The Sumac Centre has a completely vegan cafe and bar run by volunteers. As it is registered as a Social Club, you have to be a member to be there during licensed hours, though it is easy to get someone to sign you in as a guest. The opening hours are limited and subject to availability of volunteers, so check beforehand. Beer costs about £1.90 a pint.

Food service is currently limited due to a lack of volunteers (why not help?). On the second and fourth Friday each month there is the 'Small World Kitchen' - lots of delicious food made by volunteers from a local refugee group. £3 donation. There is a People's Kitchen meal served every Saturday from 6:30pm. £4 donation. Breakfasts are usually available on Sundays 11am - 3pm. They are really tasty and include the famous Sumac potato cakes.

Members' Bar open Thursdays 6:30pm—11:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays 7:30pm—11:00pm.

Directions: The Sumac Centre is based in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham - about 2 miles from the City Centre. It is easily reachable by bus and tram.

The Alley Café is a really groovy veggie café and bar, popular with many non-veggies too. They have a full menu of meals and snacks, decent beer (e.g. Organic Golden Promise), cocktails, delicious cakes and puddings. There is a daily special meal for less than £7, or I would recommend trying one of their pizzas. The café is quite small, so you may have trouble finding a seat at lunchtimes and weekend evenings. They serve food and drink until 11pm most nights, with DJs on at the weekends. As well as art displays on the walls, The Alley Café is the venue for monthly poetry nights, film night and other events.

Open Monday & Tuesday 11am - 6pm; Wednesday-Saturday 11am - 11pm; Closed all day Sunday. They are sometimes close on Wednesday evenings without notice, so check first. Cost: Main meals around £7; Alcoholic drinks about £3.

Directions: Funnily enough, the Alley Café is down an alley way, so can be difficult to find. Starting from the Old Market Square, go to the opposite end to the Council House. Leading away from the square is a road called Angel Row, with the Bell pub (very nice) on your left and Yates's Wine Lodge (minging) on your right. Go up this road and you should see the Central Library on your left. Opposite this, on your right, is a tanning studio. Just to the left of the tanning studio is an alley way (the second alley way on this road) called Cannon Court Yard - there should be a sign for Johnson Partnership Solicitors and the Alley Cafe. Once in the alley way, go through the door on the left and up the stairs.

Squeek is a wonderful place. An à la carte veggie restaurant with loads of vegan options. The food is beautifully presented, the portions aren't large but are very filling. There is a new menu each month, so you always have an excuse to go back. This is the kind of restaurant to which you can take a group of meat-eaters and not have any complaints about being forced to eat veggie food - they'll want to come back too. Also a good place for taking someone on a date. Cost: Two-course evening meal is £13.95, three-course meal, £15.95.

Closed Tuesdays and Sundays. Discounts for students on Mondays.

A groovy retro-styled veggie café with an outside seating area.

These are the vegan options: Soup of the day, falafel & salad in pitta, baked potatoes (with vegan fillings), sandwiches (with vegan fillings), cupcakes. They also have tea, hot chocolate, fairtrade coffee (including soya latte), chilled drinks and crisps.

Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm.

A vegetarian café with simple foods like soup. Occasional art and poetry events.

I've not been here myself but it all sounds very impressive: a volunteer-run cafe and bakery which is vegetarian and uses local and fairly-traded produce.

There is a main course each day for £3.50 and soup of the day for £1.50. Also, there are various light snacks and breakfasts, with vegan options. They also cater for those with food intolerances.

"The food style is very international but with a particular inclination towards South Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines, except on Mondays when we do English-ish days."

Check the website for more info. If you go, let me know what it's like.

Opening times: 9am-4pm Monday to Friday and 10am-4pm Saturday. Also Thursday evenings 7pm-10pm.

Café Nomad is a small veggie cafe/restaurant serving a range of food from takeaway snacks and burgers to full meals.

