I visited Cambridge’s royal-themed panini restaurant on the day it was given its second ever low review – then gave it five stars
If you have ‘king’ in your business’ name, you are either unapologetically incredible or too-big-for-your-boots cocky. Of course, the main factor that led a Cambridge panini spot to be named King’s Dough when it opened nine months ago was the name of the street it sits on: King Street.
Nonetheless, founders Stefano Carotenuto and Marco De Simone must have known they could live up to royal expectations, as they ran with the theme. Each panino at King’s Dough is named after an English king, and the restaurant’s website invites customers to ‘Taste a new king's experience’.
As I stepped into the building at 3.30pm on a Wednesday, I spotted just one customer sitting outside. Only Stefano and Marco were inside, greeting me with friendly smiles and asking me to take a seat.
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The room was minimalist, aside from the two huge flags on one wall: England and Italy. The unmistakable message was that this was a place of fusion, between Italian panini and English royalty.
Despite the big St George’s cross, it was the founders’ roots in Italy that mainly shone through. Italian ballads played, and drawings of iconic actors like Sofia Loren and Antonio de Curtis were lined up on the wall behind me.
I opted for the bestseller, the William II. I also asked for a second panino to take home for my partner, and I was pleased to hear that they would make that one as I finished my meal to ensure it was fresh when I got back.
My meal was £13.75, but customers could also buy a small version of the same panino for the extremely reasonable price of £6.95. Judging by the size of my sandwich, I cannot imagine you would be leaving hungry.
I also asked for a £3.30 flat white coffee. The restaurant also sells Brewdog Punk IPA, Peroni and Peroni 0%, as well as a few soft drinks, and I would recommend opting for these. The coffee was fine – it provided the caffeine I needed and was accompanied with a Biscoff biscuit, but it came in a paper cup and the taste wasn’t anything to write home about.
What was worth writing home (or a CamBites review) about, however, was the panino. The wonderfully-crusty homemade bread was packed with salty Parma ham, which was set against rich, sweet sundried tomatoes and balsamic glaze.
A thick layer of basil pesto and luxurious stracciatella cheese complimented the other flavours beautifully. While I spoke to Stefano about how I had found the restaurant on Google and its impressive five-star rating, he said they had received a low review that day.
I searched later, and found this was just the second review below four stars that King’s Dough has ever received.
I respectfully disagree with the two-star reviewer. My five-star review described ‘the perfect panino’, to which I will now add that it was fit for a king: large, lavish and utterly delicious.
King's Dough is open from midday on every day except Monday, when it is closed. The closing time is 9pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 9pm on Sundays.