• CLOSED: Rainbow Vegetarian Cafe

  • (57)
    14

    Closed

  • White Vegetarian
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Organic
Beer/Wine
British

Veggie cafe and restaurant specializing in vegan and gluten-free food. Last order 30 minutes before closing. Situated opposite main gate to King's College. Confirmed closed November 2018.


Venue map for Rainbow Vegetarian Cafe
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57 Reviews

First Review by Sernicki

runnerdave

Points +82

Vegan
18 Nov 2018

Authentic mostly vegan venue

Hearty food, plain but tasty. Sometimes lacking a bit in seasoning.
Bear in mind it’s located underground, so no daylight.
Friendly staff.

Pros: Mostly vegan, Tasty food, Nice atmosphere

Cons: Underground

ChloeScotney

Points +188

Vegan
02 Nov 2018

Good selection of vegan options!

I ordered a main off the specials menu which did not disappoint. The dessert was even better.

Pros: Lots of vegan options , Fresh and colourful food, Vegan dessert choices

Cons: Service was rather slow

PlantPal

Points +93

Vegan
31 Oct 2018

A treasure!

What a delight! Delicious food. Staff were great.

Pros: Good range of delicious food.

Cons: Stairs to get to the restaurant.

AliceGuillaume

Points +44

Vegan
28 Jul 2018

Favourite veggie/vegan place in Cambridge

Love the Rainbow Cafe! Welcoming, the food is colourful and delicious and they're great with allergens. They have good vegan desserts too - definitely one to try out.

Pros: Good if you have allergies

Cons: Bit hard to find? (none, really)

Louise_G

Points +495

Vegan
21 Jul 2018

Amazing food !

Always my go-to in Cambridge. Both the permanent and specials menu are full of vegan options , my favourite being the Jamaican roti cups . Vegan deserts also available (though the portion sizes mean that we’re often too full for it!) lovely setting , though on a busy tourist day in Cambridge you might have to queue to get in (it will be worth it).

Pros: Cosy and friendly setting , Wide range of Vegan and nut free options

Cons: Gets busy and cramped easily

Jaydigriz

Points +170

Vegan
09 Jul 2018

Hidden gem

Tucked away down alley and in basement off main street. Great range of food with most vegan, this includes foods from different cuisines. Had (one of) the vegan lasagnas, wife had 3 bean chilli. Both lovely. Vegan wines and beers, speciality teas. Oh and vegan desserts including crumble and cheesecake. The vegetarian carrot cake according to Nigel Slater the best he’s had (had no room to try!) staff friendly.

Pros: All vegetarian , Most are vegan, Great range

lauralaura

Points +44

Vegan
02 Jun 2018

Lovely!

Delicious jackfruit taco, loved the tucked away location and nice staff :-)

HistoricalMarkers

Points +222

Vegetarian
16 May 2018

Homey Goodness

Great vegetarian restaurant with many vegan options in a cozy basement setting. Interesting menu of specials and a solid regular menu.

MissRadish

Points +348

Vegan
29 Oct 2017

Step back in time

It has the potential to be a quirky restaurant, instead it feels like it’s pretending to be a hippy place when it just needs a refurb and new menu. The food is simple. As another reviewer put it, it’s vegetarian/vegan food you’d get from the 1970s. I had the pasta columbiana which was a small portion for £11 and was pretty much plain pasta sauce and unseasoned. Go there for tea and cakes (which change daily and they seem to put more pride in).

sharonmeijland

16 Nov 2017

Interesting review. Actually the Pasta Columbiana costs £9.95.
As pioneers we have been in this locale for 30 years, so not sure what 'pretending' means !!

ellieallan

Points +248

Vegan
22 Aug 2017

phenomenal!!

Went in here with my mum and absolutely love it, can't wait to go back again! They have such a huge menu and so many vegan options, didn't have a main course but looking at everyone else's plate it looked delicious! I would recommend the vegan cherry cheese cake which was delicious.

Pros: such a lovely atmosphere , many options , super fun friendly staff!

sharonmeijland

16 Nov 2017

Thank you for this lovely review which makes it all worthwhile !

Christi

Points +174

Vegan
18 Aug 2017

Nice food

I had a nice lunch here and the food was pretty simple. The ambience is nice and cozy and the service was great. I would recommend it to anyone who needs to eat vegetarian or vegan.

