The Willow Tree pub, West Bridgford

It's been a good week for eating out this week! My Husband had a friend around on Saturday evening so we met up at the pub after the boys had had their 'man time'.

The Willow Tree is a lovely adult based pub (children over 14 allowed when dining). It's a clean, comfortable atmosphere with enough nooks to be cosy and enough space to be roomy.

Dinners are exactly what you ordered, tasty pub classics with a few world food specials.

I had a bacon and cheese burger which came with plenty of chips. It was a large, well cooked burger within a decent sized bun. For pudding, a childhood favourite, chocolate and vanilla ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce and chocolate brownies. Yummy.

And I understand from the boys that the beer (guest ale) is good too.

The rating

Comfortable pub dining, great portions and well priced.

The summary

Food: Pub grub with world specials

Price: Cheap (mains around £8, puddings £3)

Atmosphere: Homely and grown-up

Contact

http://www.emberinns.co.uk/thewillowtreewestbridgford/

01159 233167

Rufford Way, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 6LS

Corporate Schmoozin' at Harts Upstairs

This week's Wednesday night dinner evening was out of the ordinary in that we ate at the rather lovely Harts upstairs restaurant, but as part of a corporate event.

The pre-dinner speaker was warm, engaging and brief which is exactly what you need when you've not yet been fed and it is after 7pm!

We had a delicious 4-course menu.

Goats cheese tartlets

Beef medallion, mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy

Ginger creme brulee

Cheese and biscuits

I normally can't eat more than 2 courses, however the portion sizes were such that I ate 3 of the 4 courses (I had grapes instead of cheese and biscuits) without feeling over-full. 

The goat's cheese tartlets were tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary. The beef main course was cooked well to suit the mass-catering nature of the event, and was accompanied by dark, wine-enriched gravy which pulled the whole thing together. I was (no-one will be shocked at this) most impressed with the creme brulee. 

Normally I am the kind of person that does not like creme brulee messed about with. I do not like fruit included, I don't like fancy sauces etc etc. I am prepared to go back on that now. The ginger flavour was included in the thick, crunchy sugar topping and was warm, rich and a perfect foil to the cool, thick cream below. I stand corrected. Mr pastry chef - you did good!

The rating

If only all mass catering were like this!

The summary

Food: European classic

Price: No idea - this was a catered event!

Atmosphere: Tasteful decor that allows for a convivial atmosphere without being overpowering, swift and discreet waiting service

Contact

Hart's Nottingham

Standard Hill

Park Row

Nottingham

NG1 6GN

info@hartsnottingham.ac.uk

Cock and Hoop @ the Lace Market Hotel, Nottingham

Wednesday has, for me, rolled around very quickly this week! Today's dinner-date venue was the Cock and Hoop. It's a miserable evening for June, with heavy rain showers and a grey outlook. We didn't want to walk far and wanted a cosy and comfortable setting.

The Cock and Hoop is (according to their website) is in the Michelin pub guide. I didn't know this but I can see why. It's one of those places that you step into and immediately feel comfortable, like you are in your own home. Given that this is a pub attached to the Lace Market Hotel that's no easy feat, so many hotel bars are soulless and awkward places. Not this one, you do actually want to come in and spend a while here.

The bar serves real ale including various guest ales. I am afraid I cannot comment on the quality as I stick to the soft drinks when I am driving, but there is definitely always a good variety which changes regularly.

So, on to the food. It may have become obvious from previous posts but I would like to make a declaration now. I am a pudding person. I therefore did not have a starter but my friend did. The terrine of duck, apparently very tasty. We did also have a debate over what a rillette is, as this was on the menu and was not something either of us had encountered before.

Well, never failing to deliver, the answer is actually on the Cock & Hoop website and is....http://www.thefinessecollection.com/lacemarket/food-drink/recipe.html. So there we are, that's what it is!

Turning now to mains. As it was such an Autumny day I went for sausages, colcannon and onion gravy. My friend went for a beef burger. The Sausage and mash were great, 3 plump and firm sausages lots of creamy mash and a flavourful gravy. Delicious. The burger came with mountains of chips and was good, although a little overdone for his taste - so it's worth specifying if you want your burger slightly pink in the middle. This did not, however, mar the experience too much as the whole thing was promptly consumed.

Pudding was a warm, gooey chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. Beautifully done, being rich, molten chocolate inside a crisp outer layer.

Just a warning for the world cup season, the bar is intending to show world cup games so if you do want a lovely pub dinner as we experienced today make sure you miss the world cup matches for the next few weeks!

