Nottingham – Concrete Lace, Scotch Eggs and a Marvellous Deli

I spent 3 fun-filled years at university in Nottingham and last weekend went back for a visit. I wish I could say that I went back to visit all my favourite foodie haunts but to be honest my budget and interest in food was rather different then to how it is now. So, I left […]

I spent 3 fun-filled years at university in Nottingham and last weekend went back for a visit. I wish I could say that I went back to visit all my favourite foodie haunts but to be honest my budget and interest in food was rather different then to how it is now. So, I left my friend to guide me round the gastronomic highlights and also consulted the mighty twitter too.

First stop – The Kean’s Head. The lure of their scotch egg, as recommended by @simonhjohnson, was too strong to resist. The pub itself wasn’t particularly impressive, although if I liked beer then I would have been in my element – there were many to choose from!

It was definitely worth the visit for the scotch egg. Served with brown sauce it was perfectly formed, with a bold yellow soft yolk nestled into perfectly seasoned sausage meat. I particularly liked the unusual addition of finely chopped gherkin, which cut through the richness of the egg.

While waiting for our appetite to return we had a look around the shops. I found a lovely little vintage shop called Kitsch – I was really tempted by this rather cool butter dish, but managed to resist.

We stumbled across Delilah Deli  which is quite possibly the most wonderful food shop I have ever been in. I couldn’t help but wish I could fill my car and get the hell back to London! The shelves were full of goods from many of my favourite producers, alongside the new, unusual and unknown.

Time for afternoon tea! My friend recommended The Walk Cafe , which was hidden away in the most unlikely place but was definitely worth hunting it down.

It was full of mismatched vintage china and pretty waitresses with red lipstick and fascinators.

They had a wide variety of teas served by the pot – I went for a second flush darjeeling.

The cake offering was vast and irresistible, we shared an apricot meringue and a white chocolate and cherry tart.

I’m easily impressed by simple touches like the chocolate W stencilled onto a cappuccino.

We had a look around the new Nottingham Contemporary art gallery, which is located in the historic Lace Market area of the City. I loved the concrete lace effect on the exterior.

My visit wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem – apparently the oldest pub in the land! I think we may have only visited once during our student days – sadly the Wetherspoons was just so cheap!

We were lucky with the weather and drank cider underneath a huge fig tree in the sun.

I certainly saw a different side of Nottingham to my old uni days of Iceland deals and baked beans! It makes me wonder whether it is me or Nottingham that has changed the most over the years.