Tea and fairy cakes at city gem!

LUNCH comes in tiers. The slices of crustless sandwiches lead into the scones with jam and cream, which in turn give way to the tart at the top of the ornate cake stand.

This is proper high-tea stuff, served by a sharp-uniformed waiter. It's the sort of experience tourists pay good money for in London (while labouring under the assumption that the natives dine like this every day).

And yet The Walk, the new city centre cafe and teashop, didn't stumble out fully formed from a Wodehouse novel.

There's more than a hint of the modern here, too.

Its location, tucked up in the courtyard of Bridlesmith Walk (next to the new Ibis hotel or down that odd little passageway from Bridlesmith Gate), lends The Walk the feel of a little-known discovery.

Of course, the busy midday crowd gives the impression that local knowledge moves quickly these days.

"It's a bit of a backlash against all the chain coffee shops, they're so samey," said designer Ruth Disney, who works with owner Annie Hamilton at design agency Victoria Creative. "It's an oasis – you can kind of forget you're in town."

Fairy cakes and pastries figure heavily on the menu – made by a pastry chef who also counts Claridge's among his clients.

The place also offers savouries of a more Continental bent – fig and proscuitto salad with dolcelatte, or crab salad with balsamic syrup also make their way onto the menu, as do drinks made of sterner stuff than tea leaves. Check the champagnes section (most are also available by the glass). Wine, Prosecco and a solid list of high-end Euro-beers are other options.

Then there's the interior. Here, the word "quirky" would not be out of place, but the design succeeds.

Ruth and Annie searched everywhere from eBay to antique markets. The chairs were found at an old Barcelona cinema, while much of the rest of the furniture came from Italy. For staff uniforms they went no less stylish but a bit less far-flung – those were sourced at Paul Smith.

Many of the visual touches are downright witty. The painting of a diver appears headed into an ice bucket. A small and decidedly fake bird resides in a gilded cage.

(So in addition to high tea, we get a bit of Monty Python? Altogether now: "This parrot has ceased to be...")

It all adds up to a place that won't compete with the high-street coffee chains so much as offer refuge from them. Darren Rose, previously the maitre d' at World Service, oversees front-of-house operations.

"I think this idea is just what Nottingham's been lacking," he says. "Without blowing our own trumpet too much, I think we're going to be the talk of the town."