The rating:

Nicely done pub food in an intimate and cosy setting.

The summary:

Food = british and european classics (bangers, fish pie, steak, burgers etc)
Price = Mid range (mains between £10-£15)
Atmosphere = Cosy and comfortable

Contact:

http://www.thefinessecollection.com/lacemarket/food-drink/cock-hoop/

Snack Attack, Nottingham, Saturday breakfast

We were recommended the cafe by someone in a local shop. They weren't wrong. We had a home cooked full English breakfast including everything you'd want (egg, sausage, bacon, beans, mushrooms, black pudding, tomatoes, toast and tea) for a bargain price.

The downstairs is a clean, functional take out area so we were very pleasantly suprised to find comfy leather seats, and sturdy bare-wood tables upstairs. 

They also do all sorts of filled sandwiches etc which look great for lunch and almost make you wish you worked in town.

This one's a real find, definitely recommended. Just don't try to walk quickly after a breakfast, I was so full I nearly had to be rolled back into the town hall square!

The rating:
Great cafe. Everything you'd want from a full English Breakfast (including black pudding for the husband)

The summary:
Food = English - homemade
Price = Bargain (breakfast including tea £3.65)
Atmosphere = Good airy take-out area, but pop upstairs for cosy comfort.

Contact:

Snack Attack Locksley Catering Ltd

10-12 Carlton Street
Nottingham NG11NN
0115 950 6978

Piccolino Nottingham

Today marks the return of my usual Wednesday-night dinner date (it's okay, my Husband knows!).


My friend has just returned from Italy, so where better on a dull and rainy Spring day than a taste of Italy?


We chose Piccolino's, on the basis that we've never had a bad meal there. It's a chain restaurant, but with a chic feel, attentive service and tasty food. We particularly liked that our waitress was an authentic Italian native (adding to our holiday feel). It was almost as if the staff were psychic - we were shown to a table with 'sea view'! Really it was a view of a wet square and the trams, but we can all pretend.


There was no overbearing music and a quietly chatty atmosphere, a good place to chat with friends or enjoy a romantic dinner therefore.


We shared a garlic bread, nice crisp base and just enough cheese. For mains we both had risotto (Lobster was the special, alongside a pea and ham one). Sometimes I find risotto to be bland and dull, so that I struggle to finish it. Not today. The flavours were fresh and delicious. 


I could not resist the afogatto for dessert. I am not a fan of coffee, but something magical happens when a shot is poured over good ice cream. To make today's even more special it had the addition of amaretto. The dessert was elegantly served.

The rating:
Good Italian food, in a chic setting. Varied menu changes regularly. Attentive service. Reliable high quality.

The summary:
Food = Italian (pizza, pasta, risotto, meat etc)
Price = Mid price (most mains around £10-£15)
Atmosphere = classy, a great place to enjoy good food and catch up

Contact:


Piccolino, 7 Weekday Cross, Nottingham, NG1 2GB

T: 0115 947 2169
F: 0115 959 9634
E:  piccolino.nottingham@piccolinorestaurants.co.uk

1877 Nottingham - Pre Theatre Menu

This is the new restaurant in Nottingham in the place on Canning Circus previously known as Ben Bowers. First impressions are wonderful as it's been redecorated in sumptuous colours and fabrics with wonderful chandeliers that catch every speck of light. The music playing was enough to drown out the fairly busy roads but still quiet enough to comfortably ignore. We had not booked and were seated quickly.

The menu was the before 6.30 pre-theatre menu and consisted largely of gastropub favourites (toad in the hole, fish and chips etc). The table was loaded up with pre dinner nibbles of delicious olive and sundried tomato bread. So far so good! We ordered fishcake, toad in the hole and desserts. I would say that the bread appetiser and my gooey chocolate pudding were tasty bookends to a rather disappointing starter and main. What was most disappointing was that the fishcake was not a fishcake, but was thick batter around a fish chunk with tartare sauce inside and that the toad in the hole was not a toad in the hole but was a yorkshire pud and mash with sausages on top. Call me traditional but sometimes when you order such staples as these, you expect to receive what you ordered!

The restaurant is commended in the Michelin guide, so the main a la carte may be worthwhile trying. Certainly we left feeling physically full for a bargain price, but feeling a little spiritually empty.

The rating:
Great decor, good service, great pud but shame about the pre theatre deal.
The summary:
Food = modern British
Price = cheap (3 courses for two people no wine £24)
Atmosphere = luxe decor, rich colours and chandeliers

Contact:
http://www.restaurant1877.com/