Chef behind 'legendary' Sunday roasts returns to iconic Nottingham pub Hand & Heart

What could be more 'Nottingham' than eating a Sunday dinner in a cave? A decade or so ago the roasts at the iconic Hand & Heart pub gained a reputation for being 'legendary' - and the setting of a cavern with twinkling fairy lights is like no other.

All good things come to an end - the head chef left, and later the pandemic impacted badly on historic pub, resulting in its closure. After being taken over by Pub People, new licensees arrived in October 2023 only to leave a few months later.

But better times are round the corner. Mark Robinson, the chef behind those lauded roast dinners is back in a twist of fate and anyone who steps over the threshold in Derby Road, near Canning Circus, is in for a treat. Competition for the best dinner of the week is rife across Nottingham, with pubs, cafes and restaurants all fighting for a piece of the action but the Hand & Heart hopes to be up there with the best again once word gets out.

The newly launched Sunday menu comes with garlic and thyme chicken supreme, beef, lamb breast and pork belly. The vegan and veggie offering that was always a nut roast has been upgraded to a beetroot wellington.

Competitively priced from £16.50 to £18.50, they come with all the trimmings of roasties, mash, stuffing, carrots, parsnips, greens, red cabbage and "proper" gravy. Diners can add extras of smoked cheddar and cauliflower bake and Gloucester sausage pigs in blankets. Gluten-free versions are available and children's portions are served, so everyone is covered no matter what their appetite or dietary needs.

For those who still have room there's afters of mulled wine poached pears with boozy cherries , hazelnut chocolate brownie and cornflake tart with school custard which is "thick, not lumpy" reassured Mark.

He's thrilled to be back at the pub, having worked under the leadership of Dawn Underdown, from 2013 to 2018. Mark said: "It was the best place I've ever worked in my life - this place has got a little part of me in the cave. It's got my name in the cave. Dawn carved all our names in at some point - well only the ones she liked.

"When I left we were up there with the best roasts in Nottingham. The first time we were entered into the restaurant awards we came second for best pub. Everything was just great and I felt that I'd done everything I could.

"I don't think I could have taken it further. You couldn't elevate the food any more. We couldn't have got any busier, we were at full capacity. We were doing almost 200 every Sunday and it was just a good time to leave."

Mark later went on to replicate the roast at the Commercial before landing a job at tapas restaurant the Glass Orchid in Beeston. There, he also introduced a Sunday menu, but was made redundant when the restaurant closed in September just after its first anniversary.

After coming to terms with the shock of losing his job, he helped out in the kitchen at the Canalhouse in Canal Street, Nottingham. Hearing on the grapevine about a head chef's job going at the Heart & Heart, he got on the phone to general manager Jesse Thame.

Mark said: "It's so nice to bring the roasts back to the Hand & Heart as this pub has so much love and so much character. It deserves the best. Back in the day there was nothing up here. There were no restaurants and no pubs apart from Sir John and the Ropewalk that was open. It's nice to have a few places open. We are just trying to get people back through the door."

Jesse has been landlord for two months having previously worked for Castle Rock at the Vat & Fiddle for six years. He said: "Essentially when I took over the place I was left with no kitchen staff becasue the previous licensee was doing the kitchen. It never really found its feet after reopening. This is a fresh start."

Demand for a roast was there from the off, with 70 walk-in customers succumbing to the wafts of meat and roasties on the first two weekends. "It's a big thing in this area. It started with the Hand & Heart back in the day and people are still looking in this area for a roast. Other pubs have filled the gap but this was always THE place," said Jesse.

"A lot of people are saying this place is back on their radar and they're coming back, people that have been put off previously. This past week the targets that the company had set me, I annihilated. It's getting busy already. The beer reputation has started to change because that suffered a little bit but it's back to being a predominantly cask ale led bar which is exactly what I want to do in a building like this.

The Sunday menu is served from noon. Back in the 2013 dinner was served until 8pm but now the cut-off point is 5pm.