Through fires and floods, the 19th century Dickson Mill still stands as one of the oldest buildings in Cambridge, Ontario and is now home to the beautiful Cambridge Mill restaurant and special events facility, owned and operated by the Pearle Hospitality Group.
This building is a planner’s dream. It offers three event spaces with seating capacity from 90 to 200. Each of these rooms is decorated with hand-carved beams and fully upholstered banquet chairs in neutral tones. There is very little extra needed to showcase the elements of this beautiful space with the Grand River as the background.
The space is complemented by a tasteful menu that speaks to the Earth to Table movement. The restaurant’s philosophy of “good ingredients matter” shows throughout the courses, which we were fortunate to recently sample.
The charcuterie starter included a great assortment of local cheeses alongside pork sausage and prosciutto, both smoked in-house. Warm olives and homemade pickled vegetables completed the platter.
Cambridge Mill’s menu includes dishes like (l-r) Nada’s Butter Tart, Pickle Soup and Sour Cream Doughnuts with Kahlua Milk.
Other starters included a pickle soup which was light yet hearty with kosher dill pickles, potato and carrots, and a warm beet salad which was beautifully plated and showed the perfect balance of sweet and tangy with the blue cheese vinaigrette.
Our mains consisted of the “Brick Half Chicken” and the seared ribeye. The chicken is named for the cooking process of placing a clay brick on top of the chicken breast while it is being grilled. Unfortunately, I found the flavour a little under-whelming. The Ribeye, however, was cooked to perfection and extremely flavoursome. I would highly recommend this entrée.
The perfect ending came with Pastry Chef Nada’s Butter Tart. A meal in itself, it was accompanied with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and was topped with 40 Creek caramel sauce. The homemade Sour Cream Glazed Donuts left me crying for more. I had them with Kahlua milk – their version of an adult hot chocolate. Perfect!
A few words of wisdom – save room for dessert!
—Tara Wylie, CMP is a certified marketing specialist and has been a corporate planner for more than 10 years. She is always on the search for new, innovative and unique meal experiences for her clients and guests within southwestern Ontario. Tara’s love of food came at an early age, which she credits to her Mom’s cooking and encouragement to always taste new foods.
