This is what's happening to the new restaurants, bars and cafes that were set to open in Nottingham this year

'I don't know when, how or if we're going to open' says the owner of one of the businesses

Opening a new restaurant or bar rarely goes to plan, with hidden obstacles to overcome during a revamp, but the Covid-19 pandemic has put a very big spanner in the works for all the food and drink businesses that were set to open during 2020.

Those that have managed to get building materials and equipment are on the cusp of opening - but others are way behind schedule, with some hanging in the balance.

Nottinghamshire Live has previously reported how Jeromes, a new cafe in Bulwell, is pressing ahead with opening next month, although it will just be for takeaway instead of eating in.

And the owner of Meadow Lane Cafe, near the home of Notts County, is also pushing on after renovation work was halted last month due to a lack of building materials. Robert Richardson is optimistic that he will begin putting money in the till within a few weeks, but once again, it will be through collections and delivery.

These are some of the other ventures which were planning to bring something new to Notts' food and drink scene this year:

Laurence Henry's restaurant

It's far from the year the MasterChef: The Professionals champion had been anticipating. At the start of 2020 Laurence Henry, from two Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains, was pushing ahead with negotiations for his own restaurant in Nottingham.

But the coronavirus outbreak has sent the plans awry.

Instead the chef, who lives in Mapperley, set up the Quarantine Kitchen to deliver delicious home-cooked food to vulnerable and self-isolating people.

Roping in his brother, sister and a chef mate to cook, organise and deliver, he has created a menu of homely classics bursting with flavour such as chilli con carne, fish pie and char sui pork belly plus puddings of sticky toffee pudding and chocolate pots.

A new addition is a three-course date night menu with restaurant-standard dishes of butternut squash and parmesan risotto, turbot and spiced salmon and prawn gyoza, and Starkey's strawberries with shortbread and vanilla creme patisserie.

Laurence said: "All restaurant plans are still on hold until there is a clear end to the lockdown and the hospitality industry opens for business again, at which point we will resume plans and hopefully be open next year.

"QK has evolved over the course of the lockdown, having started out delivering fresh produce and ready meals to people in need, we now also offer three-course ‘date night’ meals for the weekend and are currently setting up a little takeaway on Uber Eats."

Rikshaw Urban Indian Kitchen

The award-winning Sherwood takeaway was primed to expand by opening a new 100-seater restaurant in Nottingham city centre.

Opening had been scheduled for Easter time to introduce a wider audience to Rikshaw's contemporary take on Indian cuisine, with a menu of lighter and healthier dishes.

Before the pandemic, owner Shani Shafiq was excited about bringing a taste of chapati rolls, Bombay sandwiches and famous dum biryani to the city centre in a vibrant, buzzing atmosphere.

But lockdown put paid to work that had got underway at Peppers, a former hair salon in Trinity Square.

And now with the uncertainty of the future, he said: "I don't know when, how or if we're going to open.

"We can operate but social distancing in a restaurant is not viable at all. On a Saturday night it's all about turning over numbers. We are very worried to open in the city centre. I'm gutted."

The revamp is currently in limbo. "We were half-way towards completion when the pandemic happened. There were no factories open to supply us with equipment or materials," he added.

Currently a brand new Rikshaw at intu Derby has yet to trade because the shopping centre is closed.

However, the takeaway in Sherwood remains busy. As well as delivering food to local residents, 200 meals were donated to staff at Nottingham City Hospital and discount is given to NHS staff.

Hounds Gate Teahouse

The new owner of the tiny tea room, previously the White Rabbit and No. 12 Hounds Gate, opened on March 20.

It was the first and last service at the newly revamped premises - as the first day of trading ended with the government ordering all cafes, bars and restaurants to close.

Bishir Haoot, who has taken over the cafe, said: "As a new business we were very disappointed but for safety we need to follow the government advice."

With no option but to keep the doors of the city centre teahouse firmly locked and full rent to pay for the first quarter, halved for the second quarter, Bishir couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Instead he has turned his hand to making afternoon tea for delivery all over Notts.

The boxes of sandwich triangles, homemade scones and cakes have been going down a storm with orders coming in for anniversaries and birthdays.

"We are just trying to establish ourselves as a business and keep ourselves busy," said Bishir, who previously worked front-of-house at restaurants including Sonny's, Perkins in Plumtree and Merchants at the Lace Market Hotel.

