Restaurant in Cambridge, United Kingdom
Galicia and Basque done right. Book ahead.
Mercado Central holds a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years and brings serious northern Spanish cooking — Galician and Basque in spirit, open-flame in technique — to central Cambridge at £££ per head. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekends. For the price and the city, it is the strongest Spanish option available.
At £££ per head, this is a mid-to-upper spend for Cambridge, sitting below the ££££ territory of Midsummer House and Restaurant Twenty-Two, but priced to reflect something with genuine culinary ambition rather than a casual tapas drop-in. If you are deciding whether to book: yes, book it, particularly if northern Spanish cooking — the sort built around sourced produce and open-flame technique , is what you are after in this city.
The address is 24 Green St, close enough to Trinity College that you will pass it en route from the main tourist drag. The building is a townhouse, brightly decorated, and split across two floors. On the ground floor, the open-flame cooking station is the visual anchor of the room , watching fire-cooked dishes come together from your seat is part of the experience here, and it sets the tone for what arrives on the plate. If you want a quieter dinner with more distance from kitchen energy, request the upstairs dining room when you book. Both rooms work, but the choice changes the atmosphere considerably.
The overall feel is warm and busy rather than hushed and formal. This is not a white-tablecloth destination in the Waterside Inn mould, nor is it trying to be. It positions itself closer to a well-resourced neighbourhood restaurant with serious cooking credentials, which is exactly the right call for Green St.
Northern Spain drives the menu. Galicia and the Basque Country are the two primary reference points, which means the cooking leans toward produce-forward dishes, open-fire technique, and the kind of ingredient-led simplicity that falls apart without high-quality sourcing. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms that the kitchen is executing at a level that justifies the price, even if it has not yet crossed into starred territory.
The presa Ibérica , marbled Iberian pork shoulder , is the standout protein on record, and it is the dish that leading illustrates what this kitchen does well: sourcing a cut that rewards high-heat cooking, then delivering on the technique. If it is on the menu when you visit, order it. For dessert, the tarta de Santiago is the close. The almond cake is a Galician standard, and finishing with it is the right way to read the menu's regional logic.
On seasonality: northern Spanish cooking responds meaningfully to the calendar. Autumn and winter menus tend to favour richer preparations , game, aged pork cuts, heartier pulses , while spring and summer shift toward lighter produce and seafood, reflecting what Galicia's Atlantic coast does leading. If your visit falls in the warmer months, expect the menu to feel lighter and more vegetable- and fish-forward. A late-autumn visit is when dishes like the presa Ibérica are most at home on the plate. This is a restaurant worth timing if you have flexibility.
For a broader read on where Mercado Central sits within the Spanish cooking conversation internationally, ZURRIOLA in Tokyo and BCN Taste & Tradition in Houston are useful reference points for how Basque and Catalan traditions travel outside Spain.
Booking difficulty is moderate. This is not a venue you walk into on a Friday or Saturday without a reservation and expect a table. Plan at least two to three weeks ahead for weekend evenings, and check midweek availability if your schedule is flexible , lunch slots tend to open up with shorter lead times. There is no phone number in the public record, so approach booking via their website or a third-party reservations platform.
The address (24 Green St, Cambridge CB2 3JX) is central and walkable from most of the city's accommodation. If you are staying elsewhere and need Cambridge hotel options, our full Cambridge hotels guide has current picks. For pre- or post-dinner drinks, see our Cambridge bars guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercado Central | Spanish (Northern) | £££ | Moderate | Serious Spanish cooking, special dinners |
| Midsummer House | Contemporary British | ££££ | High | Occasion dining, tasting menus |
| Restaurant Twenty-Two | Modern Cuisine | ££££ | High | Intimate fine dining |
| Little Donkey | Global Tapas | ££ | Low-Moderate | Casual sharing plates |
| Alden & Harlow | New American | £££ | Moderate | Lively dinner, bar scene |
Mercado Central works well for a date dinner, a birthday, or a small group with an interest in regional Spanish cooking. It is too considered for a quick weeknight meal and too relaxed for a formal occasion where service formality matters as much as the food. If you are bringing someone who knows Basque or Galician cooking, they will find the menu coherent and well-sourced. If you are introducing someone to northern Spanish cuisine for the first time, this is a good room in which to do it.
