Here in Nottinghamshire, we are brimming with pride at the range of food and drink produced locally across the county. With an outstanding array of produce ranging from the Bramley Apple to ice-cream, we have some excellent places to find local delicacies.
Many of our fantastic boutique cafes, sumptuous restaurants, farm shops and diverse markets support local producers and use fresh ingredients on a daily basis to create mouth-watering dishes.
Farm Shops & Delis
Farm shops are great places to seek out fresh local produce and find inspiration for your home-cooked meals. we have many places for you to pop into around the county. Welbeck Farm Shop located at the Welbeck Estate and near the Harley Gallery is an excellent place to find locally produced dishes.
Thaymar Farm Shop has a fantastic selection of local and homemade produce, not to mention fully stocked freezers of their delicious ice cream! They work with local producers to supply the ingredients used in the tea room for sale in the shop so you can take the menu home with you. They have fully stocked fridges with specialist cheeses, Redhill farm sausages and bacon and Inverawe Smoked Salmon. As well as the fridges there are fully loaded shelves bursting with jams, dressing, chutneys cakes and biscuits. Enjoy their home-cooked meals at their adjoining tea room, or take away some of their most popular dishes from the freezer as ready meals.
One of the goals of Delilah's Deli is to reclaim the word 'delicatessen' from the sandwich bars and take-aways that so abuse it! Their artisan deli is packed floor to ceiling with exceptional foods and drinks: from self-serve olive-oils and cheeses from around the world; to honey, chutneys, meats and even wine made right here in the East Midlands. Delilah recreates a shopping experience from the days when food was real and fresh, and produced in local areas by local people: not manufactured, mass produced and filled with additives.
You may not know that the Bramley Apple originated in Nottinghamshire. The 200 year history began by chance when a young girl from Southwell, Mary Anne Brailsford, planted some apple pips in her garden in the early 19th century. You can still visit the original tree today, which is under custodianship of Nottingham Trent University. You can also enjoy the Bramley Apple Festival each October, which showcases dozens of stallholders offering all manner of food and drink including pies, chocolates, jams, chutneys, pickles, sausages and more.
Click here to learn more about the Bramley Apple in Nottinghamshire.
Ice-Cream
Thaymar Ice Cream & Tea Room boasts over 35 delicious flavours of ice cream and sorbets are made using fresh milk, double cream and the finest natural ingredients. Their award winning ‘Elderflower and Gooseberry’ ice-cream is made using local Belvoir elderflower cordial and fresh local gooseberries. All flavours are suitable for vegetarians and the majority are gluten free. They even have a diabetic range and low fat alternatives made without cream.
Nottinghamshire is home to a variety of artisan cheeses which are made using age-old methods and high quality milk from farms in the local area.
Perhaps the most famous of all is Stilton, a deliciously tangy blue cheese and a favourite on many Christmas cheeseboards. The cheese was granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 1996 which means that, like champagne and the Melton Mowberry pork pie, it can only be produced within a designated area, in this case, the Vale of Belvoir.
To learn more, click here.
Wine & Spirits
If you’re a gin connoisseur you can also indulge in another Nottingham’s locally produced beverage - Redsmith Distillery’s signature expression, Redsmith London Dry Gin, which was launched in 2016 following three years of development. We also recommend their Nottingham Dry Apple Gin, made in very small batches using Nottingham’s own Bramley Apple. The distillery operates an online shop via its website, and you can also book a tour of its Sneinton Market headquarters. Read more about what you can expect at your tour in our blog.
Set amongst the rolling countryside of South Nottinghamshire, the vines of Hanwell Wine Estate are being hand-tended to grow grapes for English Sparkling Wine. Hanwell Wine Estate is open most weekends, be sure to check their website before travelling. You may wish to visit for a scheduled tour, these run February to September and include talk, tour and wine tasting lasting 2 hours. Or if it needs to fit your schedule, what about a self-guided tour, following the vineyard trail?
Venture down to Wolds Wine Estate to tour the site and sample some of their wine. You will be guided around the Estate and provided an informal tasting of locally produced wines and the Estate-made craft cider. You will explore the cider orchard and vineyard whilst enjoying stops along the way to taste wine and learn about viticulture and life on the Estate.
Situated on the entrance to Nottingham's famous Exchange Arcade, Gauntleys Fine Wine, Whisky and Cigar Merchants is one of the oldest independent companies in the city. Their range of whiskies and spirits is deep and diverse and has been specially curated by Chris Goodrum, Nottingham's top malt whisky impresario and expert. The range of over 300 whiskies includes many specially selected Malts from Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales plus a large range of Independent private bottlings.
Due to our unique cave system, which was historically used to store ale, Nottinghamshire was once famed throughout the land for its ale and beer. Today, with award-winning breweries like Blue Monkey, Castle Rock and Lincoln Green maintaining these high standards, Nottinghamshire continues to be an ideal destination for any beer connoisseur.
To learn more and discover some of the unmissable pubs in Nottinghamshire, click here.
Nottinghamshire has a fantastic range of cafes and tea rooms, often making their own delicious cakes and drinks using local produce.
If it’s a sumptuous afternoon tea that strikes your fancy, there really isn't anywhere more delightfully traditional than Josephine's Tea Room and Cafe. With elegant surroundings that give a classic vintage atmosphere, the handy location makes this a choice spot for pre-theatre and cinema dining.
For more cafe and tea room suggestions, click here.
A lot of fantastic restaurants use local produce to create their unique or seasonal menus, infusing a taste of our County into every bite. One of our top recommendations is MESA Hockley. Chef Marcus Lewsley's menu changes regularly and aims to mix up cuisines with no set style. His team work closely with local producers to showcase what they have to offer from native breed beef to fresh fish and seasonal vegetables. The main aspect of the kitchen is based heavily around cooking both meat and vegetables over live fire and using that to bring out great flavours you wouldn’t normally expect.
Woodborough Hall Restaurant and Bar is a historic Grade II* venue located twenty minutes from the city centre. The Hall is nestled in the quintessentially English village location of Woodborough in Nottinghamshire and has a long and proud history, with many notable inhabitants. Under the direction of head chef, Tom Paxton, you can experience the halls fine dining menu on Friday and Saturday evenings. Using locally sourced ingredients, Tom draws inspiration from traditional British food whilst adding his own imaginative twist, to produce beautifully presented, flavoursome dishes. Choose wine pairings from a carefully chosen selection to complete the experience.
For more restaurant recommendations, click here.
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