I love a literal hidden gem. That was my thought when I walked out of Piccalilli on Friday night, back down the unassuming alleyway nestled between the chain pubs and takeaways on Long Row. It somehow makes it feel extra special. If you're a food fan it won't be an unfamiliar location though as the cosy little dining space was previously the home of the wonderful Kushi-Ya who have now moved into larger premises in town. I've been excited about the opening since it was announced, especially when it was echoed by several of my food industry friends who are notoriously hard to impress. When the first menu and a few photos appeared online that feeling only grew and I immediately booked a table when that reservation link went live.
Then in what seemed like the blink of an eye there we were trotting quickly across the Market Square to get out of the chill wind as fast as possible. I joked that I wondered if they'd spruced up the alleyway as that seemed like a bit of an insurmountable task, but actually with a fresh lick of paint and the logo greeting you as you turn down into the first narrow section it does give it a new spark of life.
We climbed the familiar stairs and were greeted with a space that seemed both familiar and new, much cosier than it's prior iteration. Dan Coles and his team have done a wonderful job of transforming the space from the bright, Japanese style interior into a warm, distinctly British feeling dining room with bare bricks, dark wood and dried floral statement pieces. The decor matches the feel of the menu perfectly - upscale traditional fare that celebrates great produce and seasonality.
Naturally we started with cocktails (although there were quite a few bottles on the wine list that grabbed my attention) and I was excited to see a New York Sour on the menu. It's a drink that you don't see that often and I'm not sure why, but to me it lives and dies on the choice of red wine used for the float - thankfully their choice had been a good one. P originally wanted the negroni variant with coconut oil, but unfortunately we were told it was a traditional this evening as the fat washed spirit was all gone, so he went for the tequila old fashioned instead. No worries, it just means we'll have to try it next time eh? The old fashioned was sweeter than expected but very delicious - rich and brown sugary.
I already knew that the devilled eggs would be one of our choices as I'm a bit of a devilled egg slut to be honest, then when I saw they had Hendersons Relish in I was even more sold. They came out plump and squidgy but I can'y say I expected anything less, this was hardly an establishment where I'd expect to be served the dreaded solid egg white with powdery yolk filling. Said filling was rich and glossy with that femented spice tang of Hendos and the anchovy atop turned them into a near perfect bite. The cress was a nice little fresh addition and the only thing that would have tipped them over the edge for me was black pepper - but that might just be from my lifelong habit of liberal amounts of freshly cracked pep on any egg dish!
My husband was very keen on ordering the sourdough with marmite butter when he saw it was from our favourite bakery Tough Mary's and it was just as delightful as expected - warmed and with salt flake sprinkled butter that had been whipped with the perfect amount of marmite. A spectacular example of umami richness - I only wish I could have eaten more of it myself but that's the price you pay for weight loss surgery, a few bites of bread and you are done and gone.
The next dish to appear was the cauliflower rarebit with mushroom ketchup and it was, I must say, a perfect plate. The cauli was cooked to the ideal level of tender and seared to exquisite smokiness, topped with the rarebit style sauce and a shower of those cheffy chopped chives that I love so much. On the side was the mushroom ketchup (a little of which goes a long way btw) which brought with it a delightful sharp funky edge. This was definitely one of my favourites of the night.
Next up was the potato cake. I'm annoyed at myself as I can't remember exactly what was in the sauce but it was a creamy, cheesey and a little sour so worked wonders with the vinegary red onions to balance our the rich starchiness of the layered and fried? roasted? potato. Obviously I went for the upgrade and added the caviar as I am nothing if not predictably boujee. I'm sure it's also lovely without the fish eggs, but to me their saltiness was an impeccable addition.
Next out was a plate that it was going to be impossible for me not to love - thinly sliced rare beef with gherkin and 'fries'. The fries were intensely crisp little potato sticks and the gherkin came in puree form, sprinkled with dill fronds. This was one of what I call a 'choose your own adventure' dish as you can make each bite a little different - lots of gherkin puree with this one so its nice and tart, just beef and potato in this one to let the meat sing, a nice big dill sprig in this one for a fennelly hit. As you can see from the photo the beef was perfectly cooked and I'd say if you're going this one has to be on your must try list.
There were two pork dishes on the menu and after some deliberation we chose the special of a pork croquette with parsnip puree and gherkins. Bring used to a croquette having a filling usually consisting of a potatoe-y mix we were pleasantly surprised to find that on this occasion it was actually a supremely tender piece of pork, belly I think, breaded and fried to perfection. The crispness of the breadcrumbs with the soft meat, silky puree and little pops of sweet and sour gherkin pieces was a textural treat and if I hadn't stopped him I think P would have eaten the whole thing to himself. Thankfully I can be quick with a fork.
After feeling much regret at not also ordering the carrots and hake, it actually turned out to be the perfect amount of food for us as we could then try both of the desserts on the menu. The first was the parsnip cake with butterscotch sauce and cinnamon ice cream. This. Was. Fabulous. I honestly wasn't expecting to be wowed here but it was a true delight - sweet and buttery and not holding back on the spicey cinnamon kick.
The one that had sung out to me was the chocolate ganache with sesame ice cream and oh boy, that ice cream was good! There was also something crunchy in there that I couldn't put my finger on - ground cocoa nibs perhaps? - and a drizzle of oil that added earthiness against the rich chocolate. Not an overly sweet dessert which is often a good thing in my opinion.
I have to say, Piccalilli is a lovely addition to the Nottingham restaurant roster, bringing something different to a city that already has lots of small plate options - my favourite way of dining. We're lucky to have some excellent British food on our doorsteps already at the fine dining end as well as some decent lower end options, but this fills that gap of something inventive yet accessible that feels special without damaging your bank balance too much.
I can't wait to see how frequently the menu changes with their seasonal focus and that wine list is definitely calling out to be explored further. This size space would be perfect for special events like tastings too. Lots of promise and a vision executed very very well - I really can't wait to see what else comes from Dan and the talented Piccalilli team.
Piccalilli is located at 1a Cannon Court, Long Row, Nottingham, NG1 6JE
Sunday - Closed
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - 5–9 pm
Wednesday - 12–2:30 pm & 5–9 pm
Thursday - 12–2:30 pm & 5–9 pm
Friday - 12–2:30 pm & 5–9 pm
Saturday - 12–2:30 pm & 5–9 pm
www.piccalillinottingham.co.uk
x