The Junkyard seems to be the kind of place you stumble upon by accident.
Tucked away down a little alley between Fletcher Gate and Bridlesmith Gate, the former Walk Café has been fully refurbished into a 149 capacity venue. Brother of Boiler Maker, the café bar boasts fifteen taps dispensing the very best American, British and European craft keg brews as well as some junk food.
When we say junk food, we definitely don’t mean in the traditional sense. This isn’t another burger and fries joint, rather the menu has a selection of freshly prepared grazing plates, sharing dishes, deli classics, bar snacks and puds.
We were tempted by the grilled Haloumi, Roasted Palermo Pepper, Hummous, Spinach and Olive Tapenade on Focaccia (£8.00) the dish is packed full of flavour with the salty Haloumi contrasting beautifully with some of the best fresh hummous we’ve tasted.
We were really looking forward to trying the Chocolate Brownie for dessert but clearly everyone else had the same idea as they’d completely sold out, so instead we opted for the Rocky Road which was good but a little stodgy and dry.
This laid back pub is open from 10am until midnight all year round. We have been several times now and the clientele seems very mixed, with some popping in for a quick drink, others stopping for hours to chat over a craft beer or one of the vast selection from bottles and cans which you can always take home if you prefer to enjoy your beer at home. Enthusiasts can join the ‘Nottingham Growlers Club’ which even allows you to take home a 64oz flagon. Beer not your thing? Fear not, there’s also a carefully selected wine list plus cocktails, homemade sodas and teas.
Caffeine junkies or those that might have overdone it on the ale can casually sip on locally roasted coffees in the stylish contemporary setting, which also recently featured in the Guardians round up of the top 10 budget restaurants and cafes in Nottingham. Leather sofas and curved backed chairs await the diner in this hip retreat, as well as the hidden backyard oasis.
We’ll definitely be returning to sample more of the menu, and of course a beer or two.
Junkyard were not aware we were reviewing and we paid for our meal and drinks in full. All views are our own.
For more information visit: www.junkbars.com
By Tanya Raybould
