Food Glue

This issue: SUMMER SPOTS

Today we’re embarking on a foodie journey through some of Beeston’s best outdoor eating and drinking spots. Whilst we don’t have the boulevards of Paris and Barcelona, there are some great places where you can enjoy some outside gastronomy and watch the world go by!

Please note that our list isn’t exhaustive and we are only including businesses that we are have visited ourselves and have outside dining.

Breakfast / Hot Drinks

YELLOW WOOD Relatively new to Beeston opening in late 2021 Yellow Wood Café is located at 42 Chilwell Road. It features a modern contemporary interior softened by reclaimed materials and a wonderful mural on one of the walls. Open from 8.30am on weekdays it is popular with parents on the school run and people on the way to work. Yellow Wood is also a community space, hosts workshops, board games evenings and has a regular poetry night. Rooms are available to hire and there is shared workspace on offer too for the digital nomad.

The cafe has a wide range of speciality coffee, teas and hot chocolates (alternative milks are available). To go with your morning drink there are pastries and cakes. The lunch menu is ever changing and features a selection of light bites, vegan pies and sandwiches.

The delightful outside space is to the rear of the property. It has sun sails to protect from the elements whilst remaining airy. An array of plants make it feel far more removed from the hustle and bustle of Chilwell Road than it really is.

If you fancied a more substantial later breakfast then why not take a trip for American style pancakes at The Pudding Pantry (9am, 83 High Road) or for a cooked breakfast at Bistro 66 (9.30am, 66 High Road). Cafe Nero on the High Road also has a garden to the back, that seems to be pretty unknown.

Lunch

CHRISTINE’S DELIGHTS For lunch we move further into the heart of Beeston and take a seat outside Christine’s Delights at 97B High Road. You’ll be assured of a very warm welcome at this popular Greek cafe open 9.30am4.30pm Tuesday to Saturday.

Alongside a range of conventional but very nice sandwiches and panini you can find a large selection of Greek dishes, soups and savoury pastries. To accompany your meal Christine’s has an extensive range of hot and cold drinks including Greek coffee, milkshakes and smoothies. Some of the more popular food options can go fast, so if you want to be sure of a wider selection it might be worth going for a late brunch or early lunch. There are gluten free and vegan options available too.

The outdoor space is at the front entrance of the cafe. It has been divided off from the road to create a more intimate dining experience and there is a sunshade if needed too.

If you are a fan of delicacies such as moussaka, baklava and spanakopita then take a trip to Christine’s Delights.

Nearby options include Essen General Store (83 High Road) for light bites or Bistro 66 (66 High Road) for pizza, pasta and burgers.

Snacks

THE CROWN INN For our mid afternoon snack and a tipple in the sun we head to the well known Crown Inn (12pm, Church Street). The Crown has a large beer garden as well as it’s numerous indoor nooks and snugs. The outdoor seating is a mixture of covered benches underneath its purpose built wooden structure, and other seating if you fancied topping up your suntan. Whilst being best known for its wide range of cask and craft beer the Crown also has bar snacks. Individual pork pies sit alongside larger ones intended for sharing, filled rolls and cheese boards. Later on in the afternoon and evening especially during the summer there is often a pop up food vendor serving in the beer garden. Before making a trip it’s well worth checking their social media to see what’s on.

We’ve also enjoyed the filled filo parcels at nearby Totally Tapped (104 Chilwell High Road) and a quick bite at Sicilian restaurant Compà in the early afternoon (12-3pm, 6-9pm, 31 Wollaton Road)

Dinner

CAFE ROYA To finish off our tour of Beeston we head to Cafe Roya at 130 Wollaton Road, this popular and well rated restaurant has been a success since it opened. We highly recommend that you book well in advance as Roya is normally busy, attesting to its quality.

The restaurant is modern vegetarian/vegan with a strong Persian Mediterranean theme, although dedicated meat eaters won’t find they are missing out with some incredible flavours. Outside dining is on two large benches with stunning inlaid mosaic tops.

The menu is as local as possible and also changes on a monthly basis depending on what ingredients are seasonal, available and tasty. All of the drinks are organic, vegan friendly and the coffee is roasted by local suppliers. There are normally a number of specials on to try as well.

The Star Inn serves outside food (22 Middle St) and we have enjoyed food at the Beeston Social (2 Station Road) though both can get busy in the evening at popular times.

Tom and Stephanie are co-hosts of the Food Glue Podcast. Our focus is on independent local businesses that bring people and places together. Food Glue is available on all podcast players.

Brian Duncan Shaw was a Beestonian who lived an amazing life that involved the trenches of the Somme, a German Prisoner of War camp, exploding pianos and wrangling pistols and rifles on stage. We meet his biographer, Claire Wilkes.