The Nottingham

The pub downstairs is a straight British pub with plenty of regulars, giving a good taste of the local flavor. I stopped in for a proper ale. Something that needs to be done while in the UK. They’re well known for their ales here and I’m more than willing to try them out. With a choice of Tetley’s light, Tetley’s, Spitfire, Hobgoblin, & Yorkshire Terrier, I had to go with the Spitfire, having sampled all of the above.
I’ve heard that they have the best fish and chips in Cleethorpes up stairs, but I’m sure many places have been mentioned in that statement. Once you walk upstairs, however, it’s like you enter a different world altogether. The restaurant is really quite lovely. I can imagine inviting some friends over to have a few pints in the pub and then transitioning upstairs to an upscale type restaurant. I love it! I’m starting with the homemade ham and pea soup. I was so excited to try a homemade pea soup and compare it to the basic Campbell’s that I grew up on. The pea soup was puréed with no peas, but there were chunks of ham. The consistency and flavor were just fabulous.
I went with the fish of the day, halibut with broccoli and chips on the side. I had to try the chips in a place like this. You’ll have to make reservations for the most part, but being a single makes things easy. I can get in under the radar everywhere. It was the beginning of December, Xmas music already playing at a tolerably low volume. They said that they were booked all month. There are only 22 seats in the whole place, so I believe it. There’s a pleasantly intimate atmosphere; a perfect place for a date.
The halibut came out in a bed of mashed potatoes, which kind of clashed with the chips… if I would have known, I wouldn’t have ordered the chips (which were forgettable btw). It was topped with a few sprigs of watercress which was nice. It looked great, but the fish was just a touch over cooked. Halibut is a delicate fish and easily over cooks when pan fried in butter. It should just fall apart, but the segments were tightly packed together, a sure sign of over cooking, sad really. You have to get that part right, and they didn’t. I’m holding them to a higher standard here since the prices are high and the presentations and settings were spot on for a premier standard of dining.
Having dessert is tradition, especially in the UK. In the states, you usually don’t have room for pudding. I went with the apple and blueberry crumble with custard and a cup of espresso. It was quite good, but I prefer to have the actual whole fruit to bite into instead of a jellied fruit base. They claimed it was homemade, but I will take issue with how fresh the fruits were at the start. The crumble was quite nice, with not an over abundance of butter, making it more fluffy than crusty.
I will be frequenting this place in the future. I think it has great potential.