Nottingham’s vibrant Hockley area is a food lover’s paradise with a host of independent eateries, cafes and bars and new ones popping up seemingly every day. The Ugly Bread Bakery & Cafe sells, well you guessed it, “ugly bread”. Actually, it sells rather gorgeous bread, but as all the loaves are baked by hand on the premises, they are rather different from the uniform offerings of the supermarkets.

This delightful place has a laid-back vibe – relaxed, casual and friendly. And there’s a stunning array of loaves, a huge variety of filled focaccia, baguettes and superb mezzaluna, as well as sourdough stone-baked pizza (waiting invitingly on the counter to be cooked to order in the pizza oven) and amazing Sicilian-style sweet cannoli and hand-made cakes, all available to eat in or take away.

The bakery is the brainchild of Jade Vendone and the emphasis is on quality and tradition: the sourdough bread, for example, have been fermented for at least 24 hours using minimal yeast and salt.