Perkins Restaurant & Bar

An idyllic setting in an old village railway station paired with consistently excellent modern British cooking make this a popular venue for Nottingham locals and beyond. Warm and genuine service keeps a loyal base of customers coming back week after week.

Started in 1982 by Tony and Wendy Perkins the place has prospered, which speaks for itself; over the intervening period, Perkins has gained a reputation for food and service excellence, supported by all the top guides. In fact Perkins has been voted the Midlands restaurant of the year by the readers of the Which? Good Food Guide for 2007 and 2008.

There is a small bar where orders are taken from the blackboard menu which offers a surprisingly sophisticated range. They do a speedy two-course lunch, with two choices per course, shall we say salt beef hash topped with fried egg and capers or fillet of home-smoked salmon with creamed leeks and sauté potatoes? The mid-week fixed-price dinner is well-priced. Perkins now boasts their own smokehouse, dishes from which appear regularly on the menu, and really epitomise what Perkins is about - good, solid local ingredients, well executed.

House wines come in at £13.95 and similarly comfortably-priced wines from a short list are also on offer. Would that the country had more of these simple, unpretentious, but thoroughly good places where ordinary people can eat well and reasonably often.