WHILE the Bridge Sandwich Bar caters for passers-by at the western end of Victoria Embankment, Riverbank's pitch at the eastern end makes it a natural destination for a quick lunch during the 1st Test at Trent Bridge, or perhaps a scoop of ale at the end of play.
Known to oldies as the Town Arms, Riverbank is just the length of Trent Bridge away from the cricket ground and lies adjacent to the Embankment lawns.
Quite how the premises struggled for so long on a prime money-making site remains one of the great mysteries in the history of Nottingham catering.
However, the Perkins brothers have put that right, bringing the experience of running Trentside restaurants Tom Brown's at Gunthorpe and the Farndon Boathouse, near Newark.
It helps to have head chef Mark Osborne (pictured) on the team. He has kept menus imaginative and in my experience a meal at Riverbank has always been value for money.
On my last visit I parked a Colston Bassett Stilton parfait, then a pork chop with creamed spuds and baby vegetables, and finally a fig and almond tart. The service was acceptable.
By the way, as the Town Arms the premises has an interesting history as a no-nonsense boozer.
In the restricted-hours era, if you were lucky enough to find a pub in West Bridgford when that town was in the grip of Methodism, it would have closed at 10.30pm. If you wanted another drink you had to dash into the city of Nottingham, where the towels went up at 11pm.
For those sprinting north over Trent Bridge at 10.35pm, the Town Arms, as the first pub in Nottingham, offered immediate satisfaction and time for a couple of nightcaps.
