Four Peterborough Girls’ Night Ideas for Different Moods

There isn't one perfect Peterborough girls' night out.

Because “girls' night” can mean wildly different things.

There's the one where somebody has already sent a message to the group chat saying:

“Cocktails??? 🍸”

At 9.14 in the morning.

There's the birthday where you want food, drinks and enough atmosphere to make it feel like you've actually gone out-out.

There's the long-overdue catch-up where the main requirement is being able to sit down and hear each other.

And then there's the logistical miracle where six people have somehow agreed on the same date.

Frankly, once you've achieved that, choosing the venue should be the easy bit.

So rather than declaring one place the “best girls' night out in Peterborough”, we've picked four different options for four different kinds of night.

Bijou: When You Want Cocktails and a Bit of Occasion

Bijou is for the night that needs to feel like an event.

Cocktails?

Yes.

Bottomless brunch?

Yes.

Afternoon tea?

Also yes.

Weekend entertainment?

That's in the mix too.

The Bridge Street venue describes itself as a cocktail bar and café, and its current programme includes live entertainment and themed events alongside its regular bottomless brunch offering.

In other words, this isn't necessarily the place you choose when everybody just wants a quiet plate of food and an early night.

It's for birthdays.

Celebrations.

The friend who's recently become single and has announced that everyone is “GOING OUT” in capital letters.

Or simply the increasingly rare occasion when everyone has managed to arrange childcare, finish work and be available simultaneously.

Bijou's bottomless brunch combines food with unlimited drinks, with the last sitting currently listed as 6pm, so it can also work as the start of the night rather than the end of it.

And because it's at 51 Bridge Street, you're already in the city centre if the group decides nobody is remotely ready to go home afterwards.

Pick Bijou when: you want cocktails, atmosphere and something that feels more celebratory than “shall we just meet somewhere for dinner?”

Tap & Tandoor: When Food Is Non-Negotiable

Tap & Tandoor is for the group where somebody eventually has to intervene in the WhatsApp chat and say:

“Can we PLEASE decide where we're eating first?”

Because we've all seen what happens otherwise.

Everyone agrees to “just have drinks”.

Nobody eats.

Two hours later, six adults are attempting to split one bowl of chips.

Tap & Tandoor gives the night a much stronger food centre.

It's an Indian gastropub at Cumbergate, combining Indian dishes with craft beer, cocktails and the sort of menu that lends itself nicely to ordering several things for the table.

And sharing food creates its own entertainment.

Someone orders cautiously.

Someone orders enough for a wedding.

Someone announces “I'm not that hungry” before eating approximately 40% of everyone else's dinner.

You know your group.

The big advantage here is that food and drinks don't need to become two separate options.

Meet.

Sit down.

Order.

Catch up.

See what happens afterwards.

It's also right in the centre of Peterborough at 53 Cumbergate, alongside Queensgate, so you're not committing everyone to an elaborate cross-city itinerary.

Pick Tap & Tandoor when: the food matters just as much as the drinks and nobody wants the night to begin with an argument about which restaurant to book.

Charters: When You Want Somewhere That Doesn't Feel Like Everywhere Else

Then there's Charters Bar.

And this one has an obvious advantage.

It's on a boat.

More specifically, Charters occupies a converted Dutch barge at Town Bridge.

The barge is 176 feet long and was converted into Charters in 1991.

The venue now combines the bar itself with a large beer garden, outdoor bars, a stage and live entertainment.

Which immediately makes it feel different from booking another table inside another city-centre venue.

On the right evening, you can sit outside by the river, get something to eat, have a few drinks and catch live music without the night requiring much more planning than that.

And that's the appeal.

The venue does some of the work for you.

There's a burger menu, while the Riverside Pizza Kitchen currently operates on Friday evenings and across the weekend, although its opening can change depending on the weather.

So this is definitely one where I'd check what's actually happening on the date you're planning to visit.

A warm summer evening with live music is a rather different proposition from a wet Tuesday in November.

That's Britain for you.

Pick Charters when: you want a distinctive setting, outdoor space and the possibility of live entertainment rather than a conventional restaurant night.

Middletons: When Everyone Just Wants a Proper Catch-Up

Sometimes we overcomplicate going out.

You don't need a DJ.

Nobody needs to make a fascinator.

There doesn't have to be a theme.

Sometimes six people who haven't properly spoken to each other for three months just want to sit down, order dinner and catch up.

That's where Middletons Peterborough comes in.

The Bridge Street restaurant has a broad menu covering steaks and other meat dishes, burgers, pizza, seafood and desserts, alongside wines and cocktails.

It also offers bottomless brunch.

So it works particularly well for the group that doesn't necessarily want the venue itself to become the evening's main event.

Book the table.

Order some drinks.

Eat.

Talk.

Realise you've somehow spent 45 minutes discussing somebody who isn't there.

Order another drink.

Perfectly respectable night out.

The other advantage is location.

Middletons is at 9–15 Bridge Street, so if dinner finishes and somebody says the dangerous words:

“Shall we go somewhere else for one?”

you've got plenty of options nearby.

Whether it actually remains one is between you and tomorrow morning.

Pick Middletons when: you want a proper sit-down meal, cocktails and somewhere central without having to engineer an entire evening around the venue.

So, What Kind of Girls' Night Are You Having?

That's really the question.

Not:

“What's the best place in Peterborough?”

But:

“What sort of night are we actually trying to have?”

If you want cocktails, brunch and a bit of occasion, look at Bijou.

If everyone is turning up hungry and food needs to be a major part of the night, Tap & Tandoor makes sense.

If you want somewhere with personality and a setting that's part of the experience, try Charters.

And if the entire purpose is dinner, drinks and finally having a proper catch-up, Middletons keeps things straightforward.

Because the best girls' night isn't necessarily the one with the biggest cocktail menu or the loudest music.

Sometimes it's the one where everyone actually turns up.

Which, after 63 WhatsApp messages, three diary changes and somebody suddenly remembering they're away that weekend, is an achievement in itself.

Where Are We Missing?

Four venues obviously aren't the whole of Peterborough.

So this is where we want your recommendations.

But don't just send us the name of a bar or restaurant.

Tell us what kind of girls' night it does brilliantly.

Birthday?

Bottomless brunch?

Quiet catch-up?

Cocktails?

Dancing?

Dinner first and somewhere else afterwards?

And give us the useful detail.

What should we book?

What should we order?

And what makes it work for a group?

Send us your venue + type of night + what you'd actually do there.

We'll use the best suggestions to build the next girls' night out guide with Peterborough women doing the recommending this time.