For broader Cambridge dining research, our full Cambridge restaurants guide covers the whole city. If you are planning a longer trip, the Cambridge experiences guide and Cambridge wineries guide are also worth a look.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercado Central | Spanish | £££ | Located a stone's throw from Trinity College, this brightly decorated townhouse is home to a Spanish restaurant exuding a warm, buzzy vibe – whether you admire the open-flame cooking on the ground floor or sit in the quieter upstairs dining room. Northern Spain has the largest influence on the menu, with Galicia and the Basque Country featuring prominently among dishes built around proudly sourced produce of great quality, such as wonderfully marbled presa Ibérica. Save room to finish with the 'tarta de Santiago'.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Moderate | — |
| Midsummer House | Contemporary British, Creative | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Twenty-Two | Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Hi Rise | Bakery | Unknown | — | ||
| Little Donkey | Global Tapas | Unknown | — | ||
| Oleana | Middle Eastern | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Mercado Central measures up.
The menu leans heavily on northern Spain, with Galicia and the Basque Country as the primary reference points, so lean into the produce-forward dishes. The presa Ibérica — notably well-marbled according to Michelin's own notes — is a reliable anchor, and the tarta de Santiago is specifically called out as a dessert worth saving room for. Avoid overthinking the menu; the kitchen's strength is in the sourcing, so order around the main ingredients rather than chasing elaborately constructed plates.
The townhouse layout gives you two options: the ground floor with open-flame cooking in view, or the quieter upstairs dining room. Smaller groups of 2–4 are straightforward to accommodate, but larger parties wanting a private or semi-private feel should aim for the upstairs room. check the venue's official channels to confirm capacity and booking arrangements for groups before assuming a large table is available on the night.
Yes, with some caveats about format. At £££, it sits below the ££££ spend of Midsummer House and Restaurant Twenty-Two, which makes it a solid choice when you want the occasion feel without the full fine-dining price tag. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 adds credibility for a celebration dinner. It works well for a birthday or date night; it is less suited to large, casual group occasions.
For a step up in formality and spend, Midsummer House (two Michelin stars) is the benchmark in Cambridge. Restaurant Twenty-Two offers a more intimate tasting-menu format at ££££. If you want something lighter and more casual, Little Donkey covers Middle Eastern-influenced small plates at a lower price point. Oleana (Boston, not Cambridge UK) is a different market entirely. Mercado Central sits in the middle ground: more considered than a neighbourhood restaurant, less ceremonial than the city's top tasting-menu venues.
Book in advance — walk-ins on a Friday or Saturday are a gamble not worth taking. The restaurant is a short walk from Trinity College on Green Street, easy to find. On arrival, choose between the ground-floor seats near the open-flame kitchen if you want energy and theatre, or the upstairs dining room if you prefer a quieter meal. The menu is regionally anchored in northern Spain, so expect produce-led cooking rather than a broad pan-Spanish spread.
Tasting menu availability and pricing are not confirmed in current data, so it is worth checking directly with the restaurant before planning around a set format. What is documented is that the kitchen's focus on high-quality sourced produce — specifically called out in Michelin's Plate recognition — rewards the longer-format experience if one is offered. If a tasting menu is not your preference, the à la carte built around Galician and Basque references is the stronger bet.
At £££, yes — provided regional Spanish cooking is what you are after. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen is operating at a consistent standard, and the sourcing quality for dishes like the presa Ibérica justifies the mid-to-upper Cambridge price point. If your priority is tasting-menu precision over regional authenticity, Midsummer House or Restaurant Twenty-Two are stronger cases for the spend. For Spanish food specifically, Mercado Central has no direct competition in Cambridge.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