Since they opened, they have increased the number of dishes that can be vegan, so there is a choice of several starters and main courses. I can recommend the delicious Moroccan tajine. The soup of the day is often vegan. Apple tart and fruit salad are the only options for pudding.

A three course meal including a soft drinks costs about £10. They aren't licensed but you can take your own wine.

Nomad has great food and would be a wonderful place if it weren't for the fact that the staff are sometimes unhelpful and impolite.

Opening times (subject to change) : Weds & Thurs 4-10pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 12-3pm. Booking recommended in the evening and essential on Sundays.

This is a volunteer-run veggie café and shop which is part of the Akshobya Buddhist Centre. They serve soup and hot paninis with a choice of fillings, cakes and drinks

Opening Times: Monday to Friday 12–3.30pm.

The mm...deli can be found in the lovely Sherwood area - about 2 miles from the city centre, close to the Roots health food shop. The deli is "99% vegetarian" with lots of vegan options.

They serve sandwiches, paninis, cakes etc. which can be eaten there or taken away. They can also deliver buffet lunches and have a catering trailer for events.

They have a wide variety of unusual foods on the shelves so it's worth going in for a browse.

More info on their website.

Kayal serves delicious South Indian food, which is quite different to the Bangladeshi-derived food of normal Indian restaurants.

Main meals come with a dosa - a thin pancake which can be dipped into various chutneys.

The staff at Kayal understand the needs of vegans and are helpful and friendly.

As well as evening meals, they also serve a "business man's lunch" for £6 consisting of dosa, chutneys, rice and three curries, which has a vegan option.

The Broadway is a very popular arts cinema in the trendy Hockley area, adjacent to the city centre. The bar is even more popular than the films, particularly with pretentious arty people. The café-bar usually has one or two vegan soup and main meal options which are clearly marked on the blackboard. However, sometimes the vegan options run out. From the regular menu, you can get a selection of tapas (e.g. pitta with houmous, artichoke hearts, olives etc.) with salad. Also, the baguette with roasted tofu is delicious and very filling. They also now stock the delicious, locally made 'Pop My Cherry' vegan cakes.

If you are seeing a film, there are often dishes that can be served with a few minutes of ordering and you can get a discount by buying your film ticket and meal at the same time. There is also a decent range of beer, spirits and fruit juices available.

You can sit in the (much nicer) Mezz Bar upstairs where you can order food from downstairs (but check the specials board downstairs before you go up).

Café-bar open Mon - Fri 9am - 11pm; Sat 11am - 11pm; Sun 12noon - 10.30pm.

Friends of mine go here regularly and have trained the friendly staff to serve vegan options. They now have a completely separate vegan menu which you can ask for when you go.

The food is delicious.

A very simple and cheap Chinese restaurant with friendly staff and several delicious vegan options. The portions are huge. They don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own - there are many off-licences near-by. A very good place to go after visiting one of the many excellent pubs along this road (I recommend the Golden Fleece, Forest Tavern and Lincolnshire Poacher).

I must admit I've never been to Encounters despite going past it every day, but I know they have a special vegetarian and vegan menu on Tuesday nights, and some vegan options the rest of the time. A good place to go if you are with an uncompromising meat-eater and somewhere you can ask for vegan food and get something other than a blank stare. Based close to the centre of town, opposite the Victoria Shopping Centre.

Wagamama has a few (very nice) vegan options which you can read about on their website. Apparently they are cooked to order on separate grills to the meat dishes. I've found the staff to be understanding and knowledgeable about the vegan options.

Wagamama isn't the place if you want to relax and chat with your friends. They rush you through in double time, but that's great if you are after a quick meal.

Remember there is no booking here - turn up and, if necessary, wait for a place at one of the long tables (which is hard if you're in a large group).

This is a posh, beautifully decorated, Thai restaurant in the trendy Hockley area on the site of the old Siam Thani restaurant. They have lovely food with several vegan options. I recommend the Maa Kheua Sam Rod (Deep fried battered aubergine with tamarind sauce).

