I did something quite exciting recently. An Instameet!

For those of you not versed in Insta-slang, an Instameet is an event where Instagrammers from the local area meet to take pictures, discuss photography and discover the faces behind the photography accounts. When I heard that a gathering was being organised in Cambridge, I jumped at the chance to attend – particularly when I found out brunch was involved.

I love the idea of brunch, but I have to admit the meal itself confuses me. As an early riser who finds it virtually impossible to sleep in past nine o’clock in the morning, I have never managed to time brunch quite right. If it’s a late brunch (around eleven o’clock), I inevitably end up eating breakfast before I go; if it’s any earlier, I get hungry at around 3pm in the afternoon – too late for lunch and too early for dinner.

Thankfully, the organisers of this event timed it almost perfectly: we met just after ten o’clock, and I’d been able to sneak in a banana and a coffee just after I woke up in a bid to keep hunger at bay. My Instagrammers took us to The Old Bicycle Shop, midway between Downing College and the train station. It is said that Charles Darwin bought his bicycle from this very place nearly two hundred years ago (making it seem youthful in comparison to many of the buildings around Cambridge), and, though it doesn’t sell bicycles any more, you’d find it difficult to leave the premises feeling disappointed.

The long room is furnished with rough brown tables, cutlery in old syrup tins, and copper lampshades: my kind of venue, and perfect if you’re looking for aesthetically-pleasing photographs. The wooden beams and mismatched chairs add a rustic, homely feel to the restaurant, yet the concrete floor (a defining feature of many modern restaurants) keeps it from seeming too ‘country pubby’.

“Perfect if you’re looking for aesthetically-pleasing photographs”

But enough about décor – onto the food! The sweet potato pancakes, topped with honeyed figs and natural yoghurt, were deliciously decadent, but I found that the figs seemed a bit sickly-sweet after a while. This term, you can order the same pancakes topped with grilled banana, maple syrup, and yoghurt – or, if you’re a porridge fiend, vanilla-scented pearl barley porridge with berries, which certainly sounds as if it would solve those summer porridge dilemmas.

Those of you with a more savoury palate will rejoice in the wide variety of options available. The avocado toast, Eggs Benedict, and Croque Madame received many compliments from my companions, though they all agreed that the bread was rather thick and difficult to cut. In addition to these traditional breakfast dishes, The Old Bicycle Shop serves a few more ‘experimental’ plates of breakfast fare: they have recently added a Croque Provençal to the menu, which substitutes a thick ratatouille sauce for the usual bacon, and a swede/kale hash brown dish served with sautéed mushrooms. Mmm.

The food is on the more expensive end of the spectrum, with brunch prices averaging between six to eight pounds, easily costing a tenner if you add in a coffee or two. You don’t have to stop at brunch, of course – lunch options include tempting dishes inspired by flavours from around the world, such as lamb spring rolls with aubergine purée and tahini yoghurt, a spring vegetable cassoulet drizzled with pistou, or a roasted squash and beetroot salad (not so innovative, but a true classic). You may also wish to stay for dinner, and end your evening with a drink. The cocktails sound particularly enticing: Lance’s Lemonade with ‘secret magic powder’, or a gimlet (that’s gin and lime to you and me) mixed with matcha tea that ‘just might make you more beautiful’. Make sure you look out for their vegan supper club, too, which met for the first time last week.

Bread and Rutter: John Lewis Espresso Bar

The Old Bicycle Shop may be a little farther out of the way than usual, and it’s not as cheap as college brunch, but the extra few pounds are definitely worth it. Grab a friend, leave the laptop and books at home, and spend an hour reconnecting over good food and conversation. You might just spot me doing exactly the same thing.