Sherwood has countless spots for breakfast or coffee and cake. And if you want to enjoy the sunshine, most have tables outside - as long as you don't mind the hustle and bustle of pedestrians, cars and buses in Mansfield Road.
But there's one cafe, that looks quite standard from the street, which is harbouring a secret.
Step inside, order at the counter and walk through to the back, and there outside is a hidden garden that's a mass of colour.
It's a tiny space but the owners of the Orchid Cafe have maximised every nook and cranny filling them with shrubbery, hanging baskets and pots.
An ideal space to escape the busy A60, the garden is surprisingly peaceful and relaxing.
A calm oasis you could say - with an almond slice and cappuccino. Or for something more substantial customers can tuck into an all-day breakfast and burgers, fish and chips.
Toasties, wraps, baked potatoes, omelettes and cobs - all very reasonably priced (£3.50 for a cheese salad cob) - are also served.
You can keep yourself to yourself but because it's such a compact space it's easy to strike up a conversation with other customers.
And Diana Onions, who was out with her long-haired miniature dachshund Max, was the perfect person to give an insight to some of the garden's wonders.
Having worked for Suttons Seeds she reeled off bamboo, fatsia japonica, New Zealand flax, banana plant and giant-leafed gunnera to a garden novice of a reporter who can just about identify the geraniums and lobelia.
Lilies, pinks, rosemary, strawberries and honeysuckle add not just colour but fragrance.
Diana, who lives in Sherwood, said: "I never came into the cafe before. You would never believe that so many plants could have grown so lush in such a small place - and the cake is really nice."
Avril Molde, of Arnold, described the garden as a "treasure." She said: "It's a little oasis. It's just beautiful."
She was enjoying a cuppa under the shade of a parasol with her friend Denise Chesters, of Sherwood, who added: "I'm very impressed. I love it because it's nice and quiet. It's like a little secret garden that makes you feel you're out somewhere special but you're still local."
Gary Keen and his business partner Joanne Yeung took over the property, which used to be Brownies Cafe, just before the first lockdown of the pandemic in March 2020.
It took them a good eight months to revamp the building ready to open last October and they managed to trade for just four days before the next lockdown descended.
"We opened for takeaway in December and then in April 2021 [when hospitality was allowed to reopen outdoors] we could use the garden which became a real asset," said Gary.
"It was never like this before - they didn't use the garden. Where the door is now it was just a window.
"The garden has been a lifesaver - we'd have been in trouble otherwise. It happened by accident really because of lockdown, rather than planning."
Green-fingered Gary, who used to run a fish and chip shop in Ilkeston, has a diploma in horticulture from Brackenhurst College near Southwell and previously worked in garden maintenance.
He possessed just the skills to fix the rundown neglected space, with a fallen down fence, and transform it into a picturesque setting with the help of Joanne.
Joanne, who used to run a Chinese takeaway in Mansfield, said: "The garden was very different in the beginning. We decided to make it nice with tables and flowers. Now everyone likes it."
Joanne's daughter Jess, a university graduate, is helping. Thanks to 200 Degrees she's a trained barista and also helps her mother to bake cakes for the cafe, which is open every day except Tuesdays.
She said: "When we first opened no one knew who we were as it was just a lockdown takeaway and it spread by world of mouth. Everyone has been really nice. The garden has grown beautifully. I'm really proud of mum and Gary. They have both worked really hard."
The owners hope to continue using the garden during the winter by installing a patio heater.
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