Tradizioni
18 The Broadway, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3AH
Tradizioni is, according to its modest owner Andrea Scaramuccia, a small, independent, no-frills restaurant that offers simple, decent food, nothing pretentious, just simple and genuine, exactly what you’d eat at home. It is all this (well, if you were lucky enough to have an Italian granny cooking for you, or you live in Italy), but it is also so much more. It’s warm and inviting, as friendly and charming as Andrea himself. And the food may be ‘simple’ but it’s based on Andrea’s family’s recipes and is utterly delicious.
Andrea scoured Cambridge for the right location in which to realise his vision for his indie business, and ten years ago he found it in Mill Road. His vision is this: if you don’t want the faff of cooking at home, go to Tradizioni, eat simple, delicious food that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and go home without fighting over who’s going to do the washing up. It’s clearly a winning vision because Tradizioni has such a following that not only do loyal customers dine there every week, tourists will venture down Mill Road from the centre of town to eat its famous (square) Pizza Italia Romana and enjoy Andrea’s unique approach to service. ‘The service is terrible,’ he laughs, ‘because I’m not a waiter! I say to my customers, sorry, I am not a waiter.’ Actually, the service, like the food, is wonderful.
It’s the vibe of Mill Road that Andrea loves, the fact that he knows the people who walk past the restaurant and stop and chat, that some of his customers dine with him every week, that his restaurant is part of this community. ‘When you come here you are not a customer bringing money,’ he says, ‘you are a person, and you have to enjoy your visit to me. I want you to be happy.’ And to make you happy, Andrea will always do ‘the famous extra mile.’