Nottingham Playhouse. Theatre boss since the fifties, Sky Mirror sporter, and home to the Mouthy Poets. But one little-known secret is the top-class food in its bar, Cast. What might simply look like a swanky place to grab a coffee or a cocktail actually churns out some seriously special dishes on top of a great bar menu.
There’s a patio perfect for days of drinking and nibbling in the sunshine before a show later in the evening. Inside, though, there’s a politely cordoned-off area that comes romantically-lit with colourful chairs to inject some vibrancy into the smooth, wood-adorned room. We went for the prix fixe menu, £14.95 for two courses or £18.95 for three. Not too shabby. You’ll have to be on the ball, as it’s only available on show days between 12pm and 2pm, then again between 5pm and 8pm.
For starters, my friend had the orange and whisky chicken liver parfait with melon chutney and soda bread. Sounds a bit heavy, but is actually a polite nibble with a gorgeously unusual accompaniment to enhance the rich, creamy pâté. I had the grilled goat’s cheese and pomegranate salad which came equipped with parsley, red onion and deliciously smoky pine nuts. All my favourite things in one dish. I could’ve burst into a Julie Andrews number.
For mains, I had the pork belly with cider fondant potatoes, and toasted pork cheek, all of which came beautifully presented in little skyscrapers, black pudding purée and pea purée rivers weaving their way in and out of the buildings. The potatoes were especially delicious, marrying well with both the crispy crackling on the juicy pork belly and the tender pork cheek.
My friend had the herb-crusted cod with a cannellini bean cassoulet, white wine mussels and peppers. I was jealous, so we eventually swapped. The crunch against the smooth cod was right up my street, in my house, tucked up in bed. That, with the just-rich-enough, tomato-infused cassoulet and the sea-salty mussels, topped off a lovely, strong main.
We couldn’t skip pud - it’d be doing a disservice to our readers. So it was creamy orange panna cotta with ginger crumbs and dark chocolate fudge for me. I could only manage half of it, but I’d surely like to show that fudge a good time. My friend had the delicious apple galette – flaky pastry, perfectly formed and arranged balls of apple, with cool vanilla ice cream to boot.
With impeccable service and appetites more than satisfied, it’s safe to say that it’d take a lot to upstage Cast. Bridie Squires
Wellington Circus, NG1 5AF. 0115 852 3898
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