UK PonyCon has now published the venue's catering arrangements for 2018. There aren't a lot of surprises in there, though "catering pod" sounds a little weird. Given this year's city centre location, it was always likely that the con venue itself would concentrate on quick bites, snacks and drinks, and indeed that is what has happened. Whether Nottingham Conference Centre has matched UWE's imagination last year in the cakes department remains to be seen!
Its provision does leave some gaps, especially as you can't take your own food or drink inside (plain water excepted). Most notably, it looks as though you'll need to leave the venue if you want a full-on hot meal, or food in the evening. Unsurprisingly, there are heaps of places to eat in a large city like Nottingham, so I won't even try to list all of them. Those who know Nottingham will doubtless know many other places, but I've generally stuck to chains as it's simpler if you're not familiar with the city.
I haven't made any attempt to include hotel restaurants, since some are only open to residents or have time restrictions. However, I do expect that quite a few people will eat breakfast at their hotels as the con venue won't be open until a bit late for that. Whether you choose to have it at your hotel or in town, I do strongly recommend that you eat a substantial breakfast if you can. Given the con's packed schedule, it may be tricky to find the time later, so getting a good meal under your belt early on makes sense.
Everywhere listed is under eight minutes' walk from the convention venue. I have generally listed only one outlet for each company. I've made exceptions for Wetherspoon, because it's inescapable; McDonald's, because it's a 24/7 option; and for Costa, because the first one listed is very close to the con venue but is small and has slightly restricted hours. Also, I know 25 Goldsmith St isn't actually the venue location, but just entering "Nottingham Conference Centre" returns the wrong side of the building. Click on an outlet name for a Google Map.
1. Coffee shops and quick bites
200 Degrees, Flying Horse Walk, NG1 2HN
Open 7:30am-8pm Fri, 8am-7pm Sat, 9:30am-6pm Sun, 7:30am-8pm Mon
Caffe Nero, Trinity Sq, NG1 2AS
Open 6:30am-7:30pm Fri/Sat, 7am-7:30pm Sun, 6:30am-7:30pm Mon
Costa (1), Goldsmith St, NG1 5JJ
Open 7am-6:30pm Fri, 8:30am-6pm Sat, 9am-5pm Sun, 7am-6:30pm Mon
Costa (2), Friar Lane, NG1 6BS
Open 6:30am-7:30pm Fri/Sat, 8am-6pm Sun, 6:30am-7:30pm Mon
Starbucks, Upper Parliament St, NG1 6LF
Open 6:30am-7:30pm Fri, 7:30am-7:30pm Sat, 9am-6pm Sun, 6:30am-7:30pm Mon
Subway, The Corner House, Forman St, NG1 4DB
Open 7am-4am Fri/Sat, 10am-midnight Sun, 7am-midnight Mon
2. Fast (and fastish) hot food
Bella Italia, Forman St, NG1 4DB
Open 9am-11pm Fri, 10am-11pm Sat, 10am-10:30pm Sun, 9am-11pm Mon
Burger King, Upper Parliament St, NG1 2AD
Open 11am-11pm daily
KFC, Milton St, NG1 3EN
Open 10am-midnight Fri/Sat, 10am-11pm Sun/Mon
McDonald's (1), Angel Row, NG1 6HL
Open 24/7
McDonald's (2), Clumber St, NG1 3ED
Open 24/7
Nando's, The Cornerhouse, Forman St, NG1 4DB
Open 11:30am-11pm Fri/Sat, 11:30am-10pm Sun/Mon
Pizza Express, King St, NG1 2AS
Open 11:30am-11pm daily
Pizza Hut, The Cornerhouse, Forman St, NG1 4DB
Open 11am-11pm Fri/Sat, midday-10pm Sun, 11am-10pm Mon
TGI Fridays, The Cornerhouse, Burton St [sic], NG1 4DB
Open 11:30am-11pm Fri/Sat, 10:30am-10:30pm Sun, 11:30am-10:30pm Mon
3. Pubs
The Gooseberry Bush, Peel St, NG1 4GL (Wetherspoon; website)
Open 8am-11pm daily
The Horn in Hand, Goldsmith St, NG1 5JT (website)
Open 11am-2am Fri/Sat, 11am-midnight Sun/Mon
The Joseph Else, South Parade, NG1 2JS (Wetherspoon; website)
Open 7am-midnight daily
The Roebuck Inn, St James's St, NG1 6FH (Wetherspoon; website)
Open 8am-midnight daily
4. Convenience stores
Sainsbury's Local, Wheeler Gate, NG1 2NA
Open 7am-11pm daily
Tesco Express, Shakespeare St, NG1 4FQ
Open 7am-11pm daily
Little Waitrose, Milton St, NG1 4AR
Open 7am-10pm Fri/Sat, 11am-5pm Sun, 7am-10pm Mon
This is a very good eatery guide. :) I don't think I could have done a better job.
ReplyDeleteUnderstandably you've limited it to the ones near the venue, and if people want to wander a bit further afield, they've got even more choice.
Thanks! I think with a city the size of Nottingham it would have been a fool's errand trying to list (for example) all the cafés in the various shopping centres, or near the various other hotels. I'm also not massively familiar with the city, despite visiting in the summer, so taking this approach gives a lower risk of getting something badly wrong.
DeleteI do give advance warning, though: in the unlikely event that there ever is a pony convention in Worcester, there's going to be one hay of a guide. Probably including a certain coffee shop basement. ;)