PUT THE FLAGS OUT… THE Queen of Hockley HAS ARRIVED
A welcomed new addition to Nottingham’s hospitality scene is located smack bang in the centre of Hockley where ‘old Rev’s’ once resided – say hello to Queen of Hockley…
The creation of Matt Saunders, Co-owner of the Fat Cat bar chain back in the day (we’re talking the 90’s), Queen of Hockley is a natural progression from the success of Queen of Bradgate launched in 2014 taking on a similar model in a city central position, amongst the quirky independent bustle of other Hockley based businesses.
In their words, “the idea for the Queen of Hockley was to bring three decades of successes and failures to life in one venue, in the heart of Nottingham”- in a sense they have a successful formula and now was the time to replicate it in our great city and I’m so glad they did as I recently got to visit and sample their new menu…
We received a warm welcome from Robyn the Manager and were offered a choice of seating in either the bar or restaurant area – we chose, on this occasion to enjoy the surroundings of the dedicated restaurant area, which has a very private and intimate feel about it, enclosed within theatrical style drapes with plenty of wooden tables and booths.
The table mats were cleverly themed to bands and music- an important element of the bar, as they pitch themselves as a fun, music venue with regular themed nights and DJ’s and in fact the memorabilia on the walls was mainly themed around music, giving it a retro feel, amongst the plush new refurbishment it has recently undergone.
There are two bars- the main one, across the back of the venue many will be familiar with and a new smaller, more exclusive styled bar to the left of the entrance, which can act as a private/VIP bar for events and functions if needed.
There is ample outside seating, which were mostly taken up when I visited, given the sunny weather and I can imagine this will be a popular spot in the Spring /Summer months for drinks and lunch dates.
The menu was certainly substantial, with lots of choice from breakfast to lunch to dinner options and everything in between. We went for lunch, so two courses are usually just about right for me during the day, therefore I kicked off with the Roasted Carrots, served with Tzatziki, dukka and harissa butter (which was to die for), the combination was delicious, so tasty and a dish I would most definitely order again. For main, as a vegetarian I was given rather a lot of choice on the menu, which is a welcomed yet unusual scenario. To tick the protein box, I went for the Halloumi burger, which arrived with skin on fries coleslaw , sweet chilli sauce and a side salad. Anything served on a board I find is generally a ‘filler upper’ and this was no exception.
My dining partner decided to try the Famous shin of beef chilli and was not disappointed. Visually it looked impressive, served in a beautiful bowl with homemade tortilla nachos and lime and coriander rice served in a matching bowl. A nice touch was the horseradish cream, which he had not tried before with chilli, as well as guac and sour cream- a dish he stated he would order again- a good start!
Dessert was shared and after some deliberation, came in the form of Sticky toffee pudding– Robyn’s favourite, so we knew we had done good and she was not wrong; this came with vanilla ice cream and extra toffee sauce to pour- yum!
All in all, my experience of Queen of Hockley was nothing but positive, a fantastic venue for drinks, food and music lovers alike, with plenty of room for dancing should the mood take you and of course the option for private events- always a bonus in a city central venue and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with.
Fiona Duncan-Steer aka Sleepy Vegetarian
Check out the menu here– https://www.queenofhockley.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/QofH_Food_Menu.pdf
More information or to book- https://www.queenofhockley.co.uk/
