Raymond's Marcus Lewsley on changing and championing Nottingham’s food scene
Raymond's Marcus Lewsley on changing and championing Nottingham’s food scene
We speak to one of Nottingham's most iconic chefs about his new wine and small plates restaurant...
It’s an exciting time to be living in Nottingham if you’re a foodie. So many new places have opened recently, with one of them being Raymond’s in Hockley.
I’ve spoken with the founder and local chef Marcus Lewsley about opening up a place of his own, why Nottingham’s independent scene shines like no other, and why you just can’t go wrong with a good glass of wine and delicious small plates of food.
For those looking for the best places in Nottingham to go for food and wanting something, chic, casual, and chilled-out, Raymond’s is worth giving a try. And, if you don’t believe me now, you’re going to believe me after reading everything Marcus had to say.
“Hospitality is just like theatre to me” — Raymond's Marcus Lewsley is creating magic in Nottingham
By Eve Smallman
Photos by James Phipps / @tolerablejames
Let’s face it — Nottingham has a lot of restaurants. It’s brilliant that you can walk down the streets of town, Hockley, and the Lace Market, and discover something delicious. Whether you’re craving a slice of pizza or a steaming bowl of ramen, there’s more than one place that will cover you.
Sometimes though, you don’t want to go out for a big meal. You want a little piece of comfort. A good glass of wine, just a couple of small plates, and somewhere you can relax and have a casual conversation. That’s what Raymond’s is all about.
At the moment it feels like a new restaurant or cafe is opening every week in Nottingham — but this offering is from a true local, which means it’s very much a well-thought-out concept that has the city’s interests at heart. “People can think of wine as quite upmarket, but it doesn't have to be,” says Marcus Lewsley. “I wanted to create somewhere where you can go on your own and not feel uncomfortable sitting.”
Nottingham chef Marcus also co-founded Hockley’s Mesa, where he worked for two years, gaining a taste of the food scene and appetite in Notts. “My favourite places to go are Slice ‘n’ Brew, Everyday People, Wonder Pho, and, of course, Kushi-Ya which is the GOAT of Nottingham.”
He says that the reason that places like these work, as well as Little Brickhouse and Mesa, is because the people who own them are from Nottingham. “We're a city, but we're like a village community, and we all get on and are all friends. We're very big on pushing our own independents and supporting each other,” Marcus says. “We don't see each other as competition — we just see us pushing a better standard of food and a better standard of work in the city.”
Having this knowledge of the area and the kind of vibe that Nottingham loves and wants is how Marcus spotted the gap for a casual wine and small plates restaurant — something we didn’t have before, but now feels right at home. “I named it after my grandad — I always saw his place as that neighbourhood place I wanted to be at. I’d go, have a drink, listen to jazz and swing,” he says. “It was my safe space, in a way and somewhere I knew I could just go there, relax, and know that I’d have a good time.”
Sitting at the window seat on a Wednesday evening, I feel very much at peace. I’m sipping a beautiful glass of organic wine and watching the world go by. Behind me are a few zones where you can grab a seat, depending on your mood or the occasion.
“It has got its own little spaces within one room — you’ve got the little raised bit which feels like a living room, with pictures of my grandad.” From here, you’ve got window seats (“it gets quite moody in there at nighttime”) and then the bar area (“this has a back street cocktail bar sort of vibe”).
I admit to Marcus that while I love a glass of wine, I’ll normally panic-order a Pinot Grigio whenever I’m out at a restaurant — especially when I go somewhere with a long wine list, like Raymond’s. If you’re a little bit like me, you can rest assured that not only is Raymond’s staff very knowledgeable, but they’re also more than happy to help you find your perfect tipple.
“We think the best way is to taste — if you come in and want to try something, you can. You don’t have to buy a glass, carafe, or bottle — you can just see if it’s something you like before purchasing it,” Marcus explains. He also isn’t afraid to switch up the menu to bring in fresh flavours. “There are so many new wines that are coming out — for example, the Tillingham Vintage 23 has just come out, so we’re looking at doing a focus on English wine maybe, and just changing it up as much as possible,” Marcus says.
This is the same approach he’s taking towards the menu. “We've kept it small so we can adapt and have specials and change when we want to, rather than get into a place where we're stuck into it because I think once you get to that point, it's really hard to get out of it,” he tells me. “We want to keep it rotational, as it keeps everyone interested, everyone learning, and it’s great for people to come in every time and have something new to talk about.”
I’m one of those people who usually goes to a small plate place and secretly plans a takeaway afterward to properly fill myself up. I don’t find that at Raymond’s, though. I share a fennel, apple, watercress, honey, and pecorino salad and a courgette flower with ricotta, lemon gremolata, and peas with my partner, along with a few olives, and find myself slowly eating and savouring every last bite. It’s that good. And, with the fact it’s so chilled in there, I don’t feel rushed — so much so that I can’t resist the basque cheesecake, relishing every creamy bite.
“I love it when you can watch someone eat something that you’ve worked on and see how happy they are to eat it. And then, when you go over and talk to them about it… It’s just that fun thing of creating that memory for someone,” Marcus says. “Hospitality is just like theatre to me — you create something, put on a show, see the audience’s reaction, and everyone who works there is part of the cast. It's just really, really nice to create great things that people want to enjoy.”
One of the main things that Marcus wants to achieve with Raymond's is changing the stigma behind working in this industry. “I've met so many people who just say they’re doing this while they’re working in a proper job, and it’s like it can be a proper job,” he explains. “We just need to start investing more into staff, like paying above minimum wage, for training courses, and for staff days out, as investing in the people is the reason that a business does so well.”
When Marcus goes to places, he loves to see the same members of staff working there, because it means that they're being looked after well. “There's nothing better when you go somewhere and you see someone you know, and they remember what you had last time and offer you this and this to try. It feels really nice and it feels personal.”
As well as being a big player in his own hospitality show, Marcus has made sure that he gives local producers the spotlight, too. “At the minute, the price of olive oil is just in hell, basically, so we thought what better time to focus on a place like Borderfields Oil, and using their coldpress rapeseed oil?” The restaurant also uses local suppliers like The Fruit Basket, is looking at using Nottingham honey ‘literally down to certain postcodes on certain things in future’, and even sources vanilla from here. “It's a big thing to me to be able to work with local people as much as possible and champion that produce.”
He’s also looking to incorporate this more into Upstairs at Raymond’s, which will be about cooking with the best produce he can get, all in an intimate setting. “The thing with the greatest produce is that it isn’t available every day of the week — you can get stuff and you might only be able to get a certain amount,” Marcus says. “So we’ll be cooking over fire and just having fun.” This is the most important aspect for him. “I don’t want it to feel like another strain or we have to do this to stay open — I want it to be like we really want to do this.”
If you’re thinking about heading to Raymond’s for a glass of the good stuff or something more, Marcus is ready to welcome you in. “I just want people to come in, enjoy the space, and see the vision,” he says, “It doesn't feel like you're in the middle of the city centre — Carlton Street gets so busy, but it feels like a breath of fresh air away from the hustle and bustle of the city.”
Marcus finishes by saying, “I just don't think there's anything like Raymond's really in Nottingham yet and you have to be in there to experience that.” As I’m looking around the mid-century modern interior, listening to the chilled-out beats, and finishing my glass of wine with a full stomach, I have to agree. I could sit here for hours, any day of the week, and just soak in the good vibes.
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