Have you been to Hoffs yet? No? Then why not? It’s great.

There’s an increasing number of outlets for more natural fast food but they do seem to err more towards the healthy, rather than the wholesome. But Hoffs seems a little different. It’s a nice looking, stripped wood restaurant in Trinity Place, Nottingham, almost opposite Turtle Bay.

I have to confess, I almost walked past, but was drawn back by the menu above the counter. To be honest, I couldn’t quite believe the £3.99 for a main meal price, so I had a closer look to see whether it was a catch, or promo gimmick ‘prices from…’ Price.

It’s not.

Have a look at the Hoffs menu here, there’s a whole host of food there All looks gorgeous and more importantly, it isn’t all bread or salads. Who needs them in the middle of Winter. So, I went for the Cottage Pie at £3.99 and a San Pelligrino Limonata at only £0.99.

The food arrived within a minute, despite the friendly staff telling me it had been flying out today and when I opened my cardboard box, it looked lovely. On the subject of the box, it worked great, imparted no flavour into the lunch and didn’t leak gravy on my lap.

It ate well too. For me, the potato topping could have done with a bit more seasoning, but the beef mixture below was silky dark and meaty, the carrots still had a bit of crunch to them and the gravy was gorgeous and rich too.

At those prices, they need to move a lot of boxes and I hope they do. It’s a lovely addition to the Nottingham lunch scene and i’ll be back for more. You can see the Hoffs website here. 

Update

Sadly, they didn’t move enough boxes and Hoffs has already folded. It’s a very tough market in any city trying to establish a new(ish) food format, but trying to do it with incredibly low prices, a position that is a little off pitch and the need to hit very high volumes to survive makes it nigh on impossible. I guess it’s back to the old sandwiches again then.