Life is full of hard decisions. Will sleeping in for another five minutes mean that you have to run for the bus like a lunatic? Is it worth chucking some sweetcorn in with your Super Noodles to increase their “nutritional value”? Should you stop gaming for the night and go out to be sociable instead?
The answers to these questions are: Yes, depends on whether you’re having dessert, and maybe you don’t need to choose!
Various restaurants, bars, and cafés around Nottingham give you the option to eat, drink, and game to your heart’s content, with great atmospheres and excellent facilities – I’m highlighting three venues in particular to cover foodies, boardgames, and gaming all-nighters, but I’ve also mentioned some others that are well worth checking out.
Annie’s Ocean State Tavern Bar
As you enter Annie’s Burger Shack, fight the urge to follow the hypnotic smell of burgers and take a right past the shark head, down to the Ocean State Tavern Bar. Once the designated waiting space to get a table upstairs, this is now a fully-fledged bar where you can order drinks and a delicious burger, and play games while you wait (or while you eat). There are some classic boardgames – Frustration, Yahtzee, and Trivial Pursuit, to name a few – as well as a Mini SNES, which comes loaded with Nintendo classics like Super Mario 2, Kirby’s Adventure, Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong. This is definitely one for foodies, as although there are games to play (and don’t forget the pub quiz every Tuesday!), the big focus here is on the food. I highly recommend the Elvis, in case you were wondering.
Dietary Requirements: All options on their Original and Monthly menus can be made vegan or veggie, along with vegan fruit slushies and milkshakes. Gluten free is also available, but the menu warns that the products still come from a “gluten rich kitchen”.
Location: 5 Broadway Lacemarket, NG1 1PR
Ludorati Café Bar
The back wall of Ludorati is a board-game library housing around 750 games, an enormous collection that pretty much covers anything you might be interested in. If you just fancy popping in for a wrap and a quick session, classics like chess, Othello, Scrabble, and Suited are dotted around. Their premium games cost £2.50 to play, and include World of Warcraft, Battle of Westeros, and Cards Against Humanity. And as if storing several-hundred games wasn’t enough, there’s also an Escape-Dome with six playable experiences, and a GamesLab where you can learn to play games that are new releases, recommended by staff, or in the top 100 most popular board games of the time. You can even buy games in store, and take a little piece of Ludorati home with you. And then turn up to play the game at Ludorati anyway because you can’t be bothered to clear the space on your dining room table yet.
Dietary Requirements: Veggie, vegan, and gluten-free options available, subject to availability – on arriving on a late Sunday afternoon, I was told that the vegan cakes had sold out, and that only one vegan food option was left (jackfruit, so a good one!). For hot drinks, I was told that the hot chocolate comes in packets, which may or may not contain milk powder, so another one to be wary of for vegans.
Location: 72 Maid Marian Way, NG1 6BJ
ALT Gaming Lounge
If you’re more into RAM than Risk (thank you, I’m here all week), then ALT is the place you’re after. Although it does have a good number of board games including Cluedo, Call of Cthulhu, and The Walking Dead, its major focus is on consoles. It has a total of 32 gaming machines, including a PS4, a Wii, and a GameCube; these are free to play in their chilled-out dining area, though I’d recommend getting some nachos and a Quantum Nuka Cola cocktail to go with them (maybe go easy on the Colas if you’re looking to maintain your sharp gaming reflexes). There are several choices of game for all of these consoles, from retro classics right up to Marvel’s Spiderman. There’s a separate section with PS4s, Xbox Ones, and PCs, where £20 will get you a full six hours of playing (£15 on a Sunday!), and a VR section where you get an hour for an unlimited number of players for £20. If you’re an events kind of person then there’s also plenty of that, including lock-ins, competitions, playthroughs, and community nights. So basically, ALT is a great place to go for a party and I have nothing bad to say about it.
Dietary Requirements: Veggie and vegan food options are available (including milkshakes!), as well as all fries and some burgers being gluten-free.
Location: 7 George Street, NG1 3BH
So that’s my list of venues that combine the wonders of gaming and food. If there’s somewhere that I’ve missed, let me know in the comments!
By Eden Silver