Vegan Nottingham

The Nottingham Vegan Guide

Nottingham is a great place to be vegan. Talking to veggies and vegans from other cities, they are always amazed to learn how good Nottingham is for vegan food. Although cafés and restaurants come and go, there are always lots of options for vegans.

This guide is for both residents of and visitors to Nottingham.

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The Sumac Centre has a completely vegan cafe and bar run by volunteers. As it is registered as a Social Club, you have to be a member to be there during licensed hours, though it is easy to get someone to sign you in as a guest. The opening hours are limited and subject to availability of volunteers, so check beforehand. Beer costs about £1.90 a pint.

Food service is currently limited due to a lack of volunteers (why not help?).

On the second and fourth Friday each month there is the 'Small World Kitchen' - lots of delicious food made by volunteers from a local refugee group. £3 donation.

There is a People's Kitchen meal served every Saturday from 6:30pm. £4 donation.

Breakfasts are usually available on Sundays 11am - 3pm. They are really tasty and include the famous Sumac potato cakes.

Members' Bar open Thursdays 6:30pm—11:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays 7:30pm—11:00pm.

Directions: The Sumac Centre is based in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham - about 2 miles from the City Centre. It is easily reachable by bus and tram. Click here for more details. To get there by tram from the railway station or city centre: Get any tram and get off at the Beaconsfield Street stop. Walk ahead for about 100 yards and Gladstone Street is the right turn next to the Leisure Centre. The Sumac Centre is at the opposite end of this street, about 5 minutes walk on your left.

The Alley Café is a really groovy veggie café and bar, popular with many non-veggies too. They have a full menu of meals and snacks, decent beer (e.g. Organic Golden Promise), cocktails, delicious cakes and puddings. There is a daily special meal for less than £5, or I would recommend trying one of their pizzas. The café is quite small, so you may have trouble finding a seat at lunchtimes and weekend evenings. They serve food and drink until 11pm most nights, with DJs on at the weekends. As well as art displays on the walls, The Alley Café is the venue for monthly poetry nights, film night and other events.

Open Monday & Tuesday 11am - 6pm; Wednesday-Saturday 11am - 11pm; Closed all day Sunday. They are sometimes close on Wednesday evenings without notice, so check first. Cost: Main meals around £5; Alcoholic drinks £2.50 - £3.

Directions: Funnily enough, the Alley Café is down an alley way, so can be difficult to find. Starting from the Old Market Square, go to the opposite end to the Council House. Leading away from the square is a road called Angel Row, with the Bell pub (very nice) on your left and Yates's Wine Lodge (minging) on your right. Go up this road and you should see the Central Library on your left. Opposite this, on your right, is a tanning studio. Just to the left of the tanning studio is an alley way (the second alley way on this road) called Cannon Court Yard - there should be a sign for Johnson Partnership Solicitors and the Alley Cafe. Once in the alley way, go through the door on the left and up the stairs.

Squeek is a wonderful place. An à la carte veggie restaurant with loads of vegan options. The food is beautifully presented, the portions aren't large but are very filling. There is a new menu each month, so you always have an excuse to go back. This is the kind of restaurant to which you can take a group of meat-eaters and not have any complaints about being forced to eat veggie food - they'll want to come back too. Also a good place for taking someone on a date. Cost: Two-course evening meal is £13.95, three-course meal, £15.95.

A groovy retro-styled veggie café with an outside seating area.

These are the vegan options: Soup of the day, falafel & salad in pitta, baked potatoes (with vegan fillings), sandwiches (with vegan fillings), cupcakes. They also have tea, hot chocolate, fairtrade coffee (including soya latte), chilled drinks and crisps.

Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm.

I've not been here myself but it all sounds very impressive: a volunteer-run cafe and bakery which is vegetarian and uses local and fairly-traded produce.

There is a main course each day for £2.50 and soup of the day for £1.20. Also, there are various light snacks and breakfasts, with vegan options. They also cater for those with food intolerances.

"The food style is very international but with a particular inclination towards South Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines, except on Mondays when we do English-ish days."

Check the website for more info.

If you go, let me know what it's like.

Café Nomad is a small veggie cafe/restaurant serving a range of food from takeaway snacks and burgers to full meals.

