Last week’s heatwave brought out the designer sunglasses in West Bridgford. Countless ladies of NG2 paraded them while lunching on the pavement tables of Central Avenue.
Having left the Panama in the car, I needed the shade, however. I found it in the welcoming Zinc Bar and Grill.
I probably would not have entered had I first seen the website comment referring to its “hip atmosphere”. I don’t do hip, unless it’s the NHS replacement that is probably coming my way soon.
The name of the place puts you in mind of the zinc bar tops of France, against which you lean while downing a pre-prandial pastis.
If there is an influence on Zinc’s food, however, it is perhaps more Spanish than French – for the house specialism, in keeping with the current trend towards small-plates dining, is tapas.
Having taken my place on a tan leather bench I considered the offer and simplified things by perming three dishes for a fixed-price tapas board.
Only it wasn’t a board, but a three-deck stack of cazuelas. Imagine a three-deck cake plate in ye olde tea shoppe, packed not with scones and petits fours but with exotic savouries.
Like my halloumi and sweetcorn fritters. They were slightly rubbery, as you would expect with the cheese content, but packed with sweetcorn flavour.
And they came with a dip inspired by one of the planet’s great taste experiences – chipotle. The smoked chilli, processed into a sweet jam, was the perfect accompaniment.
My second dish? Calamari, given the tempura, salt and pepper treatment favoured in oriental restaurants This was tasty, digestible squid, not to be confused with the chewy offerings inspired by the thick elastic bands with which the postman litters your neighbourhood.
My favourite of the three was the goat cheese served with spinach. The round of cheese was rich and satisfying, not identifiably goaty, and the green leaves, added to the sweetcorn, covered 1.5 of my five a day.
The garnish of chilli seeds may not have been absolutely necessary – personally, I blame Brexit - but the heat was countered by a swig of my chosen drink. It was a so-called mocktail, described as Scottish Lemonade.
Scottish lemonade? I imagined a pint of Heavy with a splash of Irn-Bru, garnished with a wedge of Clootie dumpling and a token slice of lemon. It turned out to be a pleasing and refreshing combination of lemonade and ginger with lots of fruit.
Perhaps not the sort of drink a chap wants his mates to see him with, but it was a welcome cooler in unusual meteorological circumstances.
Zinc has the feel of a family-run indie with a core of faithful regulars. I doubt if I contributed much to the “hip atmosphere”, but I enjoyed the experience.
The essentials:
Zinc, 33 Central Avenue, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5GQ. facebook.com/ZincWestBridgford/
I had … tapas board, £12.50; Scottish Lemonade mocktail, £4. Total £16.50
Star rating (out of 10): 7
Plate rating (out of 10): 10. Suitable plates and dishes – nothing daft like slates, baskets, planks, etc.
The Food Sleuth dines unannounced and pays his own bills
