Norman Rea Gallery’s ‘Off Menu’
Organised by Millie Evans, Words by The Committee
Edited by Myfanwy Greene
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Welcome to the Norman Rea Dream Restaurant!
Step inside, where we explore a taste of what inspires the minds behind the UK’s only student-run gallery. Join us as we serve insights, creativity, and a behind-the-scenes look at the passion that fuels it all. Enjoy the menu!
Directors
Lizzy
Water for the table: Tap (with ice).
Poppadoms or bread? Warm fresh baguette, straight from the oven, with salted butter that melts when you spread it.
Starter: The Sicilian restaurant at Spark used to make these breaded garlic mushrooms which were to die for. They don’t make them anymore but I still dream of them. I have so many fond memories of going there with friends during my first and second year of uni, and we would sit and talk for ages.
Main Course: Kleftiko, with potatoes and veg, cooked all day in with feta and so many other tasty seasonings… just melt in the mouth. The specific one I’m thinking of I had in Greece on holiday at this small taverna with cats who would come up and say hello. The taverna was outdoors, and we found it in a small village after coming back from a beach day, driving our rental car along these tiny switchback roads on the side of a mountain.
Side Dish: Guacamole and chips, with fresh avocado and plenty of garlic. The best guacamole I’ve ever had was at a restaurant in San Diego, where my parents used to live. While my mom lived there, she learned how to make incredible guacamole.
Drink: Aperol Spritz, it has to be the right deep shade of orange, with enough aperol.
Dessert: Tiramisu, a generous helping, followed by chocolate ice cream. Specifically gelato like they do in Italy.
Setting: Outside, somewhere warm, in the evening but before all the bugs come out after a day of hiking and swimming. I’d choose to be with my sister, parents, and my extended family. Afterwards we would play cards into the night.
Opening Night of ‘Food For Thought’. Image credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Charlotte
Water for the table: Tap.
Poppadoms or bread? Poppadoms if having an Indian, but the classic bread and butter if not.
Starter: Halloumi sticks.
Main Course: My Nannan's homemade chicken soup on a cold rainy day.
Side Dish: A cheeky Middle Feast dish after a night out!
Drink: Cheap white wine or a 2-4-1 cocktail deal.
Dessert: The massive tiramisu I had for my birthday! :0
Setting: A cosy dining room with low lights, with the best ever Norman Rea Nation <3
Vice-Directors
Josh
Water for the table: Sparkling.
Poppadoms or bread? Poppadoms, more variety and without gluten I’m fairly limited in my good bread options
Starter: - Indo Chinese Bang Bang Cauliflower bites, softly coated not fully battered!
- Mushroom prawn toast (if it was gluten free)…
- Spring rolls
Main Course: Full fakeaway
- Salt and Pepper tofu
- Sweet and sour tofu
- Chow mein
- Egg fried rice
- Seasoned broccoli (I love broccoli so much)
Side Dish: In reality one (or more) of the above count as a side dish but for this dream meal I’m picking scallion pancakes!
Drink: A pink cocktail of some sort, I never know what colour it is when I pick it but the tastiest ones are always pink.
Dessert: Pistachio chocolate cheesecake topped with whipped cream.
Setting: Some of my favourite meals in recent memory happened at my partners old uni house sitting with her housemates around their kitchen coffee table watching a film or rubbish YouTube videos, so probably that, but with more friends and potentially a bigger living room!
Opening Night of ‘Food For Thought’. Image credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Emilia
Water for the table: Sparkling.
Poppadoms or bread? Bread.
Starter: Pan-fried Dumplings.
Main Course: Wood-fired margherita pizza.
Side Dish: Sweet potato fries.
Drink: Aperol spritz.
Dessert: Tiramisu.
Treasurer
Milly
Water for the table: I will forever proudly ask for a jug of tap water for the table when that weird silence falls upon the whole table after the waiter asks for the drink order. But if this is a dream restaurant I want some hot water in my bottle bottle.
Poppadoms or bread? Continuous baskets of sliced and buttered freshly baked baguettes from this restaurant in France that I can’t remember the name of…
Starter: This is really difficult because I don’t think I’ve ever had a starter in my life, so I’m choosing a side: garlic sauteed potatoes and vegan mayo from the green king in Bulgaria where the owner tried to convince me I could eat chicken and cows as they only eat grass so it would essentially just be like eating grass… #vegan
Main Course: The vegetable donburi and miso soup from Ipfu in York, such an underrated restaurant. Check out https://www.ipfusushi.com/!
Side Dish: Veggie gyoza with copious amounts of soy sauce on the side.
Drink: Glass of the house red.
Dessert: The blueberry no-bake cheesecake with blueberry sauce that my housemate made for Christmas dinner.
Setting: Anywhere with my sister, dad and friends at a summer evening dinner!