EIIie

Points +104

Vegan
01 Aug 2017

Great impression, lacklustre food

This cafe has a nice atmosphere and a really great sounding menu, but I have to say the food was fairly unimpressive. It's not bad, but it's not particularly good either. Kudos for being a vegetarian restaurant with plenty of vegan options.

harlekwin42

Points +341

Vegetarian
11 Jun 2017

good to find a vegetarian cafe

so good to find cafe in central Cambridge where you know all food will be vegetarian or vegan. I've only visited once but am sorry to say I found the food disappointing, as if the chef was not really very interested in making good food. My main, and my companions, were dull, the sort of thing we would make at home in 10 mins. for minimal cost. My cake was dry. The saving grace was a brilliant vegan cheesecake. So that's certainly worth going back for.

Pros: great vegan cheesecake, central Cambridge, knowledgable about vegan/gluten free diets

Cons: quite expensive for what you get

jon active

Points +2571

Vegan
29 Apr 2017

Not bad for a basement!

Given how expensive Cambridge is it's not surprising that the Rainbow cafe is through an alley and down stairs in a basement. The menu is impressive with a good number of daily specials, shame though that so many were not vegan when they could so easily have been!
The food I had was good but not as good as some of the reviews here and the price led me to think it would be. I had a mushroom tagliatelle and a garlic and herb bread starter. The bread was a cheap white bun and the tagliatelle has too much liquid in it. (One of my fellow diners thought the tagliatelle was very good) The side salad was uninspired, no dressing or anything to make it stand out. They did have a sugar free cake option - just the one - but it was obviously the "healthy" option so it was also gluten free and hence as so often is the case not very appetising. My tea was good, a small pot with an extra pot of hot water and plenty of soya milk in a cute little milk bottle. The staff were friendly and helpful. The Rainbow has an old school feel to it which I liked more than I did the food.
Updated from previous review on 2017-04-29

Pros: Good range of choice on menu., Friendly staff., Decent sized portions

Cons: Many options not vegan.

sharonmeijland

01 Feb 2018

I will pass your review on to our Organic Artisan Vegan BakeryThank you for telling us another diner liked the same dish which you did not. That was very honest. And Thank you for the Lovely compliment.

Pbarry

Points +104

Vegan
14 Apr 2017

Great food, relaxed atmosphere

The entrance is down a bright narrow inviting alleyway and once inside the front door you take the stairs down to a large basement where the restaurant is located. As to be expected, it was busy on a Saturday lunchtime and we had to queue on the stairs for around 10 minutes before it was our turn to be seated. Once we were seated, the service was courteous and efficient . The tables are pretty tightly packed but there is relaxed atmosphere. For starters, I had sweet potato and chick pea daal and my wife, garlic bread sun dried tomato ~ both of which we would highly recommend. For main course, we had the three bean chilli and tangine L'algérienne ~ both very tasty followed by herbal teas. My favourite dish was definitely the daal which was both spicy and deeply flavoured ~ other reviewers have also praised the soups. Would definitely go back next time we visit Cambridge.

Pros: excellent food, relaxed atmosphere

Cons: stairs and fairly tightly packed seating arrangeme

mcld

Points +949

Vegetarian
31 Jan 2017

Lovely hippy-veggie spot

Lovely place! It's been a Cambridge classic for at least a couple of decades. It's the classic "hippy-veggie" style of thing, in vibe, in decor, in menu. So no it's not the latest veggie fad cuisine but there's plenty of variety on the menu and it's good stuff.

outragedveggie666

Points +23

Vegetarian
08 Jan 2017

great location

the fact it's in a basement is fantastic! it's opened my eyes to the wonders of sundried dried tomatoes with there garlic bread and the menu is broad

Pros: vegan and gluten free options

Cons: the waitor and cashier was a little rude and it wa

Ryecatcher

Points +2092

Vegetarian
23 Dec 2016

For those who like basements

I liked Rainbow Cafe already just for being located in the basement. There is one smaller room where you enter (go down the stairs) with some tables, that may be pretty busy as people are entering or leaving or waiting for to be seated all the time. Next there is the kitchen and the till area next and lastly a larger room with several more tables.
It can be busy at lunch hours, there are quite a few meals on the menu. In December they offered a special Christmas menu, but I don't know if there is something like that in other months as well.
I ate there three times and got decent comfort food, always a variation of some filled puff pastry, potatoes, salad. (Probably inspired by Eastern European cuisine.) Homemade sauces, too. It can take some time until your order is ready, but that's within a reasonable time frame; also, usually you would be warned if your order is expected to take a long time.
You'll be served but you'll have to pay at the till afterwards.
Their cheesecake is truly amazing, they offered several types, I was genuinely blown away. Creamy, tasty stuff, simply: wow! double wow! (Almost five pounds a piece though.)
Great opening times, friendly staff, enjoyable experience!




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