Meet the owners

Meet Matthew

From its botanical cocktails and vibrant brunches to its modern British small plates and sumptuous smoked barbecue dishes, Novi is the home of sociable dining, as owner Matthew Knight explains

You took over The Fountain in 2005 and rebranded as Novi in 2015. What inspired the change?

The Fountain was a great music-led bar but was only successful late night. My wife and I felt the building had lots more potential, so we created the concept of Novi. Our vision was for a more respectful and sophisticated venue, utilising more of the space across the whole day.

How would you describe Novi’s offering?

Our specialisms are botanical cocktails and social dining, concentrating on brunch during the day and small to medium sharing plates in the evening. Over the last year or so our food selection has become stronger thanks to head chef Charlie Crick Collins, who was actually the sous chef when we launched Novi back in 2015. He has made a significant impact on elevating our cuisine.

Which are the most popular dishes on the menu right now?

Our Gambas Pil Pil, which is chargrilled tiger prawns, smoked paprika and garlic butter, served with Stir Bakery sourdough, is very popular, as is our crispy duck leg with homemade pancakes. Customers love our fried oyster mushroom corn tacos, with guacamole, gem lettuce, pickled cabbage, herbs, chilli sauce and sour cream, and our Korean fried chicken bao bun with kimchi, sesame and spring onion.

We hear your Bottomless Brunch is in demand!

It’s super popular, especially over Saturday lunchtimes, and is great for a celebration! You can order any brunch dish, ranging from poached eggs atop buckwheat waffles to breakfast burritos, plus potatoes for the table and free-flowing prosecco, mimosas, bottles of Moretti or a non-alcoholic option.

We notice lots of lovely local suppliers on the menu. . .

Yes, we have Stir Bakery products and Rennet & Rind artisan cheese, as its owner Perry is very well respected in the world of cheese. We also use Messiah oyster mushrooms from a couple who grow out in Harston and play music to their mushrooms!

Botanical cocktails are a Novi speciality. Which do you recommend?

The Don’t Dis-pear, created by our original Novi bar manager (who was a very competent mixologist) is one of our most popular cocktails. It’s a blend of pear cognac with a homemade sage syrup, a homemade cider reduction and lemon juice. It’s got a lovely pear drop flavour. We also serve draught cocktails in our ground-floor bar. They are made to our own bespoke recipes, so have the perfect consistency, but can be served straight from the keg, over ice, in around four seconds, as opposed to four minutes of shaking and building, which is ideal for our ground floor bar, which gets busy.

You have a Loft Bar upstairs, which has a different vibe, doesn’t it?

Yes, it’s a nice intimate space with low-level seating, candles and table service. We serve cocktails the old-fashioned way up there. It’s open on a Friday and Saturday for cocktails and doubles up as a function
room for private events, from birthdays to weddings. We also have a meeting room on the middle floor where we’ve installed a great AV system. The space is light and airy, overlooking Regent Street, so is a
more inspiring setting than your average meeting room, plus you can order lovely dishes from the brunch menu on the day of the meeting as opposed to the usual sandwiches.

What sets Novi apart in the city?

I think for Cambridge, our offering is quite unique. The great thing about an independent is that you can adapt to changing times and be quite dynamic in your approach. I think the fact we have been on Regent Street now for coming up to our 20th year of trading is testament to the fact that we are adaptable and have a lot of local support.

And as the owner, what’s the most rewarding part of the job?

The thing I like the most is seeing people having a good time at the venue we’ve created, enjoying the food and drink and enjoying memorable social moments. I also enjoy working alongside great people and building a good team.

Novi is at 12 Regent Street, Cambridge. Visit novicambridge.co.uk