The Coffee House, but for Tea!

I'd heard great things about 'The Coffee House' it had remained off my radar as it's so sneakily hidden!

'It's on the same alley as Cucamaras' I had been told, this was not helpful as I think the only time i've visited Cucamaras I was decidedly worse for wear. 

We found the little alley after being accosted by a scary looking pitbull terrier and subsequently apologised to by a lovely but very pierced and tatooed gent! It felt like being in the lanes in Brighton, or the backstreets of Brussels, a far cry from Nottingham's usual roads and side streets. 

The place looked as cute as the pictures on it's website, with blackboards outside I knew this was somewhere I was going to like. 

We sat down, with only 3 tables downstairs there was a whimsical little sign saying we might have to make new friends as our table seated 4 (annoyed I didn't take a little photo!)

We were served quickly by a very friendly man. He offered only two types of normal cake and two types of gluten free but these both sounded like excellent choices. I wondered whether this was because it was a Thursday and they were running out, all the more reason to return I say!

I had a fabulous gluten free chocolate cake. I know I always like my cake, but this was exceptional! It had little chocolate chips in and I definitely could barely tell it was gluten free

P had a caramel cake which she said was delicious, and it sure was a generous serving too. 

We shared a pot of tea, just english breakfast. The tea selection was vast and all was loose leaf. So many different types of coffees from all around the world as well. It was a shame not to be able to try them all! Maybe next time

Definitely give this one a try, just be warned it's very cosy and hopefully is quite busy on the weekend. It deserves to be. 

Toastily Confused

So Han and I took a trip to Toast, just up the road at Canning Circus. Following the disappointment of the management change at Smythson's we were looking for a new hangout

I had been told that Toast was one of a kind, that you wen't in, there were loaves upon loaves of different breads, different condiments and your very own toaster to operate. 

Whilst extremely quaint and very much 'up our street', there didn't appear to be any of these exciting novelties. The toasters were on some tables but sadly not ours, and there didn't seem to be any DIY bread that day.

I'm not sure whether we just picked a bad day or maybe they've stopped serving in this way. Many friends have been and have LOVED the quirky nature of toasting your own bread! (it's the little things) 

This all being said our food was delicious, there's a fabulous selection of independent, gourmet drinks on offer alongside a huge number of sandwich options. There were tons of little cakes on the counter and a friendly face serving. 

Han and I sat down with A cloudy lemonade and a sparkling strawberry and rhubarb and gossiped the world away. 

I was chuffed to have a gluten free sandwich on what was incredibly nice bread, I ordered 'Pastrami, Mozarella and rocket' whilst Hannah had a ciabatta with smoked salmon and cream cheese. We thoroughly enjoyed our sandwiches, felt it was lacking a bit on the garnish. We missed the Smythson's cheeky couple of crisps and a side salad. But overall were extremely happy with our choices. 

I couldn't resist a pudding, Hannah indulged in a vanilla latte whilst I went for the famous 'Almondie' a gluten free almond biscuit shaped like a croissant. It was great!

We'll definitely visit Toast again, if not just to see if this DIY toast phenomenon exists. 

A lovely place to spend a morning though! 

Spa Day Sunday

My friend Penny and I took a well earned break last weekend

We felt cheeky but also that there was nothing wrong with visiting the local Q Hotels spa, even if just for a spot of research!

Sunday afternoon took us to the Nottingham Belfry Hotel for their pamper break. At £99 it felt like a huge spend, maybe not one to be taking in the middle of our University term but it has to be said it was definitely worth the money. 

We arrived shortly after lunchtime and wandered over to the restaurant for our buffet lunch. There were all manner of different dishes to try, roast chicken with peppers.  Chorizo pasta, a wealth of different salad ingredients. With the 'and finally' being all the little puddings to try

All were quite delicious, it was tricky weighing up how much to eat given we were eagerly waiting to get into the pool!

Waiting for our room to be ready we were treated to our complimentary 'detox' cocktail, for which the bar were apparently missing the 'detox' ingredient. So it was just a juice mocktail

Tasted pretty nice to me!

We had an afternoon in the pool leisurely doggy paddling up and down. Sat in the jacuzzi avoiding the usual awkward jacuzzi chat you often get in the local swimming baths. After a quick stint in the sauna we headed up to the spa reception to wait for our hour long massage and facial. 

To our surprise Penny and I were ushered into the 'couples' treatment room, whilst we enjoyed the fact we had each others company whilst wedging our faces into the massage couch we did find it a little strange and unexpected

The massage was fantastic, worth every penny. We wandered, dazed, with terrible scare crow greasy hair back to our room for a shower and a drink before heading down for our dinner

Our room was lovely, the duvet looks a little lumpy here but just imagine how fluffy that meant it was when rolling around in there!

The best thing about spas? The free slippers and bathrobes!

Little bit of Dancing on Ice time before dinner while Penny did her hair

We surprised ourselves with our cheekiness and requested an ice bucket, some glasses and a toothbrush through room service. The Cava was just begging us to be popped open 

For dinner in the restaurant we had a £26 allowance which was more than enough to have 3 courses. Our only expense of the weekend was our glass of Pinot which was incredibly nice and worth a mention

For starter I had Ham Hock terrine, which they kindly served with gluten free bread and a fennel and mustard slaw. 

Penny's pork belly with caramelised red onion and potato dauphinois 

My Sea Bream with an incredibly creamy and rich risotto

Gluten free bread roll, as expected a little dry, but I was very pleasantly surprised they had this to offer

Creme Brûlée for pudding, in a deliciously large rammekin, the bigger the better!

