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Despite its city centre location, the Alley Café remains one of Nottingham’s hidden treasures – you have to head up Long Row away from the Square, past Yates, and turn right up Cannon Court, opposite the Central Library.
If you do, you’ll discover one of the best nosheries in Notts – vegetarian or otherwise. This boho sliver of tucked-away tranquillity has been leading the way in Nottingham veggie-snap for years, thanks to its unhurried, secluded vibe, intimate surroundings, and ludicrously extensive menu – if you’re vegetarian and used to the mingy offerings in most local restaurants, you’ll be in heaven here.
Although the Alley Café is best known as a lunchtime venue, it positively excels in the evening, with a range of constantly changing specials and the unveiling of the full menu. We started by sharing the spicy halloumi and chickpeas (£4.55), which was slowly roasted with a zesty onion sauce and served with a flame-grilled tortilla - seasoned enough to notice, but not enough to take your tongue out of commission for the rest of the meal. For our mains, we tried shredded smoked tofu in hoi sin sauce (£7.25) with rice and mixed vegetables) from the specials board. The tofu was beautiful and came served in a massive lettuce leaf, and although the mixed rice was a touch bland, it complimented the intense flavours of the vegetables well.
We also sampled the falafel served with mint yoghurt, wholemeal pitta bread and lots of shredded salad (£5.45). Although it’s one of the simplest dishes in the Middle Eastern veggie cookbook, it’s so easy to get falafel wrong, but the Alley pulls it off with style. Be warned - the portion sizes here are not small, and if you have a main course each you’ll probably be full by the end of it – although we did manage a slice of chocolate cheesecake with ginger (£3), which was ace.
We can’t talk about the Alley Café without pointing out that it’s a pretty kick-arse bar, too, with a wide selection of organic spirits and lagers – including Freedom Lager, which we’ve never seen before in Notts and is worth taking a trip there for alone. If you’re veggie or a vegan, the Alley Café is an absolute no-brainer. Even if you’re decidedly carnivorous, you’ll definitely have no beef with this place.
Cannon Court, Longrow West, NG1 6JE 0115 9551013
The Alley Cafe
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