8 | September 27, 2014 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News
Food Review The Wrestlers Public House, 337 Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8JE Telephone: (01223) 566554 Website: thewrestlerscambridge. co.uk Restaurant opening hours: Noon-3pm and 5-11pm daily Cost: Dinner for two people, including drinks, came to £23.80 Food: 刂刂刂刂刂 Service: 刂刂刂刂刂 Atmosphere: 刂刂刂刂刂 Value: 刂刂刂刂刂
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At last, the Wrestlers has got a hold on us Ella Walker learns you should never judge a book by its cover, as she discovers that behind its tired facade, The Wrestlers Thai is an utter gem.
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HE Wrestlers Thai had almost taken on mythical status in my mind. Despite cycling past it every day for 18 months on the way to work, not once did I believe that a pub, one that looks so heavy and traditional on the outside – a proper red-lacquered boozer that must have seen its fair share of bar brawls – could do anything more than limp chips and grey burgers. To be fair, it almost always looked closed, and when it wasn’t, appeared to be the spiritual home of old, whiskered drunks. But there were rumours, whispered asides, and many a murmur of “you know, the best Thai in Cambridge is on Newmarket Road . . .” I scoffed. On Newmarket Road?! That strip of tiresome superstores and nightmare cycle junctions? Yeah, right. How wrong I was. Sure, during the day it still looks intimidatingly like a rough old pub, swilling with stale cigarette smoke, sticky carpets and even stickier pints of Stella. But that’s a fleeting impression, and one that evaporates close up, because in fact, The Wrestlers is an utter gem. And the
rumours are true: it’s the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten anywhere, let alone in Cambridge. On the inside The Wrestlers is more Farrow and Ball than old-school drinking establishment. Daubed in tasteful turquoises, packed with soft wooden tables, the bar sparkling with brass and quirky filament bulbs strung all over the place; it’s simple, classy and very cosy. We rolled in on a foggy Thursday evening and swiftly bagged the last free table. The place was absolutely rammed: groups of students hunched over steaming bowls of noodles; families tucking into bright plates of rice and veg; couples drinking from the extensive, specially selected real ale menu while contentedly snapping prawn crackers with their teeth. Sipping on ice cold cans of Coke – vastly superior to that syrup stuff that shoots out of taps and sits greasy and flat in your glass – we got settled in and joined the latter category with our own basket of crunchy prawn crackers and a dish of sweet chili sauce (£2.50). We swiftly realised, we’ve been seriously missing out. My boyfriend Sam’s chicken Pud Ka Pao dish (£9.50) – partly chosen because of its awesome, comicbook-esque name – arrived before my classic Thai green curry, so he was forced to share for a minute or two. Poor him. A mound of bamboo shoots, spring onions, basil leaves, carrot, mange tout and chicken – so much chicken – all stir fried in a spicy chilli paste nestled alongside a light and crispy fried egg: a hat to a pile of jasmine rice. It was just so fresh and colourful. The vegetables had bite, the chicken was crazily tender and it all tasted really healthy – there wasn’t a
Sam’s turn to feel the food envy. It was so, so good. Creamy reviews restaurants with coconut and anonymously and fragrant with basil, it pays for meals had a spicy kick that wasn’t too hot or too sweet (unlike most I’ve eaten before). And it was huge, so huge I couldn’t finish it which was actually quite upsetting. The chefs go massively overboard on the meat (you can substitute chicken for pork, beef, king prawns or more vegetables if you want to, too). The Wrestlers is warm, it’s hearty and it’s insanely good value (you can’t argue with a dish and rice in those smidge of monosodium glutamate to proportions for less than £10 – it’s be found either. unbelievable). We’re already planning I was understandably jealous, but our next trip: their sweet and sour then my green Thai curry (£9.40 – chicken noodles will be mine. including rice) arrived, bubbling with My only criticism? They don’t do peas and slivers of pepper, and it was pudding. Sigh.
Weekend