23–25 January 2019
Nottingham UK

City Guide

We love Nottingham, and we want you to love it too. There are however too many things to mention, so here’s a rough guide according to Simon and Geri.

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Coffee & tea   •   Good, quick food   •   Dinner   •   Pubs   •   Cocktails   •   Shopping   •   General attractions   •   NA venues

Key
* 5-mins or less from the Albert Hall.
^ Usually a good place to work & wifi.

Tourist Information Centre
Speak to a human, collect leaflets, purchase questionable Nottingham-themed tat.
1-4 Smithy Row (the Council House, Old Market Square). Tel: 0844 477 5678
Website

Coffee & tea

Outpost Coffee Roasters
Nottingham’s own world-class specialty coffee roaster. If you only go to one place, make it this. Fortunately, they’re also serving their locally-roasted coffee in the venue on conference day, so don’t miss out. You might even be able to bring home a special New Adventures collaboration coffee! Their shop on Stoney Street is small, but it’s the best espresso in the city. Also offers snacks and treats from Tough Mary’s Bakehouse.
2 Stoney St
Website

Specialty Coffee Shop *^
Owner Michelangelo takes his coffee very seriously and will recommend something perfectly suited to your taste. Guest beans vary, but in the past they’ve offered selections from roasters such as The Barn, Origin, Craft Coffee, and Gardelli. Brunch is also excellent and highly recommended. Tea on offer, too.
50 Friar Lane
Website

Wired Cafe Bar^
One of the first specialty coffee shops to open in Nottingham. Inspired by Australian coffee culture, this vibrant and quirky cafe also serves up some great food and desserts.
42 Pelham Street
Website

Greenhood Coffee House^
This little gem in Beeston is well-worth the tram ride. Guest beans vary (Colonna, Five Elephant, etc.) but most often stocked with Has Bean—if you aren’t sure of what to choose, Rory will talk you through the selections. Sandwiches and desserts are fab, and tea available, too.
38 High Rd, Beeston
Website

ØKENDE^
Located outside the city centre in West Bridgford, this brand new Nordic-inspired cafe serves light food, sweets, and most importantly, coffee by Geri’s favourite coffee roaster—La Cabra Coffee from Copenhagen. Worth the trek.
22 Gordon Rd, West Bridgford
Website

Josephine’s Tea Room
All loose-leaf tea in this independent tea room. Also serves light lunch, dinner, and desserts.
49 Upper Parliament St
Website

200 Degrees (Near Train Station)^
The closest decent coffee to Nottingham Train Station. They also serve sandwiches, light bites, and treats.
99 Carrington St
Website

200 Degrees (Near Market Square)^
Big and lively cafe space serving decent coffee and sandwiches, light bites, and treats.
16 Flying Horse Walk
Website

Good, quick Food

Clean Cut Kitchen*
Around the corner from the Albert Hall. Offers clean, healthy, guilt-free fast food. Perfect for breakfast or lunch.
21 Derby Rd
Website

Tough Mary’s Bakehouse*
An unmissable bright yellow bakery passionate about simple, good food. They make all their delicious food from raw ingredients on site in an open kitchen. The also serve drip coffee, teas and soft drinks so that you can relax in their small seating area and sample the bakes.
74 Derby Rd
Website

Ugly Bread Bakery*
This Italian bakery is best known for their focaccias, pizzas, and salads.
21 Market St
Website

Small Food Bakery
Ethically sourced, genuinely hand-crafted bakery with a focus on naturally leavened sourdough bread located in a former primary school kitchen. It’s not just a bakery—you can pick up croissants, sausage rolls, pizzas, and desserts and eat in (limited table space). Also serves coffee and drinks. Winners of the 2018 Radio 4 Food and Farming awards for best food producer. Only open Thursday-Saturday.
Primary Studios, 33 Seely Road
Website

No. 12 Hounds Gate
An independent vegetarian and vegan restaurant in the city centre. Winners of the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in the Midlands by the Midlands Food Awards in 2018.
No. 12 Hounds Gate
Website

