The Alchemist is known for theatrical food and drink, making dining and drinking an exciting and magical experience. With thirteen restaurants and bars all around the country to enjoy. This weekend we visited our nearest one in Nottingham city centre Alchemist, on King Street. I actually worked on King Street many years ago, and the area, including Queen Street is a great one to head to if you are looking for somewhere to eat in Nottingham as there are lots of really varied places to dine. Today though, I’m going to review The Alchemist as a destination for food as a family.
The Alchemist – King Street Nottingham
My youngest was very excited when she saw the symbol as we got to The Alchemist as she thinks the symbol is very Potter-esk, and I suppose there is a link with the potions and magic that The Alchemist is known for.
It’s a beautiful listed building, and one I know well from the outside, the inside decor though was really beautiful, weird and wonderful. The more time we spent there the more details were revealed. Even a trip to the loo was a cool one to do. Its been open for the last 6 months, and when we visited at 1.30pm it was actually fairly quiet, but by the time we left around 4 it had begun to get much busier.
The copper bar, where some of the alchemy happens, as well as at your table.
The bar staff were very knowledgable, helping us with our choices of pre lunch drinks. Cocktails, both virgin and alcoholic choices as well the difference between lager and ale.
A Butter Beer – which really did taste buttery! Sailor Jerry, Licor 43, salted vanilla
syrup. Gold beer soda.
The cocktail menu was set up like a periodic table, as it’s all about the moleculor mixology. There’s SO much choice, it took us all a good 10 minutes to decide what to go for. There is of course wine and beers/lagers to enjoy too. We each opted for a cocktail in the end, both girls a mocktail of which there was a good varied selction of 7, all priced at £4.50. When we go for a meal, my daughters seem to enjoy ordering mocktails, I think because they want to try something a bit unusual, and these were different to your usual shirley temples. Lots of creamy and refreshing examples.
BANANA MAÑANA – YUM apparently!
{Bm} Creamy malt, banana, white chocolate,
apple. Tomorrow, banana!
The server was on hand to help you make your choices, so if you are looking for more of an explosive cocktail then they can point out which to go for. I think the Bubblebath sounded like a good one, with fairy liquid (ahem the non washing up kind) as one of the ingredients, I must try that next time.
It was then time to order the food. We were all really hungry so opted for a starter to share before our main meal.
Social 2 (vegetarian) Nachos, edamame, california rolls, padron peppers, mac ‘n’ cheese bites & vegetable gyozas
I would without doubt order this again, it was so tasty. I particularly loved the veggie california rolls, vegetable gyozas both of which I’ve tried before, but these were a lot nicer than any I’d eaten previously. Even the nachos, which you could consider a very normal starter, OMG they were to die for! With a fresh salsa, corriander and gaucamole, the next time I’m in town I may just order that with a beer.
We all really loved the chilled atmosphere, we didn’t feel rushed at all, so there was plenty of time for gossip and giggles with Nia and Miss A.
If you had any hesitation to come as a family, you really shouldn’t, children are very much welcome to enjoy a meal at lunchtime, and they even have a dedicated menu, though you may need to ask for it, as we did.
So what did we all go for as a main meal?
There are two styles of kids meal you can go for, a wrap or a bento box, you can see that one above. The presentation was brilliant, what kid doesn’t love small bites of lots of things? Whether you go for a wrap or bento box, each had different choices to go for, but both included crudete and nachos. I was really impressed, as was my 9-year-old, who ate every last bite! Sometimes kids meals are really boring, but this one was perfect, with some healthy elements to keep me happy! Oh and by the way for a main and dessert the cost of a kid’s meal is £6 which for the quality of the food I think it’s excellent.
I’m veggie, and there were about 8 different options I could have gone for. After much debate, as I fancied about half of them, I went for a Shawarma cauliflower steak, with a mixed grain salad & harissa yogurt.
It was so tasty, quite spicy but also fresh and light, perfect for summer. Lots of different textures and flavours and I loved the inclusion of pomegranate seeds with sweet bursts in my mouth every now and then. It was a good size portion too.
Look at the presentation of the chicken in a basket that Nia went for! 
My husband (AKA The Tall Fella) went for Katsu curry with krisp kale which is his favourite and declared if definitely disappoint. Well seasoned, just the right level of spice and perfect crunch in the kale.
We did have a side of salt and pepper fries to share, which was the only thing I wouldn’t recommend, as I felt they were quite powdery inside for some reason, and soft because of the sauce that was added over the top. I think we’d expected then to be dry and well seasoned but not wet?
Dessert time
As it was The Tall Fella’s birthday we decided to go for one dessert and share it. We were going to have birthday cake once we got home anyway. We went for baked Alaska wrapped in cotton candy, which they flamed at the table with Grand Marnier.
COTTON CANDY BAKED ALASKA 6.50
Waffle, gelato & meringue
Before I visited The Alchemist, I did wonder if it was style over substance, and judging by our experience this is definitely not true. We were impressed with the service, food and drinks. We can’t wait to visit again!
Disclaimer : We reviewed this family meal, but all opinions are my own and I wasn’t paid a fee.
Hi Amanda,
I think my husband would love the Butter Beer 🙂
This is a great review!
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Cheers,
Jessica