Sans Patrie, Nottingham: “The plating is exquisite and the flavours are delicious” — restaurant review
Head up to Canning Circus and you'll find the most elegant restaurant...
Searching for somewhere different to try for food in Nottingham? Fine dining restaurant Sans Patrie has an elevated offering.
We tried its six-course taster menu, which rotates seasonally. We were there for around three hours, which gave us plenty of time to try all the dishes, as well as sampling its wine and cocktails.
For those looking for restaurants in Nottingham that are ideal for dates and special occasions, Sans Patrie is a brilliant choice. For more local food features and guides, subscribe to The Notts Edit to receive our articles in your inbox for free.
Sans Patrie in Nottingham serves beautiful, generous plates
By Eve Smallman
Derby Road, Canning Circus, and Alfreton Road have massively upped their game food and drink-wise in the last few years, with places like Little Brickhouse and The Good Fellow George making the trip uphill very much worth it. One of the best restaurants up this way is Sans Patrie, which serves up tasting menus in a cosy yet sophisticated setting.
The £50pp price includes six plates, which include a sorbet palette cleanser right before dessert. The menu rotates seasonally, so what we had likely won’t be what you have — but this should give you a little idea of what to expect in terms of the style of dishes.
I had the vegetarian option, which began with a fresh burrata with pistachio, pesto, and fermented tomatoes. I wasn’t sure if I could handle a whole burrata, but the tomatoes cut through the heaviness of the creamy cheese and pesto. I think that this could have been a light lunch dish by itself, along with some crusty bread and oil.
After this, the cheese continued with the pumpkin and sage tortellini, which was my favourite dish of the whole night. The Derby sage cheese gave a mild earthiness that paired beautifully with the root vegetables — as did the toasted seeds on top that added crunch through the softness.
The sweet potato fondant with parsnip puree and the celeriac with shiitake were both quite heavy dishes, owing to the fact they were very root vegetable-based. I love root veggies and they were deliciously rich and juicy, but I struggled to finish the celeriac as there was so much of it. I would have maybe chosen just one of these hearty root dishes and gone with something lighter before dessert.
Thankfully, the sorbet and the chocolate delice with mango were a refreshing finale. I have never had chocolate and mango together, so I was excited to have this and it did not disappoint. It kind of reminded me of a Jaffa Cake with the sticky, tart sweetness paired up with the bitter dark chocolate.
Drinks wise, Sans Patrie has a wine flight that you can add to your meal for an additional £50pp. However, I simply went for a glass of pinot grigio (sorry, I’m slightly basic!) with the mains and had a pineapple margarita with dessert, which was zingy and fresh — they know how to make a cocktail just as mean as their dishes.
I also want to highlight how wonderfully attentive the service was. Whenever my partner and I would leave the table, we would always return with the seat tucked in and the napkin folded elegantly, which I thought was lovely and thoughtful. I also loved the way the cutlery was laid out in the box — I never know whether to put my fork on the plate during a flight of dishes, and this took this worry out of my hands.
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It’s also very good value for money, at £50pp during the week and £70pp on Saturdays. The portion sizes are also incredibly generous considering this. If anything as mentioned above, these could be slightly smaller — sometimes less is more. That being said, the plating is exquisite and the flavours are delicious.
If you’re looking for a special dining experience in Nottingham that won’t break the bank, Sans Patrie is a brilliant option.
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