Specialty coffee inside a working bookshop and gallery, with food from Small Food Bakery and vinyl on the turntable. The coffee holds its own against everything else the room is doing.

A plant-forward cafe in Lenton that earns a specialty coffee call-out from regulars. The wholesome kitchen is the identity; the espresso is worth the stop.

The coffee on Derby Road is better than the neighbourhood expects, and locals know it. Consistent cups in a cosy room, with a following that comes back specifically for the espresso.

A food truck on Leen Gate where the espresso consistently wins over people who came for the food. Worth stopping for the coffee even without an appetite.

Pours 200 Degrees, Nottingham's own specialty-leaning roaster, in a part of the city that doesn't have many decent coffee options. The setting is community café, not coffee bar, but the beans are the real thing.