If you live in or near Duxford..

[Gruffmuff]

To recommend a really lovely restaurant that ideally has a good variety of vegetarian dishes.. Are there any other nice things to do in the area that you can recommend? It’s for my (plane mad) Dads 60th Birthday. Really want to treat him as he’s had a very tough year.

You’re really not far from Cambridge there- plenty of choice!

I had a helicopter leisure flight there once. I bet he’d like that. Worth investigating I would think.

Sorry, it was at Old Walden aero drone

Aerodrome

The Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge. Delicious! And Cambridge for things to do, obvs.

Aha Pesto, Old Warden is actually very close to me!! My Stepmum has organised a special flight for him at Duxford. So, the meal is on me

Ah! How funny, like minds & all that. Sorry can’t help with the restaurant choice though, moved out of the area nearly 40 years ago!

The food at the White Hart pub in Fulbourn is very nice. Think their menu is on their website, not sure about veggie stuff though.

The Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge.

I've got a soft spot for the Rainbow (even though they used to have a fixation with Gillian McKeith and have a very strange approach to their menu) but not sure it's a great 60th birthday dinner venue unless you're looking for something really low-key and everyone in the party is up for a plate of 1990s-style veggie stodge in a basement cafe.

OP, are you thinking of somewhere expensive, middling, or low budget? Is everyone veggie or happy to eat veggie, or is it just some of you?

If you have a huge budget then Midsummer House is supposed to be amazing and has an 8 course veggie or vegan menu - I've never been but know people who have had the veggie menu and said it was the best meal of thier lives. But at £145 per head, so it should be!

Love the IWM at Duxford. Both times I've been we've been there from opening to closing time so had to eat within the museum. Sorry that's not helpful at all, but he'll have an amazing time there! Hope you find somewhere lovely to eat afterwards.

The Tickell Arms in Whittlesford does lovely food, and is a nice atmosphere. Not sure about the veggie variety, but definitely worth a look.

The King In Cbishill is excellent- they have a specific vegetarian menu but also do awesome pies! It's where we go to celebrate almost anything because it's so lovely!
king-william-iv.co.uk

The Fleur De Lys, Widdington is very nice & not too far from Duxford

I was at the Rainbow Cafe for the first time a few nights ago. A good range of dishes on the menu but definitely a casual cafe feel rather than a restaurant. I would see it more as a place to catch a bite to eat after Duxford rather than a celebratory dinner.

King William IV in Heydon. A few miles away (village in the back end of nowhere) but good veggie food and loads of choice.

Hope he has a lovely flight is it the Rapide or something else?

Kids did the Rapide when little with my parents and loved it. He'll no doubt fly over our house. We're a bit blasé about planes round here - oh look another spitfire/Typhoon/Red Arrow!!!

He’s having a flight in a spitfire ellie, it will be an absolute dream come true for him.
Loving these suggestions. Finances couldn’t stretch to £145 a head (gah, I wish they could) around £40 per head for starter/main/pud would be great. Drinks will then bump it up a bit more, I’m sure!

I can vouch for Midsummer House, we went there for my 50th. Best meal ever. Also the most expensive meal ever!

I know that place Ellie, there’s a cat rescue centre close by I believe?

Two places in Cambridge with really good food:

The Oak Bistro It only has a couple of veggie mains, and one of those is the predictable mushroom risotto, but the food is really, really good, and the restuarant itself is lovely (very old building, used to be a pub)

Bedouin. It's just outside Cambridge city centre on Mill Road, so not the most glamorous exterior but the inside is amazing and the food (Algerian/Moroccan) is really good. Several veggie options and one really nice vegan one (a green lentil stew). But obviously no good if North African food isn't your thing, and it's worth being aware that the chairs are very low to the ground! And they don't take cards - cash only.

I can also recommend Midsummer house. You don’t have to do a tasting menu i don't believe - although that’s what we did- but it’s really great for a special occasion meal.

The Plough in Great Chesterford has good food and a really good range of vegetarian and vegan meals.

Fox and Duck at Therfield is excellent. They do a good range of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Trinity on Trinity Street does fantastic veggie options and is fancy for a birthday without breaking the bank

Sorry no ideas about food

But flying in spitfire sounds amazing

Did he used to be in RAF?

King William IV at Heydon has the best vegetarian selection by a country mile out of all those listed. Tickle arms nice, but veggie choice is generally poor (the food good, but no real veggie choice), the Rainbow cafe is nice but not very special.