Even from the outside, you can tell that Nottingham city centre’s Pudding Pantry is going to be a treat. The windows, lined with insta-worthy draped fairy lights, invite you in from afar – and that’s before you even get the chance to see the glorious cakes on display near the front door. As soon as you walk in, the friendly and casual atmosphere will make you feel relaxed; and the delicious smell will instantly make you hungry.
There are a variety of menus, including separate vegan and gluten-free menus, which offer a selection of sweet and savoury treats. In true sweet-tooth style, the menu is displayed in an order which goes from pudding, to pancakes, to brunch (who even made the rule that pudding comes last?!) And the drinks menu is equally thorough, with options ranging from freakshakes and smoothies, to chai lattés and special blend teas, to wines, beers and spirits. For a small establishment, this place certainly has a huge selection of things to try, and it would be easy to get carried away!
It took us literally fifteen minutes to decide what to order because it all sounded incredible, and we kept getting distracted by the food coming out from the kitchen… but eventually, we settled on a feast of Pigs in Blankets (from the Brunch menu), American-style Pancakes (from the Pancake menu), and Gingerbread Cookie Dough for pudding. All the food was tasty, well-presented and the quality of the ingredients really stood out from your average chain-restaurant offerings. Christmas really came early when I tasted the pigs in blankets brunch – it honestly made me want to petition for it to become a staple item on every breakfast menu (any takers?)
While we were waiting for the mountain of food to arrive, we had a look around and discovered a specials board with hand-selected dishes, and some customer favourites from here eventually make it onto the menu (like the Peppered Pastrami and Halloumi Hash, served with poached eggs and toast). There’s also a huge board displaying a mouth-watering selection of ice-creams and sorbets available from the adorable ice-cream cart at the front of the store. I’ll definitely be returning to try the gin and tonic flavoured sorbet (and you can’t stop me).
After our meal, we spoke to the manager Lee, who told us all about the story of the family-owned Pudding Pantry which opened its doors in the city centre 6 years ago. We learned that everything sold in the restaurant is locally-sourced from vendors across Nottinghamshire, including the meats, teas and coffees. And on that note – the pantry has its own special blend of coffee from Outpost (a local coffee producer) which is unique to the shop, and you won’t find it anywhere else. The menus are carefully crafted by the in-house team of chefs and staff, and this means they are happy to offer their expert advice on what to order if you can’t decide.
They have recently opened a secondary location in Sherwood, where they hold events like movie nights in addition to offering all the same tasty treats you can find in the city. Everything on the menu is available to take a way for a slightly reduced price, and the Pantry is available on Deliveroo and Too Good To Go. They even offer a 10% student discount on Monday – Thursday, so there’s really no excuse not to give it a try for yourself… like you needed an excuse!
Rating: 4.5/5