The story
Ancient Shepherds occupies a Grade II listed building that began life as three cottages in 1540. First licensed to sell beer in 1805, it has returned to its original form under chef Mark Poynton, who has been involved since 2020 with a clear aim: making fine dining accessible. The restaurant sits on High Street in Fen Ditton, a short drive from Cambridge city centre.
Poynton’s kitchen focuses entirely on tasting menus – three, five or seven courses – built around the finest local and seasonal produce. The style is Modern British, with dishes such as carrot and goats cheese salad, orange and seaweed cured cod with tomato and burnt chilli ponzu, quail breast and leg with turnip, pistachio and lime, and halibut with squash and trompette mushrooms. Desserts include apricot and almond ice cream sandwich and dark chocolate tart with mandarin and Cointreau. Optional wine flights are available for each menu length. The entire table must choose the same number of courses. Sunday lunch is offered as a three-course set alongside the five-course tasting menu.
Five letting rooms sit in the courtyard behind the restaurant: two deluxe with king beds and baths, three standard with double beds. Each comes with a continental breakfast delivered to your door, a Nespresso machine and freeview TV.
Ancient Shepherds holds a Michelin Recommended award for 2026 – a mark of the consistent, thoughtful cooking that has made it a destination in Cambridge’s dining scene. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Thursday to Saturday, and for Sunday lunch.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
After some 30 years at the stoves, Mark Poynton’s ambition remains as vivid as ever, as can be seen at his latest opening – a roadside restaurant with rooms located in a Grade II-listed timber-framed building dating back to 1540. On offer are three tasting menus (three, five or seven courses), delivered by head chef Chris Lee and opening with classy little snacks and impeccable milk bread glazed stickily with malt and thyme – the perfect scooper for lightly aerated cheese and onion ‘soup’ with beer-pickled onions and pieces of punchy Lancashire Bomber cheese. To follow, cured cod loin with seaweed, bitter orange purée, tomato ponzu and burnt chilli oil is a dish with look-at-me confidence and forthright attitude, while a serving of hogget is more restrained: tender meat accompanied by nothing more than puréed and roasted swede. Desserts are both playful and pretty, especially a beautifully fresh chocolate tartlet with dark chocolate mousse, freeze-dried yoghurt and yoghurt sorbet. The wine list opens at £28 with a bright Sicilian Terre di Vita ‘Libellula Grillo’, although most offerings are in the £45-£65 bracket before topping out at £240 for a bottle of grand cru classé Château Léoville Las Cases.
Location
Nearby
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