Oscars sits in the Wilde Aparthotel on Round Church Street — one of the better streets in Cambridge for architecture, within easy reach of the market square and St John's College. The design references the city's literary heritage: rich wood, brushed brass, local artwork, and an upholstered U-shaped counter that anchors the room without closing it off. It has the feel of a well-considered hotel bar that happens to open early and takes its coffee seriously.
The terrace is a genuine draw in good weather. Round Church Street is quieter than the main tourist drag but still central, which gives the outdoor seating a usable calm that is hard to find in this part of Cambridge. Inside, the lounge doubles as a co-working space, with natural light and flexible seating that makes it more comfortable for sustained work than most hotel lobbies.
"The charm of a café, the ease of a curated food store, and the sociability of a lively lounge."
— Wilde AparthotelsSpecialty coffee is served from opening at 7am — the kind of operation where the morning espresso is taken as seriously as the evening cocktail list. The food runs all day: breakfast dishes through to lunch, then an evening menu drawing on locally sourced and organic produce with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options throughout.
The curated shop — open 24 hours — stocks artisanal cheeses, local beers, wines, and ready-to-eat items: useful for visitors staying in the area and a nice detail for those who discover it mid-afternoon.
Oscars works across more of the day than almost anywhere else on this list. Coffee from 7am, food all day, bar until 11pm — and a co-working lounge that bridges the morning coffee session and the afternoon working day without pressure to buy something every hour. It is a genuinely multi-purpose space that the city was missing.
Round Church Street is five minutes from the market square and three minutes from the Round Church itself — well-positioned for anyone arriving from the station or exploring the northern part of the city centre. Hotel guests get the benefit of breakfast proximity; visitors get a space that doesn't feel hotel-exclusive.
Oscars earns its place because it fills a genuine gap: a well-designed café-bar that operates with the same seriousness morning through evening, in a building that feels considered rather than converted. The co-working lounge is one of the better places to spend a long morning with a laptop in Cambridge, and the food programme extends the reason to visit well beyond the coffee. A welcome addition to Round Church Street, which was already a strong block.
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