Wimblington
Indoor activity
- The café at Skylark Garden Centre on Manea Road, between March and Chatteris, opens every day from 9am to 4pm
- Breakfast is served from 9am to 11:30am
- The Fenland Breakfast is the house favourite on the 2026 breakfast menu
- The menu also covers eggs cooked several ways, smoked salmon and pancakes
- The café stays open on Easter Sunday, when the garden centre itself is closed
- Skylark has been trading for more than twenty years and marks its birthday each May with a party and a barbecue of locally produced food
- The garden centre runs a Santa’s Grotto at Christmas, and a car boot sale run by another organiser uses the back field on most Sundays
Address: Skylark Garden Centre, Manea Road, Wimblington, March PE15 0PE
Website: skylarkgardencentre.co.uk
Phone: 01354 741212
How to book: No booking needed; outside catering is also available
Skylark is the place Fenland families use for a weekend breakfast, and it has the parking and space for prams and grandparents that a town café cannot offer. The Fenland Breakfast is the one to order. Weekends get busy once the grotto or seasonal events are running, so arrive near 9am if you want a quiet table. It is one of the few sit-down breakfast options in this part of the Fens, and March town centre is a short drive away.
Jamaica Blue, Queensgate, Peterborough
Indoor activity
- An all-day brunch café on the Upper Mall of the Queensgate Centre, opposite Frasers and next to Goldsmiths, which opened in 2026
- It opens from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 8:30am to 5:30pm on Sundays
- The whole menu is served all day, so brunch at 4pm is not a problem
- The Big Brekkie brings sausages, hash brown, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, eggs and sourdough toast together
- The American Diner Breakfast pairs two pancakes with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and maple syrup
- Turkish eggs, huevos rancheros with chorizo and a brunch naanwich bring in flavours from further afield
- Vegetarian choices include a veggie brunch with halloumi and vegan sausage, and mushrooms on brioche French toast with whipped feta
- The menu lists calories for every dish
Address: Unit 91, Queensgate Centre, Peterborough
Website: jamaicablue.co.uk
How to book: No booking needed; walk in
Peterborough city centre has never had much choice for a sit-down brunch, and Jamaica Blue fills that gap inside Queensgate. The menu is wider than most cafés in this guide, and serving it all day suits shoppers who do not get going until lunchtime. It is part of a chain, so do not expect a local farm shop feel, but the cooking covers a lot of ground. Queensgate’s multi-storey car parks are a short walk away, and the railway station is a few minutes on foot. It is also handy before a visit to the cathedral, which sits just across Cathedral Square.
The Home and Garden Restaurant, Peterborough
Indoor activity
- The restaurant inside Peterborough Home and Garden, the garden centre at PE1 Retail Park that opened in 2010 as a Van Hage store and is now run by Blue Diamond
- Breakfast is served from 9am to 11:30am Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 11:30am on Sundays
- The restaurant opens from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4:30pm on Sundays
- Afternoon tea is available all day, and booking is advisable for it
- Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners should ask staff about options on the day’s menu
- A spring 2026 Peterborough Telegraph round-up of local garden centres gave it a Google rating of 4 out of 5
Address: PE1 Retail Park, Peterborough PE1 4YZ
Website: bluediamond.gg
How to book: No booking needed for breakfast; book ahead for afternoon tea
Garden centre breakfasts are a Peterborough habit, and this one does the job well for a weekday start or a Saturday when the city centre is too much. Because it opens at 9am and the shop is right outside the door, it suits anyone planning a morning of buying plants. The setting is practical rather than charming. Sunday breakfast only runs for an hour and a half, so arrive soon after 10am.
Seasonal Highlights
Spring: Easter Sunday breakfast at Café Skylark, which opens even though the garden centre closes, plus Skylark’s birthday party every May and longer mornings for brunch on the terrace at The Shack.
Summer: The courtyard at The Teller’s Table for weekend brunch from 9am, the patio at Holly Lodge Café, where dogs are welcome in the summer months, and early breakfasts at the Rookery Café from 7am before the lakes get busy.
Autumn: The new autumn menu at The Shack at The Gog, launched at the end of October 2026, and breakfast at Wansford Station before a day on the Nene Valley Railway.
Winter: Christmas trees at Holly Lodge from 25 November 2026 before the farm closes from 19 December to 2 January, Santa’s Grotto at Skylark, and Christmas orders at The Gog, which must be placed by 20 December.
A Note From Inside Cambridge
Breakfast is the meal people are most loyal about, and we know plenty of readers will have a favourite café that is not on this list.
If your local has a breakfast worth the drive, or something here has changed, tell us. We will check it and add it next time we update the guide.
Before You Go
- Check serving times as well as opening times, as several places stop breakfast at 10:30am or 11:30am and switch to lunch
- Weekend brunch at The Teller’s Table runs only from Friday to Sunday, and Scott’s All Day serves its weekend brunch until 3pm
- Book ahead for Saturday and Sunday brunch in Cambridge and St Ives, where tables go quickly
- Use park and ride or walk for Mill Road and Trumpington Street, as city centre parking is limited and expensive
- The farm and garden centre cafés at Wimblington, Alconbury and Shelford Bottom have their own car parks
- Hotel du Vin is cashless, so bring a card or phone to pay
- Holly Lodge closes from 19 December to 2 January, and most other venues change their hours over Christmas and New Year
- Ask about gluten-free and vegan options when you order: Scott’s, Stir, Jamaica Blue and Wansford Station all list them