With just 18 seats inside, the cafe is one of the smallest in Notts so reopening, when the time comes, with social distancing in place is going to present a challenge.

"The timing was bad luck. We want to build up the business. We are a very small cafe and we haven’t decided when we will be opening, however, when we do we will only do takeaway and collection," added Bishir.

Dirty Berty's

On the night of the grand opening in March, the Government called time at all bars, so the party was over after just one night.

The new gin bar, with a speakeasy vibe, marked an expansion for Oliver's Pub and Kitchen, across the road in Eastwood.

Earlier this year the basement of a former's Barclays Bank, in Nottingham Road, was transformed from a shell to a stylish prohibition style venue, complete with seating in the old bank vault.

"On the day of opening we had to close so it was emotional," said owner Kane Oliver. "The first night went very, very well. Everyone came out to support us."

Those who got to visit Dirty Berty's (the nickname given to Eastwood author D.H. Lawrence) described it as "something that should be based in London."

One point in Dirty Berty's favour is the fact that it is table service, something that has been proposed at pubs when lockdown is eased to prevent a crowd gathering at the bar.

"Because of the popularity we'd gone for table reservation only or a seat at the bar. We have push buttons at the tables so people can call for a waiter. The layout is quite spacious, with booths.

"We can seat 75 people comfortably but when we reopen we will probably cut that down to less than 50," said Kane.

Tipu Sultan

After fears that the site would become a McDonald's, news broke in December 2018 that the former Fat Cat bar in Sherwood was to become a 'palatial' Indian restaurant.

Tipu Sultan, which has restaurants in Birmingham and Leicester, took over the property with the promise of grand surroundings by way of sparkling chandeliers and rich fabrics and a "majestic dining experience worthy of an emperor at your table."

Offering a full halal menu - the signature dish is Sultani chops marinated and chargrilled mutton chops - and an alcohol-free bar, its arrival prompted a mixed reaction.

The grand opening keeps getting pushed back further and further after the announcement that it would be taking bookings for September... 2019.

The renovation has been such a huge undertaking at the premises, in Mansfield Road, that it was still ongoing at the time of lockdown.

There's been no update since a New Year's Eve post, which ironically said: "This will be a good year" with the message: "We are really sorry it's taken this long to get to where we wanted to be and understand that some of you have been waiting many months for our grand opening.

"We are still definitely opening and we haven't decided to down tools and open elsewhere. We have had a tough, uphill road to climb with our renovation but we are still making progress.

"We decided a couple of months ago to stop any social media activity as the building work was very delayed and we did not want to make any more promises of an open date without reaching a certain point with the renovations."

They reassured everyone they would "shout it from the rooftops" when they had a definitive date.

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Pistachio

The promise of mouthwatering Persian flavours tapas-style is almost in touching distance.

The restaurant had been due to open last year but countless setbacks waylaid the renovations at the old building in Sherwood.

The floor collapsed down to the cellar, uncovering severe structural damage, so it wasn't simply a case of new furnishings and redecoration at the property, which has long been a restaurant.

More recently it was Caribbean Queen and before that Cantonese restaurant Panda was based there.

Major building work has been carried out to make it safe as well as making an open kitchen, putting in a new main entrance and replacing the outdated toilets on the first floor.

"We are almost there with the refurbishment - just waiting on few bits and bobs to finish off outside and kitchen but it’s coming on and looking good.

"As soon as we have it sorted we are going to launch takeaway and delivery but want it to look top notch first," said owner Orash Naini, who also runs Pistachio in Sneinton, with his wife Rhiannon and father Babak Sadeghian-Naini.

"I'm so looking forward to being part of the community once again, Sherwood has always been close to my heart as it's where I grew up and went to school."

Dhoom Bar and Grill

A new Indian tapas and grill bar had been set to open in Mapperley Top this year. The restaurant, in Woodborough Road, was to serve meat and veggie options barbecued over a charcoal grill together with cocktails

"We want to stay away from traditional Indian and Asian food, our aim is to introduce something different and unique to the customers of Nottingham," said the man behind it, Qasim Jawad, last September, when the plans were first revealed..

"We will not offer a takeaway service as it’s best to enjoy food fresh off our charcoal grill served to your tables."

Initially he proposed to open in November to catch the Christmas party season but even now the property is an empty shell gathering dust.

However, it turns out a new operator has taken over the premises - and all will be revealed soon.