The Frustrated Chef — Restaurant in Broxtowe

Wow! We returned to Frustrated Chef last Friday to celebrate my birthday, giving it another chance after a less-than-perfect visit a few years ago. Having heard fantastic reviews recently, we were eager to see if things had improved—and I can confidently say it exceeded all expectations!

As a big fan of tapas and someone who has explored many tapas restaurants across the Midlands, I can honestly say it will be hard to go elsewhere after this experience. The food was simply sensational—freshly prepared, perfectly cooked, and bursting with flavor. Each dish arrived promptly, and we enjoyed it so much that we ended up sampling most of the meat dishes on the menu!

My personal favorite was the halloumi fries with marmalade jam—a taste sensation that was an absolute delight. Close contenders were the succulent prawns, melt-in-the-mouth pork belly, crispy chicken, and the rich, flavorful Serrano ham croquettes. It was all so good that I’d have to order them again on my next visit!

To top off an already incredible evening, the chef surprised me with a complimentary dessert to mark my birthday—a thoughtful touch that made the night even more special. The warm, cozy atmosphere, combined with the lively buzz of a full restaurant and impeccable service, created the perfect setting for a memorable celebration.

If you haven’t been recently, I highly recommend experiencing the new menu and refreshed interior under the restaurant’s new ownership. In such a short time, they have truly elevated Frustrated Chef into a world-class tapas destination. I can’t wait to return!

I’m not usually one to leave reviews, but this is something worth...

Went for celebration meal but was v disappointed and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Went on 30th Jan was that the chef’s night off?!! ‘Beetroot, apple and feta salad with feta and almonds’ was good - but too heavy on the mayo unfortunately, especially since menu didn’t mention mayo - I cannot eat mayo! See photo. Too thick batter on tempura sea bass - made it too heavy with such a delicate and fine fish - see photo. Too much salt and sugar used in many dishes - like the calamari (v salty) and the sweet potato/halloumi dish (v sugary glazing). Said ‘Breads, with extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar’ on menu but only one type of bread came - was one of those cheap supermarket baguettes you buy in plastic then reheat in oven. Offering just one type of bread is not ‘breads’ ( which means more than one type of bread) so mis-sold there - which is rare in restaurants. Server said bread was sourdough but it didn’t taste at all of sourdough - had that pre-baked supermarket baguette taste instead. Olives were 2 black olives and rest were all green olives - need variety please! The ‘Halloumi, sweet potatoes, sweet chilli and cashews’ was 90% sweet potato (see photo) which was disappointing especially since halloumi was the first named ingredient in menu description. Generally very disappointing...

I have been to the Frustrated Chef a handful of times now and each time I have the same experience.

The food is amazing! So delicious and the portion sizes are great. Such great value for money and for the food I would return again and again. The Goats Cheese Parcels, Pork Belly and Croquettes are amazing. I also love the crispy fried cod and churros!!!

However the staff are not very welcoming or attentive. There have been several visits where the staff let the whole experience down and if the food wasn’t as good as it is, I wouldn’t return. The most recent experience I can recall is that we had a table booked for 4 people on a Friday evening. 3 of us arrived and 1 was joining a little later. The staff left us without taking a drinks order for around 30 minutes until the friend arrived. Working in hospitality myself, it’s courteous to come over to the table and ask if we would like anything whilst we wait (even a jug of tap water would do!) or if we would like to wait until the friend arrives to order. The staff generally are quite slow and don’t seem to be very welcoming at all, standing behind the bar all evening.

I would return and recommend The Frustrated Chef to people for the food but not...