Sobar, Nottingham

Sobar is quite a new bar that has opened on Friar Lane, near Market Square in Notts city centre. The name comes from the fact that there is no alcohol served in this bar at all! Although that may be off putting to some, I think it is an ideal place to go for a light lunch as there is a vast range of smoothies, juices, cordials and other soft drinks to tickle your fancy! Not only is this a bar, but they frequently have themed nights held there, such as comedy nights and poetry! It's just something a little different!

Mario and myself like different, so we decided to give Sobar a go at lunchtime! The atmosphere of the bar is lovely. It's so light and airy, full of bright colours! Each table has some upcycled flowers on them, made from drinks cans.

Photo taken from Sobar Facebook Page

I decided to go for a Fentimans fizzy orange drink, which tasted like a delicious version of Orangina! For food, I opted for a BLT - they are the king of all sandwiches after all! There are several bread options to have this on and I chose to have mine served on a baguette. The sandwiches all come with salad and tortilla chips on the side. I also chose to have some chips on the side with my baguette.

The baguette itself was delicious. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp and the bacon was cooked to perfection. The tortilla chips on the side were also tasty, although nothing to write home about. I wasn't a huge fan of the dressing that the salad was drenched in. It was quite an oily texture, that really wasn't that lovely! The chips, although they had been forgotten about initially, were a disappointment. Because they'd not come out with the meal, I feel like they were slightly undercooked and not crispy at all.

Mario had the ploughman's platter, which came with ham hock, pate, stilton, cheddar and a pork pie. This was served with a variety of chutneys and bread. 

Mario was disappointed with his choice, that was clear to me! There was very little in the way of green. We both feel that the platter could have benefitted from some celery or tomato. The chutneys were delicious, as was the cheese, but we just felt as though something was missing! The drink he chose to accompany this was a liquorice cordial, which he loved! It was a little too strange for me to get my head around, so I wasn't so taken with it. To me, liquorice shouldn't be liquid!

Something that I observed that there weren't enough waiting staff working on that day and the manager had to chip in to help the two other waitresses. Having worked in several cafés before, I know how stressful it can be! I also know that you can't appear stressed in front of your customers and this staff really were. There were several people serving randomly and there was no system. It wasn't even particularly busy when we went!

I would definitely recommend this bar to anyone. The burgers and pizzas look amazing, and part of me wishes that I'd have had that instead! The food isn't expensive at all compared to a lot of other places in Notts city centre.