De Luca for classic Italian cuisine and a roof terrace to boot! Cambridge: July 2017

De Luca’s roof terrace offers a view over Parkers Piece in Cambridge

Last night Steve and I decided to revisit an old favourite eatery of mine De Luca Cucina and Bar which is an independent modern Italian restaurant in Cambridge. It was a warm and sunny summers evening so we hoped to dine on the roof terrace, and although it’s not possible to reserve a table there we weren’t disappointed.

De Luca Cucina and Bar is located on Regent Street in Cambridge

We started our evening with an aperitif. Aperol Spritz, a traditional Italian cocktail for me and a classic Martini cocktail with olives for Steve 

To start I opted for a selection of rustic Italian breads served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and Kalamata and boscaiola olives marinated in virgin olive oil with mushrooms, sweet peppers, garlic and herbs, which we shared.

Steve’s colourful starter of Deep fried crispy squid served with sweet chilli and ginger relish, rocket and lemon

For my main course I chose the pasta ‘special’ dish of rigatoni with parma ham in a creamy white wine sauce with gorgonzola, dressed with rocket

 

Steve chose Linguine ai Frutti di mare for his main course. A feast of mussels, clams, prawns, squid with chilli, garlic, white wine and fresh tomato served with a whole king prawn

De Luca offers a delightful space for al fresco dining

As usual, Steve chose the cheese board for his dessert which had a selection of interesting Italian regional cheeses, with bread, fruit and celery

For my dessert I chose Affogato al caffe, – hot espresso and Amaretto poured over homemade vanilla ice cream. Steve sampled an Expre coffee liqueur as a nightcap.

For affordable prices and good quality freshly-cooked food which is well presented with friendly and courteous staff De Luca is highly recommended. (We paid £28 per person for 3 courses from the a la carte menu without drinks or service.) It doesn’t surprise me that De Luca Cucina and Bar was a finalist in the Cambridge News Food and Drink Awards last year and I wish it more success in 2017.

In addition to their delicious food, De Luca has a Top Floor Cocktail Lounge which becomes Cambridge’s only Piano Bar on Friday and Saturday evenings. Cocktail-making classes are also available and having tried one of these sessions myself I can guarantee it’s great fun if you fancy a boozy night out!

For more information see their website http://www.delucacucina.co.uk

De Luca Cucina and Bar

83 Regent Street

Cambridge

CB2 1AW

Tel : 01223 35 66 66