First look as new cafe bar The Vault opens its doors in the city centre

The Vault has opened its doors to the public in the building which was formerly the site of a noodle bar called Chopstix. It aims to be a cafe meets bar offering a mix of coffees, food, tapas, and cocktails with an event space upstairs.

The new cafe and bar is a different addition to the street which does not currently have any bars on it - only shops. The Lion Hotel was once a pub but is now home to a casino. Owner

Lukas Murzyn who lives in Colwick has experience running restaurants and bars including the popular Meadow Lane Cafe at Ladybay. He has great plans for the space which has had a steady flow of customers since it opened on Tuesday, August 1. The two-floor venue has a 10-capacity and is available to rent for events and parties.

“We wanted to make something different. There are lots of coffee shops around but we wanted to do something unique,” he said speaking with Nottingham World. “We serve cocktails, afternoon teas, brunches and cheese platters along with simpler dishes and snack foods.”

“We do pastries and coffees but we are trying to bring customers in to sit and relax. We are planning to have live music and entertainment too. We have a function room available upstairs with a little cocktail bar in the corner so it’s available to be rented for birthdays and hen dos.”

The menu is a mix of favourites including pizzas such as the farmer’s harvest which is loaded with roasted peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella, cheese, red sauce and basil along with burgers. There is also a tapas menu which has a combination of herb-marinated steak, halloumi fries and crispy squid.

Brunch options will be available with pancakes, full English or vegan and veggie breakfasts. Shakshouka is also on offer with crispy toasted sourdough bread. The venue, and menu, are designed to offer something for everyone.

Lukas added: “The ground floor is a coffee lounge but we can have parties upstairs so it’s designed for a mixture of things. We are making the venue unique and we want to do a lot of different things so we can satisfy every customer. This is the busiest street in Nottingham so we are trying to find the right offering for here.”

“We just opened yesterday and we need a few days to see how everything works or if we need to make changes. We had more than 50 people walk in and today people are coming in and out. As soon as people see the place, they will start to come in. Sometimes people just walk straight through and don’t notice what’s around. There is always something opening and closing but you need to introduce yourself.”