Plumtree, International Restaurant Guide

This “great” Lace Market Hispanic of 15 years’ standing serves tapas with international influences – and impressed sweary chef Gordon Ramsay when he brought his family to celebrate his daughter’s graduation from Nottingham Uni last summer, declaring the food “XXXXing delicious”. Top Tip – “the express menu is a great option for a speedy lunch”.

“Always a real treat to visit” – this well-established local institution is to be found near the castle in the atmospheric surrounds of the seventeenth century Newdigate House (also home to networking haunt the Nottingham Club), and – especially in summer when its terrace comes into its own – provides “a calm escape from the city streets”. Its rather ambitious food has proved “consistently good” over many years (and even “fabulous” on a good night) and reports this year suggest that it has attained a more consistent standard of late.