Aromi

Aromi opened on Bene’t Street in 2013, a four-person family venture that brought the Sicilian food tradition of Caffè Cipriani in Acireale — a legendary espresso bar since 1957 — to the centre of Cambridge. Eleven years later it has three locations, the gelato queue is still the longest on any sunny day in the city, and the sourdough pizza is still made with the same 48-hour slow fermentation the founders brought from Sicily.

The bread and pastry operation runs all day: arancini fried fresh every hour, focaccia with seasonal toppings pulled from the stone oven by hand, cannoli filled to order, and the coffee made with the machine settings that the original Cipriani family specified. From 6pm at the Bene’t Street location, Aromi becomes a pizzeria: whole sourdough pizzas — the dough slow-risen for three days, the toppings seasonal and Italian in their sourcing — served with Sicilian antipasti, Aperol Spritz and the gelato that Cambridge has been queuing for since the beginning.

The pizza is the real thing: proper bubbled crust, lightly charred edge, toppings that hold their texture rather than releasing water. The margherita, the Norma (aubergine, ricotta salata, basil) and the seasonal special are the benchmarks. The gelato is made daily with real fruit, organic milk and no artificial flavours — the strawberry (20 kilos of actual strawberries per batch) and the Sicilian lemon are the orders to make.

Aromi is casual dining done with genuine craft. The room is narrow and lively; the courtyard tables at the Peas Hill location handle the overflow. Three Cambridge locations — Bene’t Street, Peas Hill, Fitzroy Street — mean there is almost always a table if you are flexible about which one.

Aromi runs one of Cambridge’s most straightforward team dinner formats: book the whole-pizza evening at Bene’t Street for a group, order a spread of whole sourdough pizzas, antipasti and Sicilian desserts family-style, and finish with gelato. The room is warm and lively enough that conversation flows easily; the format is informal enough that a team from a range of seniority levels will all eat the same thing without awkwardness. The bill is also the most civilised in this list. For first dates, the combination of good pizza, Aperol Spritz and a genuinely interesting food story gives both people something to discuss.