Nottingham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Near the castle – and with a courtyard garden – this locally famous venue owes its “quite formal but elegant” premises to ‘The Nottingham Club’ which it partly inhabits (a private members’ club for men and women of the local professional and business community). The food has tended to split opinion in the past but this year was deemed “very inventive” to “exceptional” (albeit “quite expensive”).

“Sat Bains's protégé has done good” – having taken over this “modish” Victorian coach house on the Park Estate (just outside the city centre) in 2017, chef Alex Bond's “wonderful natural and plant-focused eatery” rates mention alongside that of his former mentor nowadays and again receives raves for its “fabulous” food (showcased through five-, seven- or ten-course tasting menus).

“Just outstanding in every way.” It is testament to Sat Bains and wife Amanda’s hospitality that they have created one of the country’s best-rated gastronomic destinations in a former motel, on the outskirts of an industrial estate, amidst the flyovers on the edge of the city (near the banks of the Trent). “Once you find it, you will keep going back for more” on all the accounts we received this year, thanks to its “superb cuisine and a correspondingly varied wine list, full of surprises”. In 2022, they will be presenting a ten-course tasting menu at £195 per person or you can eat at the Chef’s Table and/or the Kitchen Bench at £225 each. There’s also a development kitchen – ‘Nucleus’ – although its future direction has not yet been announced.

A “long-standing favourite”, this “brisk and friendly” red-brick late-Victorian boozer serves a “splendid range of beers” and a solid food menu[e]. One great fan and regular, though, feels “the dining room feels utilitarian and a little underwhelming compared to the bar”.

Chef-owner Nick Gillespie’s “exceptional” modern British cuisine has won considerable acclaim for his “lovely gem” of a restaurant over the past ten years. Set in an unusual location off the M1, its bare oak tables and brick walls combine with black granite and antler candelabras for a striking interior.

In Spring 2022, former MasterChef winner Laurence Henry, is to be chef patron at this promising looking venue, which is part of The Island Quarter (a 36 acre, £1bn regeneration project) in the city centre. Spanning three storeys (and 2,000 sq m), Henry has been involved with the restaurant and bar space from the get go. Each level will be different: the ground floor will be a large open plan bar and grill overlooking the canal; the middle floor will be Henry’s ‘signature restaurant’; and there will be an events space at the top. Interiors are by design studio Macaulay Sinclair, the company behind Dishoom, Hawksmoor, and Caravan.