Another foodie post to throw into the mix this week. Eating out is one of my favourite things to do and I wanted to share three of my go-to places in Nottingham for small plates and tapas style dishes. These are all three different cuisines – we have Indian, Spanish and Italian here and they’re all incredible.
1. Mowgli Street Food
Mowgli isn’t a chain but it isn’t an independent either, there’s a couple across the UK and we recently got our own in Nottingham in a cute little corner pink building! It’s fresh Indian home cooking, super cute swing seats and amazing cocktails.
All the dishes are served small enough to have on your own but also are amazing to share. There are some great starter style dishes and then your classic curries and rice that are more ‘main’ style but everything comes out at once and you can try it all together. Two of my favourite dishes are from the starter style section of the menu, the Angry Bird dish is boneless chicken thighs marinated & roasted in tandoor spices, yoghurt, ginger & garlic, served with popped mustard Mowgli Slaw and it is incredible! Really delicious, not too spicy but full of flavour and an amazing dish to kick off with. I have this every time I go to Mowgli, it’s my number one dish.
I like to try a different curry or Dahl every time I go so I don’t have a favourite of these but I haven’t had one I’ve not liked yet. I also love the Bhel Puri which is like Bombay mix but a thousand times better. On the menu, they describe it as ‘Bombay’s best loved street food. Puff rice with crisp gram threads, peanuts & tantalising spiced sweet & sour dressing’.
Cocktails are what I drink at Mowgli as they don’t have a draught beer which is a bit annoying and the beers are quite pricey. But, the cocktails are fab. Two of my favourites are the Rose & Raspberry Gin & Tonic and the Sweet Delhi Diazepam – ‘gin, raspberries, green chartreuse, fresh ginger, lemon, passion fruit & apple juice’ – so nice!
2. Bar Iberico
This is an old favourite. If you like Spanish food, tapas and that authentic Barcelona vibe this is perfect. We love to sit at the bar and eat as it reminds us of our trip to Barca. We love the Menu Rapido which is £11.95 (I remember when this was £9.95, those were the days) and is two tapas dishes and breads and is before 6pm I think! We always add on a Jamon Croqueta (ham and cheese croquette) each and you have to order the spicy Crispy Chicken. If you know, you know. They also do the Crispy Chicken sauce over cauliflower and it’s so good too if you’re a vegetarian or trying to eat less meat.
They have a barbecue Josper grill section and loads of amazing flatbreads too which are a great add on to a meal if you’re really hungry as they’re so filling. White wine or Estrella is my drink of choice here – tapas style perfection.
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3. Botti Di Mamma
Finally, an Italian version for you all. Tapas style pasta, Italian meats, cheese like Camembert, broccoli and pine nuts, whole baked seabass and half roasted chicken are some of the amazing things that have been on the menu when I’ve visited Botti Di Mama.
The owner has a few restaurants in Hockley with Sexy Mamma Loves Spaghetti and Chichetti on their books too, if you’re in need of some pasta and red wine – these are the places to go. When I’ve eaten here, with drinks my share has always been around £20-25 and you’re always super full when you’re done so I think that’s really good value. There’s garlic bread, padron peppers and really tasty patatas bravas too (little bit of Spanish chucked in there!).
Really home cooked Italian food, you actually feel like you’re in Italy, with an amazing atmosphere and lovely staff.
