The Orange Tree, Nottingham

I went out for dinner on Saturday to The Orange Tree on Shakespeare Street, which we'd had drinks at before. Unfortunately they stop serving food at 7pm on a Saturday, so there was a bit of a panic and some people were unable to eat there.

Luckily, my friend was able to order for me! I decided to go for southern fried chicken, which came with chips and was meant to come with smoky beans too but they'd run out of them. My meal came with coleslaw instead, which was also tasty.

So when the meal came out, I originally thought that there didn't look like much food. I was very much mistaken! The chicken was absolutely delicious. Not too spicy and gorgeously crunchy, the chicken itself wasn't dry at all and very enjoyable to eat. I love the chips at TOT! They're hand-cut and wonderfully chunky. Definitely recommend going there for the chips alone! The coleslaw that came with my meal was also delicious and tasted as though it was homemade. It had quite a strong taste of onion and it was all I could taste once I'd finished my meal!

The southern fried chicken was only £8.50, and that was one of the more-expensive meals! I don't think The Orange Tree is too expensive at all. It also serves a wide range of drinks and food. There will be something for everyone there! Delicious pub food :)

For more information about The Orange Tree, please visit http://www.orangetree.co.uk/nottingham/ or call 0115 9473239.

Navigation Inn Burger Bar - Nottingham

I thought it only fitting to recommence the A Taste Of Nottingham blog with this post! So the last post was from September, (even if it was only posted the other day)! As you may know, Annie has made the very-clever decision to move her burger shack to the Lace Market area of Nottingham, which means that The Navigation Inn doesn't have Annie's burgers in any more. It was one of my friends' birthday a couple of weeks ago, and she was hoping to get a table at Annie's new burger shack! Unfortunately, this restaurant is extremely popular and is always fully booked! Because there were so many of us, we'd have to book a table.

Long story short, we ended up booking a table at the Nav instead. I think they're making the most of the fame they'd found by hosting Annie's, so are serving some burgers too in their Burger Bar. Some of them are suspiciously similar to Annie's too...

When we went, they had a temporary menu and, usefully, the burger that I had isn't on the new, permanent menu! The Navigation Inn still offers vegan, veggie and meaty burgers, with some chicken and fish options too. We'd booked a table for the 10+ of us, and we preordered our food. We didn't have to wait long at all for the burgers to be brought out! I decided to go for an Italian style burger, called "The Soprano Burger". It was a beef burger topped with pasata, spinach, pancetta and mozzarella cheese. Yum! I opted for curly fries on the side. The burger also came with a gherkin and coleslaw. Delicious!

So this burger wasn't the beastliest of burgers, but I was definitely full by the time I'd finished it! The pasata gave the burger a delicious texture, not that the burger was dry at all. The recipe for the burger isn't as good as Annie's, but I may be slightly biased! My burger was only £8.50, which is a significant price difference to Annie's. I like that you have the choice of sides with your burger and the addition of coleslaw was a nice touch. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone, and the owner was nice enough to give us 10% off vouchers for the next time we go in!

For more information about The Navigation Inn, please go to http://www.thenavinn.com/ You can also call  0115 8371930 or email info@thenavinn.com

Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham

Spanky Van Dykes, situated by the Royal Concert Hall on Goldsmith Street, describes itself as an "eatery" and a "funhouse". The décor inside is very intriguing and random and it is clear that it was designed with students in mind. The quirky pub hosts several events throughout the year and is a hotspot for students to hang out as it is complete with comfortable sofas and even offers student discount.

Mario and I decided to make the most of its Tuesday offer: 2-for-1 on burgers. We'd visited before for drinks but had never been when food was still being served (food is served until 9pm) so we decided to go for a late lunch.

The pub wasn't too busy and it was dimly lit. In fact, it was a shock that it was still daylight when we left after we'd finished! The staff were informal and friendly, which went with the relaxed atmosphere of the place perfectly.

The menu boasts that all of the burgers are handmade with British beef and are served in a "glazed bun with tomato, lettuce, red onion and homemade fries".

Mario opted to try the Ruby Jean's fried chicken with corn salsa "burger".

I say "burger", because it was more like a fried chicken sandwich. Mario was in heaven. The chicken was succulent and wonderfully crispy. It was perfectly seasoned too. The corn salsa was a lovely accompaniment and Mario was grateful that it wasn't put in side the burger, but came on the side, as he could choose when and how much he wanted to use. The salsa was a little too spicy for me, but Mario loves his spice, so he thoroughly enjoyed it.

The chips are amazing! The skins of the potatoes is left on, which adds to the crunch and we all love a nice crisp chip! Although they were delicious unseasoned, Mario and I added salt and pepper, which then boosted them to the next level.

I chose to have a beef burger topped with halloumi cheese and chorizo sausage.

I was a little hesitant to order this burger as I wasn't sure how well the cheese and the chorizo would go together, but I was glad I chose this. The cheese was lightly grilled and was deliciously creamy-tasting, which was great with the slightly-spicy chorizo. The chorizo sausage was fresh, cut along the middle and grilled to perfection. The burger was lovely and moist and not over-seasoned at all. The beef itself was delicious and cooked to excellence.

We will definitely be going back to Spanky's at some point in the future to sample some of their other dishes as the menu looks amazing! We would definitely recommend this pub for you if you are looking for a chilled-out and relaxed meal with some good (although sometimes strange) background music and interesting decorations!