It’s been a while since I shared a ‘Spotlight on’ post, but I knew from the moment I heard about Café Sobar that I needed to feature them on Luce in Notts.
For any first time visitors to my blog, the ‘Spotlight on’ series focuses on different businesses in Nottingham that I feel deserve to be shouted about. Other places in the series so far have included a coffee house slash tattoo parlour, a bar with ball games and the city’s only chocolate makers.
Café Sobar is a café with a cause, set up and run by local recovery charity Double Impact. All profits go back into the charity to help fund the life-saving work they do.
As the name implies, it’s an alcohol-free destination offering a safe and sober space to socialise in Nottingham city centre. The business is actually the first of its kind in the East Midlands and provides valuable employment, training and volunteering opportunities for people in recovery.
Highlights
✔️ Charity-run, not-for-profit café
✔️ Vegetarian and vegan menu options
✔️ 10% student discount
✔️ Ideal for laptop working — lots of plug sockets and free Wi-Fi!
✔️ Dog-friendly 🐾
On the menu
Cafe Sobar serves a variety of breakfast and lunch food, as well as a selection of sweet treats. The menu is vegetarian and vegan friendly with several meat and dairy free options on offer.
I’m always in the mood for breakfast food, so I enjoyed a breakfast for lunch situation on my most recent visit with my boyfriend. He ordered the Big Plate Full English, while I decided to have the Full English Stack — streaky bacon, sausage, fried egg, hash brown, black pudding and American cheese, all squished together in a toasted breakfast muffin. Imagine a certain breakfast muffin from a famous M but more filling and more delicious!
If you aren’t a fan of breakfast/brunch, the menu also includes burgers, flatbreads and sandwiches, plus a soup of the day if you fancy something a bit lighter.
Café Sobar is also a great destination for coffee & cake dates, as demonstrated by the well-stocked cabinet of homemade cakes on the counter. So far I’ve sampled the double chocolate vegan cake (every bit as moist and chocolatey as good chocolate cake should be), next on my list to try is the carrot cake loaf.
Hot & cold beverages
My usual drink of choice at Café Sobar is a chai latte, but I decided to treat myself to a hot chocolate on my last visit. I bought my boyfriend a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser for Christmas (a total game changer for any hot chocolate lovers out there) so my hot chocolate expectations are now significantly higher than they were in pre-Velvetiser life but I can confirm that Café Sobar’s passed the taste test. The mountain of cream and marshmallows definitely helped!
There’s also a lovely selection of hot and iced teas, babyccinos and even affogato (coffee with ice-cream!)
What’s coming up
As well as serving delicious food and drinks, Café Sobar hosts regular events. Many of these are aimed at people in recovery, however members of the public are also welcome.
Wellbeing and social group Bee Sober uses the café as a venue for casual coffee catch-ups and later this month Café Sobar is running a sold-out stand up comedy show with a fantastic line-up, so keep your eye out on their social channels for future events!
Where to find them 📍
You’ll find Café Sobar in the heart of Nottingham city centre, just a short stroll from the Old Market Square.
Address: 24 Friar Lane, Nottingham, NG1 6DQ (go there on Google Maps)
Instagram: @cafe_sobar
Luce in Notts 