THE LOCATION

The Willow Tree is in the lovely South Cambs village of Bourn. It’s 10 miles from Cambridge city, but you’ll find a visit here well worth the drive. As well as this charming village gastropub, Bourn is home to lots of successful local businesses including an arts centre, farm shop and Muddy Awards 2022 finalist Yoga at the Barn.

THE VIBE

Are you ready to envy the residents of Cambridgeshire’s beautiful Bourn? The Willow Tree is their local pub, and what a place it is. Forget the dark wood, sticky bars and leather stools you get in a lot of country drinking holes, The Willow Tree is much more sophisticated. Owner Shaina Galvin was an interior designer before she took on the business and boy does it show. The inside of the restaurant is such a lovely surprise – there’s a touch of French château about it, with a playful hint of Alice in Wonderland and a nod to Sweden’s hygge trend. Think pretty pink walls, lots of flowers, ornate gold framed mirrors, quirky decorations and plump faux fur rugs draped over the furniture. It sounds a bit mad when you write it down, but as with all the best interiors it really works to create a delightful, unique and comfortable ambiance.

Muddy Editor Hollie doing her best to look angelic, but failing miserably!

The inside is just for starters though, because the main attraction here is the country garden. As the name suggests, there’s a huge and majestic willow tree in the middle of the large space with tables underneath, as well as a giant teepee (perfect for weddings and events), eight magical dining domes, a fire pit and string upon string of fairy lights.

As the sun sets on a summer evening you’d be hard pressed to find a more romantic and stunning space.

The giant teepee looking heavenly for a wedding

We were here to try out a new dome concept for summer 2022 – the Boho Dining Dome, where you enjoy your food while sitting on huge cushions on the floor with a low table surrounded by pampas grass, silk flowers, and lanterns. The dome had a Moroccan feel about it, although I did feel quite Japanese eating so low down and it looked lovely and romantic.

I could definitely imagine this sort of set-up working perfectly for a group of girls with free-flowing canapés and cocktails too. We loved the attention to detail with a small bluetooth speaker provided for us to link up our own music. Considering we were next to a couple of other domes, we couldn’t hear their choices of music at all or their conversation, making the experience perfectly private. Each of the domes, including the Boho Dome has a fan for hot summer days and also a Dyson heater for when it’s cooler. While we enjoyed our meal here in the height of summer, I can just imagine how cosy and enchanting it would be to cuddle up together under the stars in a toasty warm dome as the nights draw in during Autumn and over the festive period.

SCOFF & QUAFF

Indecisive types might find the menu at The Willow Tree a tad stressful. Considering I’m a picky eater and can usually select my meal in mere minutes, there were at least five or six dishes I really wanted to eat, and choosing just one was hard. My husband was in the same boat, and we spent much longer than usual deliberating over what to have from the summer menu. The good news is, that if you really can’t decide, the dome sharing menu is a brilliant way to try a bit of everything. This menu is available from Wednesday to Friday and you can choose between Tapas West (think Italian, Greek and Lebanese style dishes) or Tapas East (with a more Asian feel to it). And, while there might be overseas influences in the dishes, the majority of the food here is locally sourced, so that gets a big tick from us.

In the end we plumped for starters of crispy calamari with lime, paprika, chilli flakes, and chilli mayo dip, and the whipped goats cheese bon bons. Both were a real hit, and I was amazed to see my salad-hating husband hoover up the lettuce and raw veg. My bon bons were very moreish, and light and were as delicious as they sound.

For mains we choose the slow-cooked Dingley Dell pork belly with chorizo risotto, crackling pop corn, and rocket pesto as well as the tofu Malay laksa with coconut, mild chilli, lime, peppers, and rice noodles. It all went rather quiet in our dome at this point as my husband went to food heaven over the pork belly. He likes to think of himself as a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to the crackling – and this one had him in raptures. Meanwhile I was devouring my curry, a very generous portion that was full of flavour and the sort of food that felt just right for the relaxed boho surroundings.

We didn’t really have space for puddings, but we rallied and channelled our best inner gluttons to try out the very tempting sounding dessert menu. My strawberry cheesecake was delightfully light, zingy and easy to eat, and my husband made very short work of his chef’s chocolate mousse with salted caramel ice cream, butterscotch pop corn and orange puree.

I savoured a crisp white Sauvignon throughout the meal, and my husband stuck to the beers, but this was the point at which I really wished I was a Bourn resident or had thought to book a taxi, because the cocktail list looked incredible. Everything from strawberry mojitos and rhubarb daiquiris to honey rose margaritas and gin cucumber coolers. There’s a brilliant mocktail list too, as well as lots of non-alcoholic options, and both the wine and beer lists were extensive. I also loved the look of the Little Willow children’s menu and the fact that there’s a play area, and have plans to bring my two back here as soon as I’ve recovered from the summer holidays. The fact that there’s a section of the menu called Pooch Treats with hand-baked goodies from Pawtisserie really delighted the dog-lover in me too.

WHAT ELSE?

A review of The Willow Tree wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the many amazing events that take place here every month. There are regular summer music nights as well as Teehee in the Teepee by Custard Comedy featuring some brilliant stand-up acts. In the summer you’ll even find Enchanted Cinema pitching up in the garden, and we can’t think of a prettier place to watch a movie under the stars.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: It’s hard to imagine a group that wouldn’t enjoy a meal in this whimsical wonderland – although a group of men out for a lad’s night might find it all a bit girly! The boho dome works particularly well for couples looking for a romantic meal, as well as for a girly night with a difference. I can imagine a sophisticated, small hen do or a birthday get-together happening in style here.

Not for: If you’re looking for a traditional country village pub with nooks, crannies, a bar propped up by locals and classic pub grub. The Willow Tree is better for a really nice meal out, summer evenings drinking cocktails and special events. The boho dome wouldn’t be suitable for anyone with back problems or past a certain age…! It’s a long way down to those floor pouffes, as my 6ft4 husband discovered, much to my amusement.

The damage:

There’s a booking fee for the Boho Dome starting at £30 for lunch, which doesn’t cover food and drink and allows you to use the dome for 3 hours. Afternoon tea has also been introduced and is a lovely way to spend a few hours. The dome sharing menu (available Weds- Fri) starts from £35pp for a sharing board, while the dessert board costs £18pp. On the main menu, starters range from £9 – £14, mains from £19 – £33, and desserts start at £8.

The Willow Tree, 29 High St, Bourn, Cambridge, CB23 2SQ

Book the Boho Dome experience here or enter our fabulous competition to win a Boho Dome Dining Experience this autumn.

Review: Boho Dome at The Willow Tree, Bourn

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