Since they opened, they have increased the number of dishes that can be vegan, so there is a choice of several starters and main courses. I can recommend the delicious Moroccan tajine. The soup of the day is often vegan. Apple tart and fruit salad are the only options for pudding.

A three course meal including a soft drinks costs about £10. They aren't licensed but you can take your own wine.

Nomad has great food and would be a wonderful place if it weren't for the fact that the staff are sometimes unhelpful and impolite.

Opening times (subject to change) : Weds & Thurs 4-10pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 12-3pm. Booking recommended in the evening and essential on Sundays.

The mm...deli can be found in the lovely Sherwood area - about 2 miles from the city centre, close to the Roots health food shop. The deli is "99% vegetarian" with lots of vegan options.

They serve sandwiches, paninis, cakes etc. which can be eaten there or taken away. They can also deliver buffet lunches and have a catering trailer for events.

They have a wide variety of unusual foods on the shelves so it's worth going in for a browse.

More info on their website.

The Broadway is a very popular arts cinema in the trendy Hockley area, adjacent to the city centre. The bar is even more popular than the films, particularly with pretentious arty people. The café-bar usually has one or two vegan soup and main meal options which are clearly marked on the blackboard. However, sometimes the vegan options run out. From the regular menu, you can get a selection of tapas (e.g. pitta with houmous, artichoke hearts, olives etc.) with salad. Also, the baguette with roasted tofu is delicious and very filling. They also now stock the delicious, locally made 'Pop My Cherry' vegan cakes.

If you are seeing a film, there are often dishes that can be served with a few minutes of ordering and you can get a discount by buying your film ticket and meal at the same time. There is also a decent range of beer, spirits and fruit juices available. You can sit in the (much nicer) Mezz Bar upstairs where you can order food from downstairs (but check the specials board downstairs before you go up).

Café-bar open Mon - Fri 9am - 11pm; Sat 11am - 11pm; Sun 12noon - 10.30pm

Directions can be found on the Broadway Cinema website

I must admit I've never been to Encounters despite going past it every day, but I know they have a special vegetarian and vegan menu on Tuesday nights, and some vegan options the rest of the time. A good place to go if you are with an uncompromising meat-eater and somewhere you can ask for vegan food and get something other than a blank stare. Based close to the centre of town, opposite the Victoria Shopping Centre.

A very simple and cheap Chinese restaurant with friendly staff and several delicious vegan options. The portions are huge. They don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own - there are many off-licences near-by. A very good place to go after visiting one of the many excellent pubs along this road (I recommend the Golden Fleece, Forest Tavern and Lincolnshire Poacher).

Friends of mine go here regularly and have trained the friendly staff to serve vegan options. They now have a completely separate vegan menu which you can ask for when you go.

The food is delicious.

Don't be put off by the location - despite being between the railway station and the grim Meadows area, the Palm Tree is a well-kept secret. The restaurant is beautiful inside and the staff very helpful and friendly. The owner in particular seems to understand the needs of vegans - booking ahead and saying you are vegan is advisable. Lebanese food is simple and much of it vegan - they don't seem to use many dairy products so vegetarian options tend to be suitable. However, there is only one main meal that is vegan here - a delicious combination of rice, lentils and tomatoes, but you could happily dine on the starters of pitta, houmous, salads etc.

Directions: If you are at the railway station entrance, turn left out of the front of the station, cross Queens Road and the Palm Tree is about 50 yards ahead of you, on the left.

An old fashioned pub frequented by crusties and punks. They serve a range of food including various vegan snacks plus breakfasts with sausages, hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, chips for about £3.

See a panoramic shot of the gig room here.

Wagamama has a few (very nice) vegan options which you read about at the bottom of this page.Apparently they are cooked to order on separate grills to the meat dishes. I've found the staff to be understanding and knowledgeable about the vegan options.
Wagamama isn't the place if you want to relax and chat with your friends. They rush you through in double time, but that's great if you are after a quick meal.
Remember there is no booking here - turn up and, if necessary, wait for a place at one of the long tables (which is hard if you're in a large group).

This is a posh, beautifully decorated, Thai restaurant in the trendy Hockley area. When I enquired about vegan food, they kindly replied with an edited version of their menu with only suitable dishes. You can read the menu here - the first page is the evening menu and the second page the lunch time menu. (N.B. Menu is from December 2004 and is subject to change).

