Food Review: ViDa By Lorentes

I know I’m not the only person who was dying to escape Nottingham in 2020. I was desperate for a glimpse of the soirees around Europe I’d enjoyed last summer, and a quest for authentic Spanish tapas led me to the basement of a Lace Market building to ViDa by Lorentes.

The interior, with exposed brick walls and warm lights shining down on dark wooden tables creates a relaxed, cosy atmosphere, like you’ve bagged a table at a joint in the backstreets of Valencia. Once seated, we picked a glass from the extensive wine list and turned our attention to the menu. As well as sharing portions of paella and cured meat boards, their tapas menu was full of classics. We asked the chef how many plates he recommended for the two of us – he smiled, shrugged his shoulders and gave the advice he would follow at home in Spain: “try one, and if you’re not too fussed, move yourself on to the next restaurant along.” 

This honesty is what made the experience of eating at ViDa by Lorentes so memorable. Not only was the food faultless – we ate every single bite of our patatas bravas, spicy chorizo with cider, beef meatballs and beer battered cod bites with aioli – but the smiles on the faces of the staff when they collected our empty plates were undoubtedly genuine, and a true testament to the hard work they put in to ensuring their customers enjoy the very best. 

For dessert we had a light, cheesecake-style berry pot they’d been trialling that day on the recommendation of our server. As I sipped on the final drops of my Rioja, I’d completely forgotten I was just a stone's throw away from the rowdy queue for Lloyds No.1. I never wanted to leave.

Stoney Street, NG1 1LX
ViDa by Lorentes website