Sinatra Bar and Restaurant

Unadulterated mediocrity makes for a tough review, especially when you’re limited to a five-​star rating. While two stars seems like a miserly score, Unilocal’s accompanying description sums up my experience at Sinatra’s perfectly: Meh. I’ve had better.
Me and my girly visited Sinatra’s for my impromptu birthday dinner yesterday evening. We decided to go at the last minute and, due to the glorious weather, everyone in Nottingham had decided to go out too, so it was to be expected that a lot of the nicer restaurants might be quite busy. However, this was the exchange between myself and waiter ‘Mark’ (I can’t remember if this was his name or not), who greeted us when we entered:
Mark: Table for two?
Me: Yes please.
Mark: Did you book in advance?
Me: Uh… no.
Mark. Oh, well, sorry — we’re very busy.
Uh… what? You can’t start by offering us a table and *then* ask if we’ve made reservations, then refusing us a table! I thought I’d try the pulling the birthday card to see if it made any difference:
Me: It *is* my birthday, though.
Mark: Well then you should have booked.
Wow — Mark clearly wasn’t paying attention in Customer Service School. At this point I lost any interest I had in Sinatra’s and turned to walk away. I think Mark may have panicked slightly at this point and offered us a table in the Bistro. This is a section of Sinatra’s that isn’t any different to the main restaurant except that it’s closer to the bar and has comfier chairs.
I ordered the Chicken & Bacon Caesar Salad and we had a side garlic bread and fries (which were recommended by Mark). The food was completely unremarkable, with the exception of the bacon my Caesar Salad which, rather than being chopped up or diced pancetta-​style, were served as two whole strips resting atop my salad and looked like they had been cured for a long sea voyage. Impressively, the bacon tasted even worse than it looked, with a horrible overbearing residual flavour of
salt and fat. The fries tasted exactly the same, only with twice as much salt. This may seem fairly picky, but why do Sinatra’s serve bacon and fries flavoured exclusively with sodium and lard, then give me a small pot of cheap low-​fat mayonnaise?
The service was fine, although I was obviously put off by Mark following our initial exchange. This was not helped when the bill arrived with a 10% service charge automatically added with no mention of it being ‘voluntary’ or any option to have it removed. I never tip unless the service is exceptional, so to force my hand into paying extra for such average service and a far-​less-​than exceptional meal is bordering on offensive.
Of course, the only way to have the extra 10% removed would have been to call someone over, take exception to the charge, get a new bill printed, and in the meantime know that the waiters would be pointing me out to each other through the kitchen doors and telling each other what a complete asshole I am. As it was my birthday, I decided to skip this step and pay the 10%.
Sinatra’s isn’t terrible, but it is distinctly unremarkable, bordering on being a bit rubbish. If you want a standout Italian meal for a decent price, good service and an *optional* service charge, try Strada instead.

Long standing and very popular city centre bar, open from around 10am for coffee, offers a fair variety of snacks and meals.
Has quite a buzz in the evening.

Sinatra’s is located just up the road from the Market Square in Nottingham. A definite place to dine if you like a bit of nostalgia. All the walls are adorned with photos of celebrities and film stars that have been signed, so you can’t stop looking round once you’ve ordered your meal. The menu has a wide selection of food which is all good and reasonably priced. The breakfast is particulary good and you get lots of it! The only down side is that the tables are a little crammed in so it’s not the place to go for a really intimate meal out!

This is a weird one. My wife and I have eaten here over a number of years, and we do keep going back — that must mean they’re doing something right. By and large the waitresses are pretty helpful, however we’ve had two occasions where the food brought to our table was not the food we’d ordered. Those two occasions were starter, and main course — both mine! Still, I had what they’d brought and quite enjoyed it!
The place is a little too cramped these days — They definitely pack em in for dinner, and therefore you feel a little claustrophobic, and it give an uncomfortably untidy feel to the restaurant.
Sometimes the waitresses aren’t attentive enough, sometimes they seem to rush you through your meal — but we still go back.
I guess the food is always good at a good price. You take your chance on the service I’m afraid. We’ll still go back

Lots of pictures hanging on the wall, it has bar and restaurant menu. In the summer the outside terrace is very popular having drink & snack. Nice food at medium price range.

Sinatras is a lovely place wether you are dining or just out for a drink.
I have always found the food to be well cooked and good quality.
It has a nice laid back atmosphere and its a lovely place for a glass of wine or to sit out side with a cocktail in the summer.

Nice, friendly bar, good service and they make a mean jug of Pimms! Really nice to sit outside in the summer, food is good too, and it’s in a nice location away from the craziness of the Market Square at night.

I don’t spend much time in Nottingham these day although my older brother lives there so I do visit occasionally. Last time I was there we went to The Chapel Quarter, this is a fairly new area and seems to be very modern and popular among the younger generation. This Bistro has an excellent reputation for offering well established food no matter what meal you are after. During lunch time it seems to be popular amongst the business class who like to have working lunches. They offer some great roasts and some traditional dishes, if you fancy breakfast then you can have a full English for a very reasonable price. It is a very clean and friendly environment. It’s the sort of environment that everyone is welcome.

Only been the once but the chips were amazing even if the wait to get them was a little while longer than it should have been. The prices were pricey so wouldn’t go for a normal night out save for a special occasion

Went here for lunch and definitely enjoyed the food. Was nice and relaxing. Would’ve been nice if it was sunny to sit outside, but maybe next time.
The main thing for me were the chips. Probably the best chips in the world.
Only a little bit pricey.

Sinatra bar is a split level bar /​restaurant. The walls are decorated in pictures of famous Hollywood stars, some of which have been signed. The tables are large, dark wood and chunky and attention to detail is noticeable even down to the cutlery and glasses they use. They offer 2 food menus, i actually prefer to lunch time menu and strongly recommend the chicken bruchetta.
The evening menu is quite expensive but the food is always consistently good. The deserts are incredible also.
This small bar is just out from the main run of shops and bars but do seek it out.