SORA Japanese Kitchen
If you’re willing to take the tram to Beeston, check out this small but very, very authentic Japanese cafe and restaurant. Owned by two lovely Japanese ladies and they serve the best homestyle Japanese food we’ve had in the whole country—yep, London too. Reservations must be made by calling 0115 922 7212.
33 Chilwell Rd, Beeston
Website

Aubrey's Traditional Creperie*
Aubrey’s is tucked away in an unassuming alley and seats just a few people in the tiny shop, but the crepes are lovely. Both savoury options for a light lunch and sweet options for dessert, too.
14-16, West End Arcade, Long Row

The Pudding Pantry
Don’t be fooled by the name—although desserts (and American pancakes!) are the main draw, they also do excellent brunch, and serve Outpost Coffee, too.
27-29 Trinity Square, Burton Street
Website

Delilah Deli
Probably the best deli in the city with a restaurant/cafe upstairs, and ace sandwiches made to order. Also an excellent vegetarian breakfast.
12 Victoria Street
Website

Nottingham Street Food Club
Open Friday to Sunday, upstairs in the Victoria Centre, NSFC is home to Homeboys and Smoqued, joined each week by the finest pop-ups such as Taste of Korea and Smiffy’s Smoke Shack.
151 Intu Victoria Centre
Website

For lighter fare, see also: Specialty Coffee Shop, Wired Cafe Bar, Josephine’s Tea Room, Greenhood Coffee House, and ØKENDE listed under coffee & tea.

Dinner

4550 Miles From Delhi*
Not far from the Albert Hall on Maid Marian Way, this well-loved Indian restaurant is wonderful.
Maid Marian Way
Website

MemSaab*
Spacious Indian fine dining serving regional specialities amid ornate wood and stone statues.
Maid Marian Way
Website

Oaks Restaurant & Bar*
Restaurant and bar serving locally-produced burgers, steaks, and meats cooked over wood embers.
2 Bromley Pl
Website

Zaap Thai Street Food*
Popular Thai restaurant designed to resemble a Bangkok side street.
6 Bromley Pl
Website

Kushi-ya*
Not Japanese-owned, but the best option for authentic Japanese flavours in the city centre. Offers an innovative mix between Japanese and British cuisine with a focus on kushikatsu, or skewered veggies and meats cooked over a grill. The menu is always changing, but if you can try the Tiramiso dessert, go for it. Usually spaces at lunch, but worth booking for evenings.
1A Cannon Court, Long Row W
Website

Annie's Burger Shack
30 types of Rhode Island-style burger, handmade with area-sourced beef, plus veggie/vegan options in a real ale pub. Skip Five Guys and come here.
5 Broadway
Website

Alchemilla
You probably won’t be able to get a reservation here at short notice, but certainly call and check for any cancellations just in case. Not sure how it doesn’t have a Michelin star, but it’s stunning in every way. The 10 course tasting menu is super affordable given the quality and experience.
Highly, highly recommended. 192 Derby Rd
Website

Desi Downtown
Great, straightforward Indian restaurant near the Ice Arena. Ideal if you are on that side of town for Design Exchange or the bowling. We’ve loved this place for years.
7 Hockley
Website

Iberico World Tapas
It’s in the Shire Hall on the cobbles, and is loved for its rustic Spanish tapas in a vaulted setting. Reservations necessary.
The Shire Hall, High Pavement
Website

Bar Iberico
If you can’t get a table at Iberico, check our their tapas bar, which is walk-in only.
17-19 Carlton Street
Website

Oscar & Rosie’s
Best pizza in Nottingham, but they also offer great dishes like amazing mac and cheese plus a whole page of vegan options. Great local alternative to the usual Pizza Express.
8 Stoney St
Website

Sexy Mamma Love Spaghetti
Small, intimate, local Italian restaurant with rave reviews. Reservations recommended.
3 Heathcoat St

Tarn Thai
Always consistently great Thai food at great prices. Can usually get a table without a reservation and seats a ton of people.
9 George St
Website

Mowgli Street Food
Offers simple dishes a million miles away from the curry stereotype. Extremely healthy, often vegan and always packed with fresh flavour.
1 Stoney Street
Website

