Bilborough Restaurant Guide

“Repeatedly superb, inventive cookery” (“not only the sole vegetarian restaurant I frequent, but one of the best restaurants I know”) has made the name of this sophisticated venue, whose owner Roya Bishop honed her skills at sadly shuttered Leeds veggie icon Hansa’s, as well as alongside Sat Bains. The classy food takes its cues from across the world, Lebanese and Japanese dishes sitting alongside “truly knockout Sri Lankan” choices too.

Exceptional ratings were the norm this year in feedback on Alex Bond’s well-established foodie destination: “a beautiful, cavernous, low-lit” space occupying the Victorian brick-vaulted space that was once the coach house on the Park Estate. It’s “not cheap” of course, but provides a “brilliant night out” for which you can choose between a three-course à la carte menu at £75 per person or a seven-course tasting menu at £130 per person: “unusual flavours” but “fabulous food, and with the right level of interaction from staff”.

Amita Sawhney’s “smart and wonderful Indian restaurant” excels for “delicately spiced food” that is “not at all heavy or greasy” and comes in “decent portions”. “It’s a huge place and a clear favourite for birthdays and other celebrations, so the excitement level can be high, but beautiful decor and furnishings mean the noise level is fine”.

Inspired by Bangkok street-food markets, “with a great atmosphere, authentic Thai cuisine (often with plenty of spice), plus tuk-tuks for good measure” – this “buzzy” and “good-value” chain now has eight branches scattered across northern university towns. It’s a funkier spinoff from founder Ban Kaewkraikhot’s Yorkshire-based Sukhothai group.

“As good a biryani as you’ll find” is among the star dishes at this family-run Punjabi specialist, which was founded in 2007. “Monika is a fabulous host” alongside her husband Sunny Anand, whose brother Shelley runs the kitchen.

This “great” Lace Market Hispanic of 15 years’ standing serves tapas with international influences – and impressed sweary chef Gordon Ramsay when he brought his family to celebrate his daughter’s graduation from Nottingham Uni last summer, declaring the food “XXXXing delicious”. Top Tip – “the express menu is a great option for a speedy lunch”.

“The fantastic Sichuan food” at this Chinese venue near the Lace Market outclasses its “canteen-like service and atmosphere” – which is why some fans “choose to take-away (rather too regularly!)”.

“Excellent burgers in a vibrant environment” have made this Lace Market independent the stuff of local legend. Founder Anmarie Spaziano hails from Rhode Island, where US diner culture first took root, and serves a “great variety” of burgers – including the Lemmy, which comes with Jack Daniels-infused mustard and is named after the late Motörhead leader, who visited in Annie’s early days. An offshoot in Derby closed at the end of 2023.

Sat & Amanda Bains’s converted motel sits on the fringes of the city, down a lane by the Trent amidst railway flyovers, electricity pylons and a small industrial estate. It’s not the lead-up you would expect to one of the nine restaurants outside of London with two Michelin stars. For an evening meal, choose either ten courses for £199 per person; or 15 for £275 per person; or, you can now book a shorter three-course experience at £145 per person in the Tasting Room or at The Kitchen Bench, rather than in the main dining room. Feedback here is overwhelmingly positive, accrediting the experience as “very inventive…”, “top-notch” and “with charming service front and back of house”. But while gripes about the prices are surprisingly few, the same could also be said about the number of diners reporting this as their best meal of the year, even while it is almost universally hailed as “exceptional all round”.

“Worth a visit” for its “high-quality food from the Indian subcontinent” – Naveed Khaliq’s 21-year-old flagship occupies a grand former picture palace whose plush decor and lavishly uniformed staff bring a sense of occasion to the meal. There are spinoffs in Nottingham and Burton.

“Down the road from Toyota” (whose employees explain its unlikely presence) “a café-sized and café-style Japanese restaurant serving exquisite food”; despite the “strange mix of very high standards (the sashimi, sushi and tempura dishes) and almost homemade kitsch (the menus, the furniture)”, it’s “a delightful experience” by absolutely all accounts.

“Exquisite cooking” using “quality ingredients” are the watchwords at this “thoroughly professional outfit” – a converted village forge from former Savoy chef Danny Jimminson and his wife Sandra. (This year’s biggest complaint? “We left feeling uncomfortably full. We think it‘s our age. The cooking is exquisite but for younger folks with bigger appetites!”)

This “superb old-style country-house hotel” is “the best place in the area by a country mile”, and still at the top of its game under Lila Arora, whose late grandmother Imogen Skirving converted it from her family home. Exec chef Gary Booth oversees a “very good” menu with a focus on seasonal local produce from the nearby Belvoir estate – and “the private dining room is fantastic”.

The “excellent range of vegan dishes” are “all up to scratch” at this inventive venture from former Jamie’s Italian chef Ritchie Stainsby and his wife Lauren, who started out with a tiny café in Houndsgate before graduating to bigger premises five years ago. There are separate tasting and sharing-plates menus, with gluten- and nut-free options.

This “buzzy” darling of the Nottingham food scene has built up a huge army of fans since its 2018 opening thanks to its “exceptional” and “reasonably priced small plates with a Japanese influence”. The one bugbear was getting a table at this previously compact 33-seater, but in September 2024, they decamped from Cannon Court to a new location ten minutes away on Low Pavement, with Yokocho, the restaurant’s sister cocktail bar, also joining the party; here’s “hoping that they can maintain the standard” in the new premises! Top Menu Tips – “brilliant sushi” and “out-of-this world Prawn Toast!”