‘I found a fine-dining festive meal that costs a fraction of the usual price’

Many of us have felt the ‘swan effect’: the attempt to appear composed to the outside world (the serene swan gliding above water) while feeling overwhelmed (the legs frantically flapping below water).

At Seasons Restaurant, a dining spot run by students at Cambridge Regional College who are led by experienced chefs, diners get a small glimpse into the paddling below water. However, this does not make the end result any less sophisticatedly swan-like.

I entered the restaurant at the college on Kings Hedges Road during a busy Wednesday at the end of November, to the tune of Christmas songs and a mingled hubbub – of students milling and chatting outside the dining area, and of the smartly-dressed groups sat eating their Christmas meals inside.

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A friendly staff member asked me my name, and this is where the glimpse of paddling came. I had booked online the day before rather than calling up, which seemed to mean I was not expected.

As a result, I was seated at the corner of a table that had been set for ten people, appearing to all other diners like I had invited nine people to my party and none of them had turned up. Injected with festive cheer by the twinkling little Christmas trees dotted around and the chandeliers creatively crafted from wine glasses, I thought: at least I got here before the other group, and I’m not having to crash the party with awkward small talk.

After this little bump, which was to be expected for a cut-price college restaurant, everything ran perfectly smoothly. The woman serving my table, who had only been studying at the college for three months, was warm and friendly.

She regularly checked to make sure everything was okay with my meal, despite the satisfied look my face must have shown. It was the kind of food I would expect to eat at a restaurant four times the price of this one.

My two-course Christmas lunch came to £17, although I am unsure whether this is typical or whether exceptions were made as the table was needed after me. The menu offered three courses for £22.50, which is still around £15 cheaper than a typical Christmas meal in Cambridge.

At the Giggling Squid on Wheeler Street, for instance, you will pay £32.99 for a three-course Christmas meal or £38.99 for three courses. The festive menu at The Cambridge Chop House on King’s Parade starts at £35, while three Christmas courses at Browns on Trumpington Street is £40.

My starter of prawn and crayfish cocktail consisted of soft seafood morsels coated in a marie rose-style sauce, topped with fresh salad leaves and accompanied by half a lemon, which had been grilled to create a mellower flavour.

I opted for a main of pan-fried bream with roasted red peppers, baked new potatoes and salsa butter. The bream had a satisfyingly crispy, salty skin and perfectly-flaky flesh.

The richness of the dish rose as the butter, dotted with parsley, melted onto the soft new potatoes and honey-sweet peppers. I also chose a £4.50 passionfruit and elderflower spritz to accompany the food, which tasted fruity and refreshing.

These students will go far, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to be served by them while the cost of their cooking and hospitality is still in the double digits. Seasons Restaurant opens between midday and 2pm, Monday to Thursday, and offers a buffet lunch from 12pm on Fridays.

If you plan to visit, remember to book over the phone. The number can be found here.