Pubs

The Hand and Heart*
Need a pint during the lunch break? Walk up the hill from the Albert Hall and find this lovely old boozer two-minutes away. Nice area carved out of caves at the back.
65 Derby Road
Website

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem*
England’s oldest pub. Good beer, built into caves, looks pretty. Has a ghost ship. It’s down at the foot of the castle cliffs. A must-see for any tourist, perhaps 10 mins walk from the Albert Hall.
1 Brewhouse Yard, Castle Road (just down the hill from the Robin Hood statue)
Website

The Dragon*
Not too far down Chapel Row from the Albert Hall. Nice narrow boozer popular with attendees.
67 Long Row

Cock and Hoop
Delightful tiny pub next to Lace Market Hotel. Go downstairs if the entrance area is too full.
25-27 High Pavement (opposite Galleries of Justice)
Website

Kean’s Head
Excellent but small one-room boozer. Drink some local Castle Rock ales.
46 St Mary’s Gate (next to St. Mary’s church)

The Malt Cross
Restored old music hall and a lovely place to have a beer, a burger, and take shelter.
15 St James’s Street (not far from Market Square)
Website

BrewDog Nottingham
If you love BrewDog beers then this is for you. Next to Broadway cinema.
20 Broad Street

Junkyard
One of our best craft beer tap rooms hidden in an alley off Bridlesmith Gate. They also serve really good food.
12 Bridlesmith Walk
Website

The Orange Tree
Loved by students, but don’t let that put you off. Cosy, spacious, great beers, really good hearty food menu. Try the bangers & mash.
38 Shakespeare Street

Pitcher & Piano — in a church!
We don’t go here, but every year it blows minds that we have a pub inside a well preserved church. It is weird, and probably worth braving a pint of crap lager to experience it.
Unitarian Church, High Pavement

Cocktail bars

Brass Monkey Cocktail Bar
Funky monkey. Small but well-respected cocktail bar up on cobbled High Pavement, near Nottingham Contemporary.
11 High Pavement

Boilermaker
Hidden behind a boiler showroom, this secret cocktail bar has a trendy atmosphere and super fun/weird cocktails.
36 Carlton St

House of Coco Tang
Unique combination of coffee, Oriental bakery, cocktail bar and Vietnamese kitchen. Good for the Instagrams.
45 Bridlesmith Gate
Website

Hockley Arts Club
Trendy upmarket bar with an unmarked entrance. Lovely interior, good cocktails. Also do brunch and food.
20 Carlton St
Website

Cottonmouth Cocktail Bar
Classy cocktail bar with a nice atmosphere where you can actually hear each other speak. Good to combine with a nearby Desi Downtown curry.
25 Goose Gate

The Bodega Social Club
Not as good as it’s heyday when Colly practically lived in it, but a good lively bar. Renowned for good music and bands upstairs where the capacity is only 120 or so.
23 Pelham Street

Shopping

Nottingham is feeling the pinch like everywhere else, but we still have some great shopping and unique boutiques and things, some only found in London and Nottingham.

Aim for Bridlesmith Gate for clothes and boutiques, Goosegate (Hockley) for vintage and independent shops, or Market Street and Queen Street (just off the square).

Paul Smith
He’s from Nottingham, so you must visit his flagship store — a three-storey Georgian townhouse at 20 Low Pavement (next to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant). The building and details are wonderful. Tip: check out the details on the stairs, and take some spending money. Also, there are two red telephone boxes for you foreigners to photograph.
20 Low Pavement

Page 45
Our incredible independent comic shop. The staff are very friendly, knowledgeable, and will respect you even if you go in and ask for The Watchmen.
9 Market Street
Website

Rough Trade Nottingham
Sadly most of our independent record shops closed down, but Nottingham is lucky to have one of the four Rough Trade locations in the UK.
5 Broad Street
Website

Five Leaves Bookshop
Brilliant and much-loved local independent bookshop, specialising in cityscape and landscape, politics, fiction and poetry, lesbian and gay, counterculture, magazines and journals. Up the alleyway opposite Nottingham Tourism Centre.
14A Long Row
Website

The Exchange
A beautiful shopping arcade full of boutiques. Note that the centre of the circle under the dome is the official centre of Nottingham.
Inside the Council House

General stuff and attractions

The Old Market Square*
Europe’s biggest open plaza or something like that. The heart of Nottingham for centuries, and a good place to explore from. Tip: walk from here up Friar Lane, across Maid Marian Way to the castle.

