Situated on Wilford Lane, the Tailors Arms has been open since May of last year. British classic dishes are the order of the day, and I went down to experience this gastro pub for myself a couple of days ago.

First Impressions

The building is huge! From the outside it is a strange shape with a selection of both glass and brick. Inside the former premises of the Wilford Green, it is a beautiful setting for a meal or a drink at the large, bright bar. The restaurant seats around 80 diners, and there is also a beautiful private dining area that seats 8, with gorgeous flamingo wall paper and . Perfect for a baby shower, hen do, family gathering etc. There are also booths in little alcoves for cosy, quiet nights. There is also a really lovely focal wall made from chopped wood which I really liked.

Drinks

I went for the Redsmith dry apple cocktail, with local gin made in Nottingham’s creative quarter, with apple, cinnamon and tonic. It was actually served to me with ginger ale instead of tonic but it was delicious! Eleanor had the club tropicana mocktail; orange, pineapple, mango lime and grenadine and looked lovely!

Starters

The starter selection was difficult… there were way too many things that both of us wanted. From the chicken caesar salad, to the Tailors fishcakes, to the crayfish bisque, everything sounded amazing.

I opted for the Shropshire pork belly with spicy butternut squash and apple sauce. The pork belly was beautiful, the meat pulled apart easily, the fat was deliciously melty and the crackling was so hard I could have broken a tooth. Exactly how I love it. The portion was huge, with three big chunks of pork. I didn’t notice any spice in the butternut squash puree but it was lovely.
Eleanor went for the Halloumi with white & black sesame seeds, rocket & pomegranate salad and an orange honey drizzle. It looked spectacular when it arrived. Eleanor said that the orange dressing was delicious but she wished for a little more salad (Eleanor eats salad like I eat chocolate!).

Mains

Again there is so much choice on this menu, from signature burgers to a wild mushroom risotto that it was hard to choose. However I absolutely adore steak and seeing the 8oz fillet from Tuxfords Farm on the menu I knew that was going to be my choice. I ordered medium rare (a little more rare than medium was my description) and my gosh they delivered a beauty. At about 2.5″ thick and the size of my palm, it was cooked fantastically. Look at the colour on the picture, isn’t it a dream! I cut through it easily and didn’t need the steak knife. It was superbly seasoned with a little Maldon sea salt. I paired it with a peppercorn sauce that was a little less flavourful and a little runnier than I would have liked, but that is just my personal taste. However it made me really taste the steak and for that I am so grateful. No sauce is needed with this, go naked. I also had skin on fries and the largest onion rings I have ever seen. Honestly I have no idea where they got onions of that size from. They are homemade and a real treat. There are a lot of them though so you have been warned. Portions come BIG at Tailors Arms.
Eleanor went for the Tailors twin lamb; grilled lamb cutlets, herb crusted lamb rump, creamy mashed and stacked potatoes, sauteed veg and gravy. The lamb was a little more cooked than she would have liked, but she said it was delicious and loved the herby crust. The gravy was a little on the sparse side though and could have done with more. The plate was certainly clean at the end of the meal and I did witness her nibbling the last of the meat off the bone!

Dessert

We were both so full after the meal that neither of us could face a third course. However there is a good choice of sweet treats, and we decided that next time we eat here I will have the double chocolate brownie and Eleanor will have the passion fruit creme brulee.

Overall

The food was fantastic. That steak is the single best steak I have ever eaten! The juiciness, thickness and the fact that it was perfectly cooked shows that the chef knows what he is doing. The front of house team were lovely and special shout out to Josh & Molly for looking after us so well. The atmosphere was lovely and relaxed and I liked the fact that there were families with small kids dining alongside couples and groups of friends. It really is a family friendly place. I will definitely be back for dinner again soon, there were too many options I wanted to only go once!

*I was invited to dine at Tailors Arms in exchange for my feedback. This has in no way influenced my review, and I will be back to try every one of those starters at some point!