Nottingham’s newest bar is actually an old favourite restaurant
Walking down Long Row, you may be wondering where Nottingham’s newest bar has come from and where Pieminister has gone...we decided to find out
As a city, we do love our pies which is evident in how many venues are now stocking Pieminister Pies. So it was a great surprise to see that the eye-catching black and white decor of the restaurant has vanished and been replaced with a grey bar called Long Row Social.
Pieminister confirmed that the new-look bar and restaurant are still part of the brand and will still serve the pies we love. However, there are new additions to the cocktail menu with plans to add masterclasses at a later date. The new site is being seen as something of a trial for the successful brand which has multiple locations across the UK.
Assistant Manager Lee Stevens spoke to Nottingham World about what this will mean for the new-look venue and that rumours of a Derby location are true.
“We’ve just had our license extended to midnight and they will be opening a Pieminister in Derby. So we are trialling this branch to be a bit different. What is good here can then be implemented in other Pieministers,” he said.
“We’ve added more drinks and a lot more spirits. It's less of a restaurant but more of a pie meets bar mix. We are hoping that drink sales will go up but pie sales will stay the same. We've also added a pool table so we are trying to attract new customers but the middle of the restaurant still looks like Pieminister.”
The restaurant is in the perfect location to attract a lot of walk-in trade and is in good company with other businesses such as Miss Korea and The Dragon Bar nearby. The team have a lot more planned with the trial venue including cocktail masterclasses but they are open to seeing what works.
The team have opened Long Row Social for a soft launch and is working them up to get ready for a busy weekend.
“We have new cocktail menus on the way and possibly cocktail masterclasses in the works. Hopefully, now that we are open, and this is the trial venue, we can make changes as we go to what sells and what doesn’t. Everything is going to be looked at very carefully to see what works.”
When it comes to best sellers, Nottingham clearly has a favourite...and a least favourite. The Moo, a British beef steak and craft ale pie is a firm favourite with pie fans in the city.
The best-selling pie has got to be The Moo which is a beef steak and craft ale pie but the free ranger which is a chicken pie also does well. We order so many that they go from the floor to the ceiling whereas the least selling pie, we only order four of a week.”
“In my opinion, that would be the Wild Mushroom option. But some days we can sell ten of some pies but none of the others so its outrageously unpredictable.”