Cleaver & Wake is nurturing new talent and working with seasonal flavours
Executive chef Lewis Thornhill talks bringing in young chefs and the importance of fresh and exciting food
One of the most chic restaurants in Nottingham, Cleaver & Wake offers elegant lunches, dinners, and Sunday roasts in a sophisticated setting.
It has recently had a shake-up with new up-and-coming talent and big seasonal flavours at the forefront of its menu planning. I caught up with executive chef Lewis Thornhill about the changes and why seasonal, fresh ingredients and accessibility are important to the restaurant.
For those searching for restaurants to visit in Nottingham, Cleaver & Wake is a refined yet relaxed choice. For more features and guides around Nottingham, subscribe to The Notts Edit to receive our articles in your inbox for free.
“I don't think you need to overcomplicate food — sometimes when you do that you hide from basic cooking”: Cleaver & Wake’s Lewis Thornhill on new chefs and seasonal flavours
By Eve Smallman
Photos by Marcus Holdsworth
If you have ever travelled to or from Nottingham train station, you probably will have seen the large, contemporary building watching over the canal. This houses the restaurants Cleaver & Wake and Binks Yard.
Before this interview, I had been to Binks Yard several times, as I love its outdoor seating area with the big screen. However, walking up the steps to Cleaver & Wake always felt a little intimidating, so I had never been. It’s known for its modern dining experience, making it the sort of place you might only save for a one-off special occasion. I also didn’t think you could pop in for a quick drink.
Walking inside, I was actually pleasantly surprised. Before the restaurant, there’s an elegant bar area with comfortable seats, which is perfect for sitting down for an aperitif before dinner or even just a lovely glass of something delicious at the end of the day. The cocktails are quirky and creative, while the wine and spirits menus are extensive.
It’s in this location that I interviewed Lewis Thornhill. After stints in places like Chatsworth, Hart’s Hotel & Kitchen, and Bentley’s, he is now the executive chef at Cleaver & Wake and Binks Yard. After joining as head chef at Binks Yard in 2023, he is now executive chef for both Binks Yard and Cleaver & Wake — based within The Island Quarter. Here he is responsible for overseeing the food offerings at the restaurants, where the innovation and development is led by the wider chef team.
Lewis is keen to help nurture the restaurant’s new wave of local, talented chefs, giving them both the inspiration and the freedom they need to get creative. “They are young, they are really hungry, and they really want it — so I’m excited to see what we can achieve with them.” The team includes senior sous chef Cameron Spollin and Michelin-trained sous chef Lewis Dobson, who previously worked at Sat Bains.
“One of the biggest highlights for me has been teaching my ethos into the cooking, which is simple flavours, but delivered really well. I don't think you need to overcomplicate food — sometimes when you do that you hide from just basic cooking,” Lewis says. For example, Cleaver & Wake has served previously a lemon tart with Italian meringue. “The technique required to make a really good lemon meringue tart is actually hard to do. When you put something so simplistic on a plate, it has to hit the mark.”
He adds that overcomplicating is something younger chefs often do. “I think I did when I was younger — you try harder because you want to show off what you can do. But then sometimes you just need to take a step back and show that you can do something really simple that will be amazing to eat.” When I visit, I try a morel and chanterelle tart that exquisitely showed this off — it simply let the mushrooms shine and had the ingredients to do so in the best way possible.
“I challenge the guys — for example, I give them a list of 50 ingredients with fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, and nuts, and I say to have a look and think about how they want to bring it all together. They then get creative with the flavours,” Lewis explains.
As well as this, Lewis has helped the restaurant focus on big seasonal changes rather than smaller ones. Lewis tells me: “Any chef who's worth their salt will be using the seasons — not just because it's when the food is best or when it’s the cheapest, but it’s because it keeps you fresh. You’re not churning the same dish out for 12 months.”
He continues, “We work really closely with fish markets and our meat supplier, and I work incredibly closely with our veg supplier. This means that we’re ahead of the curve in menu planning, as he talks to me about what’s coming in and what he’s seeing.” Getting all this information in advance allows them to write menus that are as fresh as their produce.
I also loved seeing the fresh fish counter that’s just off the corner of the open pass, which Lewis is very proud of. “We get our day boat fish overnight couriered from Cornwall by a company called Flying Fish, which means the fish that is on the display is what was on the markets in Cornwall,” Lewis tells me “We display it whole because if you look at the eyes and the gills, you can see how fresh it is.” Guests can simply choose these and then have them grilled or pan-fried, then served with new potatoes, samphire and tartare sauce.
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This attention to detail from the start of the process of menu planning, to cooking, to plating, is very meticulous. The same goes for the service, which is friendly and attentive. We do have a lot of wonderful restaurants in Nottingham — but there really aren’t many that offer an elevated experience quite like Cleaver & Wake’s.
Lewis agrees, saying, “There's not that much in the way of comparison to Cleaver anymore — you had World Service and Hart’s which aren’t really there anymore. Then you have Sat Bains and Alchemilla which are a different level, and then you have us. After that, you have some good restaurants in the city, but it’s a lot of small plates and restaurants focusing on their specialisms.”
While I do love a small plate, I have to agree with Lewis that we have an abundance of restaurants serving them at the moment. Sometimes you just want to go out for a sit-down meal and be made to feel really special. “It is a challenge every now and then, because I wonder why we’re the only ones doing it and if it’s old hat — but I think there will always be a demand for a restaurant for occasions. Despite this, we want to be attainable to most people and we don't want to be an exclusive restaurant,” he explains.
Lewis points out that you could expect to pay £20 for a main course and £7 for a starter and dessert each in a lot of pubs. In a lot of small plate restaurants, you can also expect to pay over £10 for a dish, and you might order five plates for the table, along with drinks and desserts.
In comparison, Cleaver & Wake’s dinner menu is £45 for two courses and £53 courses for three courses — and it’s very high-quality. “The biggest challenge we have is keeping the price point, but also using the best ingredients,” Lewis says. The lunch menu is £39.50 for two courses and £46.50 for three courses, while the decadent Sunday roasts are £42 for two courses and £50 for three courses.
If you’ve ever felt nervous about stepping in like I did previously, I highly recommend popping in for a drink or even a little bit of lunch, to get a sense of just how relaxed and lovely it really is in there. It offers a chic interior, a thoughtful menu, and stunning canalside views. “We're now hitting the right points and everyone knows what we are — so now we’re really going to perform,” Lewis finishes by saying.
With its new direction, with bigger seasonal changes and talented young chefs designing and cooking thoughtfully, it’s well worth making the stop — whether you’re heading on or off a train, after a luxe drink, or simply wish to dine out in style.
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