Greeted by slick décor with rustic hints - stag horns, antique sewing machines, the cheeky speakeasy-style Rum House Rules - and fifties jazz, we plonked ourselves on leather sofas and had a flick through the newly renovated Rum House’s menu. We didn’t hang about in ordering a delicious-sounding cocktail (all designed in-house, our smiley waitress Ruby explained).
It was a flaming berry bomb (£8) for me – a tall pineapple, lime and cranberry juice refresher laced with Diplomatico Anejo rum, Chambord, icing sugar and a flaming strawberry. Tasty gear. My friend had a Norman’s crumble (£8) – lemon, blackcurrant jam and apple juice deliciousness, with butterscotch liqueur, Sailor Jerry rum and biscuit bits coating the rim of its martini glass, all innovatively accompanied by a mini crumble in a tiny jam jar. I’d go back just for that.
The food menu consists of Caribbean tapas, and offers three starred items for £12 between 12pm and 7pm. We went for a few of those: jerk wing lollipops (£6.20), with the meat pulled to the top of the bone, full of flavour yet not overly spicy; corn croquettes with roasted chilli and lime alioli (£4.90); popcorn shrimp with chipotle sauce (£5.40) suitably cooked and very tasty; Rum House goat curry (£6.50), a classic Caribbean dish with the chef’s own twist drawing us back to its sauce for several dunks. We also had callaloo and mixed bean stew (£4.90) – something you could happily chow down on without feeling guilty afterwards – and fried dumplings with mango and pepper relish (£3) which seemed closer to biscuits than British dumplings, but the sauce was delicious.
For pudding, we got a banoffee jar (£4.50) – the stuff of angels. If you’re a banoffee fanatic, it will add new depths to your love: freshly cut bananas drenched in Sailor Jerry’s-infused caramel and whipped cream, with a thin biscuit for dipping. It was the banana fritters with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream (£4.50) that really got us dribbling, though. Lightly battered and juicy without being too greasy, and I could have eaten a full tub of that ice cream. It was ridiculous.
The overall theme of The Rum House is slightly disjointed, which would normally bother me. But in this case, all the aspects of what it’s trying to be sit beside each other quite politely. It’s somewhere I can see myself returning to for a munching session and a cheeky, crumble-donned cocktail when I’m feeling a little fanceh and want to treat mesen. Bridie Squires
9 Broad Street, Hockley, NG1 3AJ. 0115 924 1555 facebook.com/rumhousenottingham
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