They also have sister restaurants in Matlock and Lincoln.

Opening Times: Open 7 days. Lunch 12pm-2:30pm (3pm Sunday); Dinner 6pm-11pm (10:30pm Sunday).

Directions: Facing the Council House in the Market Square, walk along the street to the right of the Council House. Thailand No.1 is a few hundred yards up on your right, opposite George Street.

Tarn Thai is beautiful inside, very posh but not too expensive. The menu is extensive and interesting with lots of vegan options and the staff are very helpful in choosing the right stuff. I can recommend the vegetarian set meal (£18 per person) which can easily be adapted to be vegan.

Open every day; Lunch 12pm-3pm; Dinner 6pm-11pm (11:30pm Fri-Sat)

A really nice Cantonese restaurant in West Bridgford. The friendly staff will help you order vegan options.

Opening Times: Weds-Thurs 12pm-12am, Fri-Sat 12pm-1am.

Pizza Express are happy to make pizzas without cheese and their bases are vegan. Make sure you tell the staff you are vegan and they can tell you which sauces are suitable.

There is more information about their vegan items on the Vegan London website. They say that you should stress "how strict your diet is to the manager on duty, so as the chef can implement all necessary procedures to avoid cross contamination."

An 'urban Indian canteen' - essentially an Indian version of Wagamama. The food is very tasty and they have several vegan options, including a thali (for £11) that can be made vegan. The staff are helpful.

They also offer a take-away service: phone in your order and pick it up.

You can get a discount of 20% off your food from Sunday to Thursday with a Nottingham CityCard.

Well-regarded Indian restaurant with separate veggie menu and lots of vegan options

Open: Monday-Thursday 5.30pm-12.00am, Friday-Saturday 5:30pm-1:00am; Sunday (Buffet) 1pm - 6pm

Ripple Café-bar's menu includes a big vegan breakfast (sausage, mushroom, tomato, beans, toast, hash browns scrambled tofu with leek and spinach) for £5.50, a mixed-grain tofu burger, salads, snacks/tapas dishes such as olive, ciabatta, falafel, houmous, ice-cream and fantastic soya milkshakes. They are willing to adapt other dishes where possible.

Open: Tuesday-Wednesday 4pm-11pm, Thursday-Saturday 11am-11pm; Sunday 11am-4pm.

A rock pub with a burger bar - around 45 options with lots of vegan options. They use a separate grill for the veggie burgers. Served with chips/wedges etc.

See a panoramic shot of the gig room on the BBC Nottingham website.

A milkshake café that is happy to make soya milk alternatives, which are fantastic. They blend various things into their milkshakes like tic tacs, Fry's Peppermint Cream, ginger nut biscuits, fresh fruit etc. See their website for the vegan options, or ask the staff. If you are going regularly, get a saver card - you get a free shake with every ten purchases.

Tucked away near to the railway station, The Palm Tree is a well-kept secret. The restaurant is beautiful inside and the staff very helpful and friendly. The owner in particular seems to understand the needs of vegans - booking ahead and saying you are vegan is advisable. Lebanese food is simple and much of it vegan - they don't seem to use many dairy products so vegetarian options tend to be suitable. However, there is only one main meal that is vegan here - a delicious combination of rice, lentils and tomatoes, but you could happily dine on the starters of pitta, houmous, salads etc.

Directions: If you are at the railway station entrance, turn left out of the front of the station, cross Queens Road and the Palm Tree is about 50 yards ahead of you, on the left.

See Kayal, Tamatanga and the Balti House above.

Nottingham has many excellent Indian restaurants. Traditionally, Mansfield Road has been the place for cheap, decent curries, though there is not so much choice there now. In recent years, Maid Marian Way has seen several new, fashionable Indian restaurants opening. My favourite is out of the town centre - the Jewel In The Crown in West Bridgford (near to the Co-op and the excellent Stratford Haven pub). I haven't been there for years but it used to be superb. Also, the Rajah on Mansfield Road in Sherwood has cheap and very tasty food.

