Càphinique: “Comfort sandwiched together” — food review
We visited during Nottingham Restaurant Week
We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to cafés in Nottingham – but Vietnamese eatery Càphinique on Carrington Street is one not often talked about.
I visited during Nottingham Restaurant Week (itsinottingham.com), which runs from June 1-14 this year, to try its £15 main and a large drink deal. I wasn’t invited – I paid for this myself and visited on a Monday afternoon.
If you’re searching for lunch around Nottingham, this is a really excellent place to try, even beyond the two-week deal event. For more reviews and guides, subscribe to The Notts Edit for free.
“Comfort sandwiched together” — Càphinique food review
Words and photos by Eve Smallman
It’s not very often that I have to pull up Google Maps in Nottingham – I know this city like the back of my hand. I also know the food scene like the back of my hand, having visited most restaurants (what can I say, I take my job seriously). But one place I hadn’t visited before was Càphinique – a Vietnamese café inspired by the streets of Hanoi.
It’s actually hidden in plain sight on Carrington Street, on the run-up to the train station, but I had never really noticed it before. And oh, let me tell you – this has now changed.
On a rainy afternoon, ducking my head from the rain and heading in immediately felt like respite. The interior is bright yet cosy – colourful lights and tables, as well as a window seat for people watching. I was welcomed in instantly and shown the menu.
This is simple but effective, with clear pictures and labels for everything. Drinks-wise, milk teas, fruit teas, and Phin coffees are on offer, while for food it’s pho (fragrant noodle soup), rice bowls (self-explanatory), and banh mi (Vietnamese baguettes).
Everything looked beautiful, but I knew I was craving sinking my teeth into something, so it had to be the banh mi for me. It has a choice of beef (£9.50), chicken (£8.50), pork (£8.70), and plant balls £8.50), but I went for the omelette banh mi (£6.70) as I’m vegetarian.
I was originally going to go for the large egg coffee (£6.20) out of sheer curiosity, but as I visited during Nottingham Restaurant Week – a two week event with deals across city eateries – I was advised to pick something else to get a better offer. I thought this was great, as I think many places would just try to keep costs down.
During this event, Càphinique offers a main and a large drink for £15, which I thought was pretty good for a nice lunch deal in the city. Other places offer lunch deals for £10, but the fact you can get pho here and a real mixture of drinks did make it worth the extra in my opinion. It’s also one of the only places during Restaurant Week that has its offer on all day, every day. So, I opted for banh mi and a large tropical fruit tea (£9.20). I could have definitely got more value out of the deal, but I was happy with my choices.
When it arrived, I was immediately cheered up by the bright plate and playful drink. A lovely spot of colour on a drizzly day. This also arrived with a large bottle of sriracha for drizzling onto the banh mi, which I did with what I thought was a little bit too much gusto. But actually? Upon biting into the baguette, I was greeted with a gorgeous mixture of everything.
Hot and salty omelette, crunchy pickled vegetables, and the sweet and spicy sriracha all worked together perfectly. I did try most of my second half of the baguette without sriracha, which was still lovely, but I found myself reaching for the bottle for a last perfect mouthful.
Taking the sandwich out of the wrapper to douse it in sriracha did mean that it lost a lot of its structure when I was eating it, so I did have to rush up to get extra napkins. But this is part of the experience, I think – unfussy, casual eating that’s all about the flavour of the food.
In terms of my tropical tea, I don’t usually drink bubble or fruit teas out, as I quite like strong tea, and fruity teas are usually overpowered by sugar and syrup. While this did have a distinctive sweetness, I loved that the aromatic tea shone through and was ultimately the winning flavour. The only things that I weren’t big on was the dragonfruit pieces, which served as purple prettiness, but didn’t add to the taste and weren’t easy to suck up with the straw (I did flip the pictured straw and still had trouble).
Overall, I was kicking myself that I hadn’t been before. It’s really easy to stick to old favourites (I usually go for Bombay Deli when I’m peckish down Broad Marsh way), but I was glad that I went and tried something new. It really was comfort sandwiched together, and I know I’m going to be back.
If you’re looking for lunch in Nottingham – particularly near the station – and want a bite to eat beyond a packaged sandwich, I highly recommend Càphinique. Take a seat by the window, dive into a banh mi, and don’t be afraid to get messy – people walking by be damned.
🤳 Keep up with us on socials on Instagram and TikTok
✉️ Send stories such as press releases and feature ideas to editor@thenottsedit.com
💰 Want to feature your business in The Notts Edit? Email Eve Smallman at editor@thenottsedit.com to receive our media pack
☕ Enjoying The Notts Edit? Buy us a coffee on Ko-Fi and help fuel our words