The industrial estate café that is serving up the 'best' Full English breakfast in Nottinghamshire
Whether you've got a day of hard graft ahead, a bad hangover from the night before, or simply want a leisurely weekend breakfast, nothing beats a Full English. We know our readers at Nottinghamshire Live are fans of a slap-up fry-up so we trust their judgement when they tell us the best places to visit.
Our poll to find the most popular breakfast in Nottinghamshire had hundreds of responses. Votes went to the Warsaw Diner in Derby Road, Canning Circus, Carlton Road Kitchen, Porchester Cafe in Mapperley, the Quayside Cafe, Colwick, and Sprinters in Arnold, who all do a very respectable plateful of bacon and eggs.
In second place was Bumbles Tea Room in Epperstone but pipping them to the post was Tina's Cafe, which serves up a seriously good brekkie. The cafe is located on an industrial estate in Colwick - easily found with plenty of directions starting with a sign at the turn-off on the busy A612 Colwick Loop Road.
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Further signs point us to the café, whose address is given as Unit 15a, Private Road 2. It's easy enough to spot. A brick building, painted sky blue, really stands out opposite Starman's Rolls Royce & Bentley Specialists.
Tina's Cafe serves a wide range of paninis, jacket potatoes, burgers, cold cobs, pasties, cakes, and breakfast cobs and wraps. But it's the small, traditional, mega and veggie breakfasts that are the best-sellers, priced from £6. The £12 mega breakfast has the works - three sausages and three bacon from a local butcher, two eggs, two hash browns, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, toast and bread and butter.
Tea, coffee or fruit juice is included in the price. Some breakfast fans don't like beans and tomatoes served in ramekins but they're presented this way to prevent the juices from merging.
The café, run by Leonie Orange-Lamb, opened just three years ago, starting off during the pandemic . At first restrictions meant customers couldn't eat in but they could have takeaway.
She said: "I was quite surprised to have won. When people come in, especially if it's their first time, they say 'that's the best breakfast I've ever had'. It makes it worthwhile."
"A full breakfast is the most popular item on the menu. We get all our meat from Tuxford Butchers, the beans are Heinz and we use fresh mushrooms."
It was her partner James Lamb's idea to open a café - and he named it after his mum Tina who passed away 12 years ago. He runs building company TSB, with his office conveniently across the road from the café, which was previously an empty unit.
Leonie, 36, of Carlton, said: "He always wanted a caff. There used to be a caff up the road years ago and it closed down. At the time there was just a food waggon on the front so he said with all the businesses around here it would be really good to open up."
Equipped with all his experience in the building trade he did all the renovations himself and decorated the interior with colourful photos on the walls and blue sky ceiling panels to create a sense of the outdoors since the 18-seater room is windowless.
At first family members cooked and served but then Leonie, who was doing office admin for James' building company, switched to working at Tina's Cafe herself. She said: "When he first said he wanted a caff, I was fair enough. I never thought I'd enjoy working here but I love it.
"It was quiet when we first opened but it picked up after six months and then it snowballed from there. We get quite a few different customers. It's mostly the builders and office people around the different units. We get a few residents, mostly at the weekends. Kids come and the elderly generation so it's a mixed bag."
The cafe is very much a family affair. Above an alcove is a sign 'Gallaghers' est. 1959' and nostalgic black and white pictures of local scenes, including crowds at Sneinton Market. Leonie explained: "Phillip Gallagher, my stepdad, had a stroke. All the old photos in there are his."
Tina's Cafe is open every day but Sunday. The hours are 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday and Saturday 7.30am to 1.30pm.