The food is absolutely delicious. Expect to pay around £20 for starter, main course and drink.

Directions: Facing the Council House in the Market Square, walk along the street to the right of the Council House. Siam Thani is a few hundred yards up on your right, opposite George Street.

I've never been here but have heard that it has a good vegan selection. If you go, please let me know what you think.

Thanks to Katerina for sending this feedback: "Great for vegans and I'd highly recommend it... The service was also speedy and we were left absolutely stuffed by the end of it!"

This is a Turkish restaurant opposite the Cineworld Cinema. They can adapt some of their dishes to be vegan and their falafel are delicious.

20 King St, Nottingham. NG1 2AS. 0115 952 9095 Map

24-26 Goose Gate, Nottingham. NG1 1FF. 0115 912 7888 Map

72 Bridgford Rd, Nottingham. NG2 6AP. 0115 981 4002 Map

Pizza Express are happy to make pizzas without cheese and their bases are vegan. I haven't tried them for a long time, but I'm told they are very nice.

There is more information about their vegan items here. They say that you should stress "how strict your diet is to the manager on duty, so as the chef can implement all necessary procedures to avoid cross contamination."

8 Broad Street, Hockley, Nottingham. NG1 3AL. 0115 941 4733. Map

Kayal serves delicious South Indian food, which is quite different to the Bangladeshi-derived food of normal Indian restaurants.

Main meals come with a dosa - a thin pancake which can be dipped into various chutneys.

The staff at Kayal understand the needs of vegans and are helpful and friendly (there is a sister restaurant in Leicester which is completely vegetarian).

As well as evening meals, they also serve a "business man's lunch" for £6 consisting of dosa, chutneys, rice and three curries, which has a vegan option.

Nottingham has many excellent Indian restaurants. Traditionally, Mansfield Road has been the place for cheap, decent curries, though there is not so much choice there now. In recent years, Maid Marian Way has seen several new, fashionable Indian restaurants opening. My favourite is out of the town centre - the Jewel In The Crown in West Bridgford (near to the Co-op and the excellent Stratford Haven pub). I haven't been there for years but it used to be superb. Also, the Rajah on Mansfield Road in Sherwood has cheap and very tasty food.

Screaming Carrot is a vegan bakery selling a delicious selection of cakes, pasties, etc. They also have a small selection of dry and frozen wholefoods, including fair-trade and organic, and offer an organic vegetable box scheme. They take orders for special occasion cakes (which are delicious and excellent value for money).

Opening hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 7.30 - 5.30; Weds: 8 - 6; Sat: 10 - 4; Closed Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.

Screaming Carrot is in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham, fairly close to the Sumac Centre.

See the inside of the shop here.

Good selection of dry, frozen and ready-to-eat foods.

Opening hours (Not checked): Mon-Fri 9 - 5:30 except Weds 9 - 6:45; Sat 9 - 4:30

The most central health food shop, and also the largest and cheapest in Nottingham. Lots of vegan and organic foods. Small selection of ready-to-eat foods in the fridge.

Directions: Situated behind the Lower Parliament Street branch of Wilkinson. Or, from the Market Square, go to the left side of the Council House. At the back of the Council House, turn left and then right and the shop is on your right, next to a charity shop.

Small, but well stocked wholefood shop. They have the best range of frozen and ready-to-eat foods including pasties, cakes, pizzas etc. Often lots of things on offer. They always have something different you haven't tried before.

Directions: Opposite the Mansfield Road entrance to the Victoria Centre / Victoria Bus Station.

A combined greengrocer and wholefood shop - so you can get all your food in one place. Reasonable selection of wholefoods - not much ready-to-eat stuff, though.

Directions: Close to Tudor Square at the centre of West Bridgford.

Situated opposite Sainsbury's car-park, an organic shop which isn't specifically vegetarian (it sells lots of organic meat) but which has a decent range of wholefood and vegan items.

This shop sells delicious handmade chocolates. They seem to have about half a dozen varieties that are suitable for vegans - some are labelled as vegan and the staff are knowledgeable and will be able to tell you what you can eat.

You can choose a mix of chocolates which they pack into boxes of different sizes. For example, choose 15 chocolates for £7.30 (I think).

Another posh chocolate shop (on your left as you walk from the Broadmarsh Centre to the Market Square) that labels its vegan choices. You can see a list of their vegan choices here.