Served with chocolate ice cream and on Penny's plate a short bread for dipping!

The next morning we ambled down to the restaurant for our buffet breakfast, there was a good selection of cooked and cold breakfast items. To our excitement there was also a 'do it yourself' hot chocolate stand complete with whipped cream and marshmallows. Brilliant!

Overall we had a lovely break away. Although £99 feels like a lot, with a buffet lunch, a detox cocktail, an hour treatment at the spa, dinner, breakfast and a comfy nights stay it was definitely worth every Penny (with a Penny!)

If you're in need of a break, check it out!

My, my, my Delilah

Another more recent amazing find has been Delilah Fine Foods, 

4 years ago when we all first moved to Nottingham, Delilah's was a small shop at the top of Low Pavement with a covered outside seating area, however to passers by, myself included, it appeared to be an interesting specialist food shop, but not an obvious cafe and not somewhere I thought of visiting.

In October 2012 Delilah's moved to Victoria Street, to the old HSBC bank, a gorgeous building which features a mezzanine level for eating in, a grade 2 listed ceiling complete with beautiful chandeliers and a fantastic array of foods from all around the world.

Delilah's has been voted Best Cafe/Deli in the Nottingham restaurant awards so it would be an obvious shame not to check it out! 

On my first outing to Delilah's we felt it necessary to sample the brunch after a big (although fairly infrequent) night out on a Friday night. 

Scrambled egg and bacon on a muffin, look at that latte!

The granola (which most people feel is a sad choice) was delicious, lots of nuts and seeds with a good helping of greek yoghurt on top

Sausage sandwich dusted with herbs and a latte served in a really exciting plastic latte cup (it didn't burn your hand!)

We waited a while before deciding it was obviously necessary to have cake after brunch!

Here's our 'cheesecake' 

Definitely not what we were expecting, a 'do it yourself' cheesecake really

Didn't stop us from enjoying every last mouthful!

Our second venture to Delilah's was a long time coming! We had seen the cheese fondue on the menu many moons ago, this was when the glorious day arrived!

We had our 'Swiss lady' with us so naturally went with the Swiss Cheese fondue

Much to my delight at Delilah they're so accomodating to gluten free diners, there was special home made bread on offer for the fondue which was so so moorish, I couldn't leave without telling the waitress how yummy it was!

Mmm, delicious meat and cold potato, one of my top favourites!

We've been again since (oops!) sampled both the French and the Swiss cheese fondues. The French has a stronger taste, I personally liked the Swiss but both really were fabulous, such great value for money and in a really picturesque setting. All the ingredients they use come from the Deli, you are able to spend ages choosing various cheese and meats to sample should you wish, they have a fantastic selection of wines and are extremely helpful when it comes to choosing which one would go best with your meal. 

The only downside is Delilah's shuts at 7pm, this makes for quite an early dinner if you were looking for an evening out. Perfect for pre-theatre dining though and a brilliant brunch and lunch destination. 

After a food filled Christmas it wouldn't be fair not to mention their hampers, a few of my family received one and are extremely impressed with the variety and quality of its contents. 

Definitely pop in if not just to browse the shelves and take in the atmosphere.

Bucket List...

In our fourth year as residents of Nottingham we've compiled quite a list of our favourite haunts. Alongside this list exists the great foodie 'bucket list' of places we'd love to/ need to go!

Our top 10 Cafe's (work in progress)

(Must add favourite cocktail hangouts!)

• Smythson's Deli Smythson's has since closed and been opened under new management. I have visited and been pretty disappointed with the quality of the food offered there. It's so disappointing that we've lost Jane and Janet. 
• Thea Caffea
• White Rabbit Teahouse 
• Aubrey's Traditional Creperie
• Delilah Fine Foods
• The Coffee House
• Toast

The Bucket List!

• World Service Restaurant Nottingham
• French Living 
• The Wollaton Pub and Kitchen
• La Rock (Sandiacre)
• Harts Nottingham, The Park
• Restaurant Sat Bains
• Iberico World Tapas
• Homemade
• Tarn Thai
• Petit Paris 
• Bistrot Pierre
• Warsaw Diner
• Toast
• Le Mistral
• Fothergill's 
• 4550 Miles from Delhi
• Walk Into Yesterday
• Mr Man's Restaurant
• The Larder on Goosegate
• The Hand and Hart
• Atlas Deli
• Bar de Nada
• Cafe Roya 
• Yamas 
• Kayal
• Habesha
• Lee Rosy's Tea
• Sinatras

It just wouldn't be fair not to mention....

Since it's opening in October 2011, my friends and I have been regular customers of Smythson's Deli, having visited on one of the very first days and had what we both described as the 'best hot chocolate ever' we never questioned where to go for a catch up and a cup of coffee. Gradually introducing all of our friends, it has now become a staple in many of our diets. 

So many 'after the last exam' lunches here

So many breaks from the library

Hangover breakfasts 

'Parents visiting' slices of cake. And even just for a quick chat with Jane or Janet

I was lucky enough to spend my 21st Birthday with some of my favourite people, in our favourite Cafe!

With prosecco flowing we were treated to all our favourites with the cafe all to ourselves

Even if there was a little bit too much!

I'm not sure what we'd all do without Smythson's in our lives, It is an absolutely lovely place to be, a fantastic atmosphere, the owners, Jane and Janet, so welcoming, and food which never disappoints (they even do Gluten free bread! and tasty it is too!)