Nottingham street food pop up relaunches menu in hidden alleyway venue

It can all to easy to get stuck in a food rut where you just go for the old favourites over and over again. However, there is a lot to be said for breaking out of the box and trying something new...you just need to know where to go.

Hidden in the city centre is exactly that as it's tucked away off Long Row next door to Primark. If you aim for Five Leaves bookshop then you can’t fail to find it. What you are rewarded with is a treasure trove of things to do at the weekend from vintage shopping to a food hall to a rooftop bar. Oh and if you need further convincing then there is a neon axe throwing space downstairs.

Hip Hop Food Shop will be familiar for Nottingham’s foodies as it was once based in the former Street Food Club in Victoria Centre. Jason moved to Hidden last year shortely before the club closed.

The food is a mix of different cuisines and all hip hop inspired and named. The menu features dishes like Wu-Taco Clan which is a mix of slow-cooked curried mutton, roast banana and rum ketchup, sweetcorn salsa and pickled pink onions and O’l Dirty Pasta which is a mix of mac n cheese topped with crispy togarashi spiced chicken tossed in Korean style hot sauce.

”The creativity for my food is a mixture of my travels across Fiji, Australia, Thailand and South Africa. It’s also the type of food I love to eat, cook and share with friends and family,” he said speaking with Nottingham World at the launch of the new menu at Hidden.

“I think one of my favourite dishes and one that really sums up my style of street food is the Wu-Taco Clan. It’s just a really good fusion of styles and flavours that work well together a bit like taking two records and taking the best elements of both to create something wonderfully new.”

The ‘wonderfully new’ dishes were laid out on trays including smalls cheeseburgers with classic smashed beef burgers and American cheese smothered in secret sauce along with N.W.A - which stands for nuggets with attitude in this case - was a flavourful mix of togarashi spiced chicken strips tossed in Korean-style hot sauce, ponzu mayo and kimchi slaw.

A personal favourite had to be the MF Shrooms which were a vegan crispy mushroom risotto ball with truffle vegan mayo. The risotto balls were closely followed by Eric Cheesey-E which was halloumi fries topped with roasted peanuts, sriracha and spring onions.

Things can be difficult for street food vendors off the beaten track as it all comes down to clever marketing and raising awareness about where you are. Jason highlighted that while he is a one-man band - it has been a labour of love at Hidden.

“The move to Hidden has been a labour of love as I’m constantly producing new content for social media to build brand awareness and to let people know where they can find me and to showcase that although I’m a one-man band everything is scratch made by me where possible. And that I put all my love and effort into creating something new, tasty and delicious,” he explained.

Ultimately the plan for Hidden is to create an atmosphere where people can come to spend time, try some food or throw an axe or two. The reopening of the rooftop bar will no doubt help this long as it is the perfect spot to soak up the sun and a few beers.

“My plans have always been the same for Hip Hop Food Shop and that’s to have a nice little cafe or eatery where I can elaborate on the menu and offer some breakfast, lunch and light dinner options. I want to create a place where people love to come and just chill. Make it a community space with local artists hanging art on the wall where they can sell it.”