For lunch, you could also try the Indian Community Centre at 99 Hucknall Road. They serve a veggie/vegan meal Monday to Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 for a few pounds.

Screaming Carrot is a vegan bakery selling a delicious selection of cakes, pasties, etc. They also have a small selection of dry and frozen wholefoods, including fair-trade and organic, and offer an organic vegetable box scheme. They take orders for special occasion cakes (which are delicious and excellent value for money).

Opening hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 7.30 - 5.30; Weds: 8 - 6; Sat: 10 - 4; Closed Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.

Screaming Carrot is in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham, fairly close to the Sumac Centre.

See the inside of the shop here.

Good selection of dry, frozen and ready-to-eat foods. The shop also a herbal dispensary.

Roots is a short bus ride from town (millions of buses go along Mansfield Road) and there is a free car park behind the shop

Opening hours (Not checked): Mon-Fri 9 - 6 except Weds 9 - 6:45; Sat 9 - 5

The most central health food shop, and also the largest and cheapest in Nottingham. Lots of vegan and organic foods. Small selection of ready-to-eat foods in the fridge.

Directions: Situated behind the Lower Parliament Street branch of Wilkinson. Or, from the Market Square, go to the left side of the Council House. At the back of the Council House, turn left and then right and the shop is on your right, next to a charity shop.

Small, but well stocked wholefood shop. They have the best range of frozen and ready-to-eat foods including pasties, cakes, pizzas etc. Often lots of things on offer. They always have something different you haven't tried before.

Directions: Opposite the Mansfield Road entrance to the Victoria Centre / Victoria Bus Station.

A combined greengrocer and wholefood shop - so you can get all your food in one place. Reasonable selection of wholefoods - not much ready-to-eat stuff, though.

Directions: Close to Tudor Square at the centre of West Bridgford.

Situated opposite Sainsbury's car-park, an organic shop which isn't specifically vegetarian (it sells lots of organic meat) but which has a decent range of wholefood and vegan items.

As you probably know, Holland & Barrett are a big national chain of health food stores. Larger stores have wholefoods, frozen products and ready-to-eat foods. Smaller stores tend to have a very limited range.

Subways are everywhere and I hate them! But, they might be more your sort of thing. This is the information on their website on vegan options:
"The menu items that do not contain any animal-derived ingredients are the Veggie Delite on Italian bread and the Veggie Delite salad. Also these individual items also do not contain animal-derived ingredients: all vegetables, oil, vinegar, mustard, sweet onion sauce and Fruizle. The wheat bread and deli roll contain honey but no other animal-derived ingredients."
If you want to find a Subway in Nottingham, just turn any corner. If there isn't one there already, just wait a while.

A completely vegan shop in the centre of Derby. Situated in the centre of town, near the bus station, Eagle Centre and the Assembly Rooms. Ready-to-eat foods. Lots of organic and wholefoods, including an organic veg and fruit box scheme. Probably the best shop in the region. Well done, Derby.

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 6pm.

A friendly veggie café inside an amazing second hand bookshop. Mostly home-cooked, seasonal produce with soups and cakes. Vegan and gluten-free options available.

A vegetarian café with vegan and gluten-free options.

Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm; Also Weds 6pm-10pm (booking essential). Closed Sundays and bank holidays.

Sister restaurant of Kayal in Nottingham with the same menu. This one used to be called Halli and was all-vegetarian.

Vegetarian café. The food is delicious, especially the puddings. Vegan options are limited but if you phone ahead they will ensure there is something for you.

The decor is 'homely' - rather a contrast to the Alley Café! The café is hard to find as it is in a side street and up some stairs so take a map with you.

Sandwich shop with sandwiches, quiche, cakes and other snacks. Also a wholefood shop.