New Nottingham restaurant Piccalilli is a reminder how the best of British has been forgotten

British flavours have been pushed in the shadows by Asian twists but here they're the star of the show

The alleyway with festoon lighting is very familiar. The well-trodden path down Cannon Court has taken food lovers to one of Nottingham's most acclaimed restaurants, Kushi-ya, for the last five years.

But the Japanese skewer shop has relocated to bigger premises and now there's a new chef, Dan Coles, here at the intimate upstairs space, just off Long Row. While there's a sense of déjà vu - the layout of the tables, the beams and the open pass - there are plenty of changes.

The exposed brick walls with dried flower arrangements, candles on every table, and the absence of anything remotely Japanese, announce the arrival of Piccalilli. It's a Thursday night when we visit and we've just walked past Las Iguanas which appears to be completely empty - perhaps everyone's at the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival as the city centre doesn't have much of a buzz.

As we walk up the stairs to Piccalilli though, there's more signs of life with the restaurant almost full. We're greeted instantly and shown to our table - a corner seat with undoubtedly the best view of the restaurant. I mean who doesn't like a nosey at what everyone else is eating?

The drinks list is wide-ranging with softs, including house cordials, cocktails, whisky, zero-alcohol and ciders. Wine lovers are spoilt for choice and it's pleasing that all but the sparking varieties are available by the glass and the bottle. I opt for a red, a full-bodied rich Argentinian Malbec. My lager-drinking husband goes for the Thornbridge Lukas Helles.

The food menu is succinct - categorised by snacks, vegetables, fish, meat, desserts and cheese. I must admit I have a flashback to Kushi-ya's incredible furikake prawn toast, but I banish the thought and focus on the small plates list in front of me.

We start with smoked ham and piccalilli. The carved slices of ham take me back to Sunday teatime with my grandma minus the doilies and flowery bone china. The condiment which lends its name to the restaurant is nothing like Branston's gloopy bright yellow pickle. This is much more subtle and the tiny chopped pieces of carrot, cucumber, cauliflower and red pepper are probably the crunchiest vegetables ever.

Devilled eggs - an old-fashioned dish using boiled eggs - rarely appear on a menu in 2024 but these have Dan's own spin on them. Rather than having a piped filling and curried mayonnaise, the yolks are topped with salty anchovies, cress and and tangy mayo flavoured with Henderson's Relish - similar to Worcestershire sauce but made in Sheffield.

Just as we're clearing our plates, the next dishes arrive at the table. Two chunky hash browns are delightfully crisp on the outside with soft potato inside. The accompaniment is an intensely flavoured Bramley apple sauce - a bit of a contrast to the tomato ketchup I'd usually have but it works surprisingly well.

On to the sprouting broccoli - it always seems to be served with either tahini and pomegranate or garlic and chilli, so the lemon and cobnut dressing derails my taste buds with a rush of citrus, taking them to a refreshingly different place. Sometimes you find yourself crunching through almost raw stems that have barely been flashed anywhere near the heat but these are suitably charred and easy on the palate. A swirl of aioli provides another punch.

The fish dishes arrive next. Crispy-skinned hake on a bed of celeriac puree with earthy mushrooms is full of umami notes, a complete contrast to the pure fresh-tasting salmon, cucumber and salad cream. On the face of it this could be a Famous Five picnic - all that's missing is the ginger beer. Nostalgic as it seems the dish is anything but old-fashioned with chunks of cured salmon and pickled cucumber, served with a hen's egg, and Dan's version of the much under-utilised UK condiment that has been nudged aside by the omnipresent mayonnaise.

At this stage, I could have done with a short rest but the meat plates have arrived. If I had one request to the kitchen it would be to slow the pace so we could linger a little longer and appreciate the flavours rather than gobbling them down.

My first experience of guinea fowl is a genuinely pleasing one. A bit like chicken, it has more flavour to it and while slightly gamey it's not overwhelmingly so. The crispy skin really makes it, and with the Jerusalem artichoke and roasted plums it sums up autumn on a plate.

My favourite of all is cold roast beef and gherkin ketchup. Like all the other dishes on the menu, they're all very familiar ingredients but deliver a surprise. The slices of beef are stunning - wafer-thin and rare, similar to carpaccio but not raw. Scattered over the top are matchstick-thin crispy fries, pepped up with a sprinkle of salt and vinegar. Since my visit some of the dishes mentioned here have been replaced but I hope this remains on the menu for a long, long time.

So far the meal has championed 99 percent classic British produce. Anyone like me, who regularly eats out, has probably got so used to miso, gochujang, barbecue and all the Asian or USA flavours and fusions that you've forgotten what good old GB has to offer.

But all the twists and turns along the way make it 2024 rather than 1974. Dessert is no different. Rather than the ubiquitous sticky toffee pudding, Dan's version is parsnip cake with honey butterscotch. The light fluffy sponge drizzled with the sweet sauce is heavenly and I can see this fast becoming a Piccalilli favourite.

Mr P had cheese instead - the choice is Colston Bassett Stilton or Rutland Red. He went for the former. The creamy blue is always a favourite, but it would have been nice to have a bit of both.

With a second round of drinks, the total bill with a service charge included comes to just over £50 a head but you could visit for less. A couple of dishes and a drink would set you back around £25.

This is the perfect-sized springboard for a chef's first solo venture. At the moment everyone's describing the location as "Cannon Court where Kushi-ya used to be" but at this rate it will soon be "Cannon Court, the home of Piccalilli".