Nottingham Castle & Robin Hood*
No, not the thing you saw Kevin Costner destroy (that’s in France). Our castle was destroyed centuries ago, so now we have a flat-looking building. It’s currently closed for renovation, but is arguably more interesting from the outside, and the Robin Hood statue is near the gate. Look out also for Brewhouse Yard Museum at the foot of the castle cliffs, which reflects centuries of Nottingham life through excellent exhibits (and it’s a very photogenic spot).
Castle Blvd & Maid Marian Way

Nottingham Playhouse and The Sky Mirror*
Twenty-seconds walk past the Albert Hall is the famous Playhouse, and outside is Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror which is mesmerising and known to kill pigeons.
Website

Nottingham Contemporary
At the end of High Pavement (beautiful cobbled street) is our big flagship art gallery (and New Adventures after-party venue). The architecture reflects Nottingham’s lace history, and it’s an odd-looking thing that reveals some wonderful details within. Also has an excellent cafe for beer and food at the bottom of the stairs.
Weekday Cross, Nottingham
Website

The Galleries of Justice
Also on High Pavement, this interactive museum takes you through a realistic rendering of the 14th-century penal system, from crime to punishment. A great-looking building too.
Website

Broadway Cinema and Media Centre^
Our renowned independent cinema. Tarantino loves it (seriously). The cafebar has been the hub of creative activity in the city for twenty years. Free wifi, and a great place to get some work done. Good hot sandwich & salad menu, real ale, decent coffee.
14-18 Broad Street
Website

City of Caves
Access via Broad Marsh shopping centre at the end of Bridlesmith Gate. Nottingham is famous not just for men in tights, but also for being built on caves. We have a huge cave system under our feet, and it’s worth taking time to explore this underworld.
Website

Theatre Royal
You might not have time to check out a show, but the original building is wonderful (best to approach by walking up Market Street from the Market Square), and just about all that’s left of our old “theatre square”. Now part of The Royal Centre.
Website

The Lace Market area
In the 18th and 19th centuries Nottingham sold its lace all over the world and this caused a massive boom for the city. Our Lace Market architecture is pretty special. Notably worth walking the length of Stoney Street and around St. Mary’s church. This is history, people.

Wollaton Hall and Park (AKA Wayne Manor)
It’s worth getting a bus or taxi to Wollaton Park. Beautiful vast grounds, a big lake you can walk around, and roaming deer. Also, the hall is where Bruce Wayne lives in The Dark Knight Rises, so get some shots of a famous location and impress your friends with that. Maybe.

Trent Bridge
A short tram or taxi ride south of the city centre, and worth it to stroll along the river banks, or check out our three sporting grounds: the City Ground (Nottingham Forest), Trent Bridge cricket ground, and Meadow Lane (Notts County). Our Friday 5k run takes in this area.

Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre
Sherwood Forest actually exists. Well, a bit of it still does, as most of it has given way to towns and cities. Still, the visitor centre is fun, and there are great forest trails and bike hire. It’s perhaps a 45 minute bus ride away.

Key venues

Albert Hall Conference Centre (Conference and Main Workshops)
N Circus St, Nottingham NG1 5AA
Map

Nottingham Conference Centre (Shopify Workshop)
30 Burton St, Nottingham NG1 4BU
Map

Antenna (Design Exchange Nottingham (DXN))
9A Beck Street, Nottingham NG1 1EQ
Map

MFA Bowl (JH Bowling)
Belward St, Nottingham NG1 1JZ
Map

Nottingham Contemporary (After-party)
Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB
Map

Wilford Village Tram Stop (Run Club, fr00tball)
Nottingham NG11 7AB
Map

Gresham Sports Pavilion (fr00tball)
Gresham Park Rd, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7YF
Map




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