Pear & Olive Cottage

We booked a room for 1 June with dinner in the restaurant back in December and today, 3 April were told they had 'double booked' and were cancelling our booking. Now too late to book anywhere else as it is the Duxford air Festival that weekend. My husband's birthday treat is now in ruins. How can you possibly take three months to realise you are double booked? I would not trust them to honour a replacement booking if it was free

Review – Pear and Olive, Hildersham We booked to eat and stay at The Pear and Olive on the recommendation of some old friends, who had visited recently. The village of Hildersham is pretty and is also close to Cambridge, so could be a great base. The new owners (a young husband and wife team, Josh and Jade Abbs) have only been in residence for a couple of months. There's a car park to the side/rear for approx. 6 cars and a couple of cycle racks for more energetic types. There’s on street parking too. On arriving at the Pear and Olive, we were shown to our overnight accommodation, which was in a lovely cosy little cottage/bungalow just next door to the restaurant. It's been decorated and furnished to a high standard, while retaining a cosy cottage feel; super comfy bed! The front of house staff, Jade and Heidi, are very friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. The chef, Josh and his sous chef, Patrick, clearly know what they are doing. The food was just incredibly good; so flavoursome and delicious. Later, we learnt that both Jade and Josh have worked in fine dining restaurants in various places, including London. Jade clearly understands the importance and role of great front of house service and Josh is demonstrably a master of his craft. This place is all about a great fine dining experience. Food This was an absolute treat. There was a good choice of starters, mains and desserts. Vegetarians are well catered for on the separate vegetarian menu. There was also a really good selection of slightly more unusual wines, beers and soft drinks, many of which are obviously from local suppliers. When the food arrived, it was HISTORIC. It truly was a fine dining experience par excellence. Do yourself a favour and book a meal at this little gem of a place. And do so sooner rather than later (or both), before everyone else finds out about it. They had to turn a couple of parties away while we were there. We will definitely back. And I hope those diners they had to turn away will too. It’s a pity I can’t give this place 6 stars; it’s definitely worth that and more, but I’ll have to settle for just the 5.   

Great value for money. Whole mini apartment to stay in. Some furnishings a little tired looking, but overall really nice. Restaurant was fantastic. Cannot believe the quality of the cooking for the price. Would love to come back.

Excellent service from everyone here especially Charlie who couldn't be more helpful. The food was amazing compliments to the Chef. The suite over the Scratch Kitchen is immaculate and really spacious, every detail us thought through down to the bottles of drinks, cakes and breakfast. Would highly recommend a visit.

We were on the way back from Cambridge (rural route), and looking for somewhere to stop for lunch. Sign on the main road Pear & Olive Gastro Pub - let’s give it a go. Wow! Lovely garden, excellent cider on tap. Good choices on the lunch menu - I went for the Wagyu burger with seasoned fries and my wife had the flatbread pizza with mushrooms, caramelised onions and goats cheese. Everything was sublime! Balance of flavours was spot on - lots of oohs and aahs and you must try this. Waitress told us about the tasting menu, definitely on the to do list Excellent!

We enjoyed our stay at the pear inn - it was exactly same as shown in pictures - very neat and tidy and little extra touches by the host made it even more special - we stayed for one night while visiting Cambridge and would be happy to visit again.

I liked the décor and quirky furnishing. the breakfast was also pleasant, with plenty of options. The fresh cake were also a nice touch. Unfortunately the property was in a poor condition throughout, the windows did not close properly, and one window would not close at all! So cold air was constantly flowing into the property. As a result, the heating within the property was not enough to keep it warm, and some rooms were always cold sue to not having any heating within them at all. All rooms had cobwebs and signs of damp. The wardrobe space was covered in mold. some of the furniture was broken and could not be used. The apartment has no lockable entrance, just a sliding door straight to the restaurant down stairs. I stay in a lot of apartments, and this is the least enjoyable stay I have had for a long time, I booked 2 nights and decided not to stay for the second, because it was so poor.

Joy, oh joy oh joy. My partner and I stayed for two nights in “The Loft”. It was fantastic: Clean, very comfortable, wonderfully spacious and had lovely touches to make you feel welcome. As for the food…. Exquisite. As we ate our was through the four courses, on our first evening, our vocabulary was stolen, all we seemed to be able to say was “Oh! god”, “Oh! wow” and, occasionally “this is bloody fantastic”. The people here are wonderful too, kind, accommodating, polite and happy. Lovely atmosphere, roaring fire, elegant and just the right amount of quirky. We will be going back. We already booked another weekend and simply cannot wait to be looked after with such care, attention, skill and smiles. Thank you.

Beautifully presented. Enjoyed the complimentary cakes …. Very comfortable and clean