Tap And Yumbler

Tap and Tumbler, a rock pub located on Wollaton Street near Theatre Royal, has recently started offering a selection of pub food, but was It worth introducing in the first place? Tap isn’t fancy and that’s the point to an extent so would the food match the dive bar atmosphere?

We decided to eat here on a Saturday evening as we wanted something cheap and easy before a night out. As mentioned, Tap is not the most glamorous establishment: Rock memorabilia adorning the walls, a jukebox again playing rock tracks from the most well-known to more obscure cuts, a pool table and furniture that is a little worn but despite this, it is full of friendly staff members and customers young and old enjoying a beer, of which they have a good selection of rock related ales as well as the standard lagers.

On reading the menu, all the food was rock related – you sense a pattern? Even items such as ‘Pantera Nachos’, which I still cannot fathom why they chose this band to describe nachos. Maybe they thought they had to call them something just because the rest of the menu is in the same vain.

We actually opted for a plate of Dimebag Darrell’s apparently famous nachos in the end as well as cheese and bacon burgers, only E5, which you could add a lager to as part of a deal for only an extra £1. We paid at the bar and around 15 minutes later our food was brought out.

The food itself was relatively standard in its appearance, nothing over the top or extraordinary about the burger although the plate of nachos was fairly large considering it was only around £3.50. The burger wasn’t terrible, in fact relatively good, but not great. The meat was well cooked, not dry or tasteless, the bacon crispy and the cheese of a decent quality. tThe chips mildly seasoned and the onion rings weren’t  soggy with grease, although it wasn’t the largest plate of food ever served to me. The nachos however were lashed with more than ample helpings of sour cream and guacamole with fresh jalapenos thrown on for good measure.

The best thing about this meal however, was the price. £6 for a burger and pint! That is cheaper than a Wetherspoons for food of equal and in some areas better quality, and the Tap isn’t completely devoid of atmosphere, although on a Friday and Saturday I will admit that Wetherspoons does have an atmosphere, but it is usually made up of packs of dickhead lads shouting ‘Wuhaay!’ or gaggles of women screeching, both of which aren’t plus points. Tap and Tumbler is niche in that if you don’t like rock music then you probably won’t enjoy your dining experience however if you do like music played with real instruments, like a friendly atmosphere when dining and enjoy food that is incredibly good value for money, then I would recommend Tap and Tumbler over any of your usual haunts.

JaMustGo

Jalisco, located halfway up the hill on Mansfield road, is the best Mexican restaurant you are ever going to find in Nottingham. Forget Chiquito’s and Las Iguanas or the Subway stylings of Barburitto, this is Mexican cuisine at its finest, and to top that off, if you are a student, they offer a whacking 25% off your bill!

Dining on a Thursday night we walked into an eerily empty restaurant. We waited at the door around a minute before a waiter offered us any seat in the restaurant, how nice considering WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE! Sarcasm aside, we took our seats at the window and the waiter took our drinks order: a Carona and a Blue Lagoon cocktail both around £5 and £4 respectively which is fairly standard for a Mexican restaurant.

He returned shortly with our drinks and took our order: garlic bread and fried calamari to start and 2 lots of steak fajitas for mains. The starters arrived around 10 minutes later and were delicious. Crispy batter and tender pieces of squid met with a garlic dipping sauce for a truly excellent starter. The garlic bread too was decently buttered and rich in garlic with a crunchy crust and a softer middle, definitely not the worst way to begin a meal.

The plates were cleared shortly after and our mains brought out almost instantly on sizzling skillets accompanied with sour cream, salsa and guacamole in small porcelain pots and a basket of wraps between us. The fajita filling was immense. Huge chunks of steak and chicken with hunks of red and green pepper and onion all supremely cooked to perfection. The meat was succulent and tender and the peppers fresher than a 90’s rapper. The dips too were freshly made with the guacamole being a particularly limey highlight. The wraps were soft yet strong enough that they didn’t tear when loaded (and often overloaded)with filling completing an altogether sublime meal.

It isn’t just the food that’s great however; the restaurant too is quaint and tastefully decorated with clean pristine well laid tables and soft comfy seats. The décor and Mexican music playing over the speaker really give this place a flavour that the aforementioned chain restaurants are horribly devoid of.  It is also accommodating of large groups but has small candlelit tables which give a more intimate feel if you wish to go with a partner, even if Mexican isn’t the sexiest of foods out there.

The staff here are very accommodating, some more than others, but all will do their best to make you feel welcome and the service is fast and efficient. Starters clock in between £3-4 and mains range from around £10-20 depending on whether you order something such as fajitas, or steak at the other end of the price scale.

Overall Jalisco is peerless. Truly the best Mexican restaurant in Nottingham, and despite it being empty when we first walked in on this particular occasion, there usually is at least a small selection of diners already present and whether they are there or not, it never lacks atmosphere. This isn’t just a great Mexican restaurant, it’s a great restaurant full stop and one which I personally back and would love to see even more successful that it is. For this reason alone, if not for the multitude of others listed above, I implore you to go.