Nottingham’s Best Dishes 2019

I am a huge fan of Chinese food from the excellent, cheap Dim Sum on a Sunday at Man’s to the fabulous Sichuan cooking at Shanghai Shanghai. The little, miss-able, ramshackle U-Canteen is closer to the interesting regional style of the latter. Yes you can get some standard chow mein or beef in black bean sauce but a little more adventure will see you rewarded. My hunan chicken had a warming, smoky chilli oil that coated each fibre of the dish. Fiery and memorable.

Dosa and Chutney has probably been my favourite Indian opening over recent years. A recent meal at Burra-Khana did little to persuade me otherwise and whilst Mowgli is pleasant enough I continue to be amazed at how popular it is. But back to D&C and the Dosa is the dish that puts this place above others. The range is wide and really reasonably priced, I’ve enjoyed a really simple one with chopped onions and another that was a meal itself with potato and lamb. The accompanying dips are also fantastic all with their own distinctive flavour.

The most consistent award winner over the last few years in Nottingham has undoubtedly been Bar Iberico. The food has been top drawer across breakfast / bunch and menu changes over the seasons. I have only been a couple of times this year and am happy to report their crispy chicken is still top notch. The real stunner on my most recent visit though was cod cheek. It wasn’t much of a looker but my low lighting photo skills needed some work that evening. The cheeks were in a spicy sauce with fino sherry and haricot beans. The acidity from the sherry and heat from the chilli worked better than I’d imagine with the meaty fish. An unexpected dish of the meal is always memorable.

I have sadly failed in my attempts to try the hottest tickets in Nottinghamshire’s pub scene, namely The Radcliffe and The Railway. However making do with Ruddington Arms is not too much of a chore and they delivered my Sunday Lunch of the year a few months ago. I generally find it a lottery of a meal as so much comes down to personal preference of accompaniments. That said the beef here is so good and so perfectly cooked that I could have forgiven a multitude of sins.

Those on Twitter may have observed my most eaten at restaurant of the year was Kushi-Ya. Whilst its menu is fabulous at any time you would wish to go I have taken advantage of their excellent lunch deal on many occasions. The regular favourites of Tsukune and Beef with black garlic mustard have been supplemented by recent outstanding additions like their own take on prawn toast. I look forward to continuing to support them in 2020.

Only when preparing this list did I realise I hadn’t written a full post about Sarangbang Cafe when I visited earlier in the year. Kimchi Ramen was fabulously fragrant and spicy, bubbling away looking like pure lava. I also tried some crispy chicken there that was just as good. The coating not quite as crispy as you’d expect but the flavours were lovely.

So Happy New Year to all my followers and readers. Please let me know if there is anywhere you feel I should visit in and around Nottingham in 2020!