Brunch / ££ / 9/10

My sister had been reminding me ‘Public’ was coming/opening for a while, I had only seen a few online ads where it looked like M&S was being invaded by croissants so decided to give it a go on a rainy saturday in August thinking the weather might mean it would be ‘quiet’. Ha!

There was only one table left when I arrived so I parked the buggy up next to it and joined what I thought was the queue. 5 minutes later when a long queue had formed about 2 metres away from me I realised I was stood behind a woman who was just waiting for her coffee. I cursed my own stupidity and rise of the ‘order at the counter and we’ll bring it over’ establishments. My sympathies go to the waiting staff in those places as well, as a tipper I am never sure of the etiquette but I am sure they must get less than the more traditional ‘waiter service’.

Public (or Public and Plants) has 3 outlets in the East Midlands but the Nottingham outlet only opened this month. The building is beautiful, I have never been in it as it has sat empty for so long but it used to be a bank and has all the proportions. The bakery sits in the same room as the counter, seating and plant area (they sell plants as well but on looking they were more ££££, than the ££ of the food) so there is a nice thrum of industry to the place. The seating area has different zones and is billed as ‘Japan meets Copenhagen’, it ticks the boxes for every recent trend but has an edge of quality (nice toilets, expensive tableware, matching chairs and tables) sometimes lacking from independent new venues.

I finally got in the right queue and watched as people struggled to decide on their order – there is an embarassment of baked riches right in front of you but I also felt the performance anxiety and changed my mind mid-order when in the harsh spotlight of the till. Alongside all the bakery items, you can also choose off their menu and the surrounding tables were full of people enjoying bigger plates. I went for a very timid custard filled croissant with raspberries and a cookie. Public are famous for their nutella filled croissants that they will fill for you with a giant injector and their tiramisu drinks that come with a lady finger garnish. If all this sounds a bit ‘freakshake’ it doesn’t come across like that when you’re in there.

The croissants are made on site and mine was a joyful mix of delicate, light shards of crunch with a substantial enough centre of dough in the middle to balance out the filling. This is a pretty hard thing to achieve and I was impressed. The cookie had enough salt to mean it was impossible to leave alone, the coffee was good too. It is worth mentioning at this point that most independent cafes and coffee shops in Nottingham (and surrounding areas) sell 200 degrees coffee and Tough Marys baked goods so it is nice to see some variety.

Public are bound to be successful and the aesthetic will be a big hit with students, with Kushi Ya opening across the road in September new life is being breathed into Low Pavement which is a really good thing for the city and anyone liking ‘Japandi’. Now let me rinse my mouth out for using made up words.

FAMILY – the bakery means there is food for all at Public, the echoey dining room does also mean that a toddler tantrum could become a bit of a performance. There were quite a few younger children in Public and they have high chairs and are all on one level for accessibility as well so great for people with prams.