Head of Press and Publicity
Lauren
Water for the table: Still.
Poppadoms or bread? A warm slice of sourdough GF Bread!
Starter: A warming soup (cauliflower or veg soup!)
Main Course: Philadelphia Sushi Roll and Avocado Roll.
Side Dish: Broccoli or Miso soup with edamame.
Drink: Coconut Water.
Dessert: Tiramisu.
Lauren and Myfanwy examine art. Image credit mage credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Head of Blog
Myfanwy
Water for the table: Just tap for me!
Poppadoms or bread? Bread (crusty sourdough!)
Starter: Tabbouleh, my friend’s mum makes it and it’s such a refreshing, fragrant salad. So good as a side, a main, or on its own.
Main Course: Shakshuka, ideal as a breakfast or a brunch or a lunch. I think I make a pretty good one myself, always fun to cook and more fun to eat.
Side Dish: Feta/roasted vegetables/hummus.
Drink: Herbal/Turkish tea or maybe white wine (depending on the time of day). Or a blood orange G&T… cannot go wrong.
Dessert: Baklava! Crispy, floral, rich and yet light. YUM. Or, the doughnuts from Gert and Henry’s on the Shambles, genuinely a divine consumption experience.
Setting: Ideal guest would be Florence Pugh, foodie icon and brilliant actress, I think she'd be so fun to eat out with!
Events Officers
Izzy
Water for the table: Tap.
Poppadoms or bread? Bread - maybe naan or focaccia.
Starter: Pierogi from the Blue Barbakan. Check it out https://bluebarbakan.co.uk/!
Main Course: My mum’s macaroni cheese.
Side Dish: My housemate’s mum once bought her a grow your own mushroom starter set and she grew a mushroom called Bertha and then fried it in this way that she found in a Malaysian cookbook! I would have that!
Drink: Thai tea.
Dessert: Tiramisu.
Opening night begins. Image credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Ray
Water for the table: Iced tap water. The colder the better!
Poppadoms or bread? Bread, somewhere between crunchy and soft, with butter.
Starter: Definitely soup, maybe vegetable with no peas (ew) so I can put all the bread to good use.
Main Course: I visited my sister last weekend and had literally the best chicken burger I've ever eaten in my life. There was American cheese and lettuce and I put a biiiig dollop of mild spicy sauce on top. I'd eat that everyday if I could.
Side Dish: Chips! I can't decide between skin on or not, so maybe a mixture of both!
Drink: I'm feeling fancy so a cherry bakewell mocktail with a bit of almond is what I'm going with!
Dessert: I'm actually not that keen on desserts, though I have been craving pies recently though so probably one of those! I can't decide between apple and cherry though....
Setting: Whenever I'm at a restaurant I choose the seat closest to the wall, preferably one with no people walking behind me. I wouldn't mind a window to look out of either, provided there's a good view! For guests, definitely my sister and my friends, though introducing people who have never met can be a bit awkward…
Gallery Assistants
Zoë
Water for the table: Cornwall tap water is the best I've ever had.
Poppadoms or bread? Undercooked garlic bread.
Starter: The cauliflower amuse bouche at my work that stopped me from being a cauliflower hater.
Main Course: my housemate Lizzie's beef soup that I can eat like 3 bowls of!
Side Dish: Salty tenderstem broccoli.
Drink: A massive glass of my favourite wine White Rabbit Riesling after a long shift.
Dessert: The melt in the middle chocolate pudding from Tesco that they don't sell anymore :(
Setting: On the sofa, in my uni house living room with my housemates. <3
Lucy
Water for the table: Still, in a glass bottle.
Poppadoms or bread? Bread, I want a bread platter with toast, bagels, crusty bread etc.
Starter: French onion soup from a restaurant in my hometown.
Main Course: Genovese rigatoni pasta with an aggressive amount of parmesan.
Side Dish: My very own air fryer broccoli.
Drink: If I’m drinking, viogner white wine. If not, pepsi with loads of ice and lemon.
Dessert: Nigella’s chocolate and raspberry pavlova.
Setting: Has to be on a round table with friends and family.
NRG’s Last Supper. Image credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Graphics Designers
Grace
Water for the table: Still.
Poppadoms or bread? Bread.
Starter: Mini charcuterie board with meats, cheeses and pickles!
Main Course: Katsu Curry noodles with some gyoza and vegetables!
Side Dish: Sweet potato fries with sriracha sauce.
Drink: Peach Iced Tea.
Dessert: Lemon and raspberry sorbet.
Beth
Water for the table: Still.
Poppadoms or bread? Poppadoms.
Starter: Arancini.
Main Course: Steak and garlic pho.
Side Dish: Truffle and Parmesan Fries.
Drink: Peach Iced Tea.
Dessert: Pistachio Ice Cream.
Opening night cake! Image credit Kordélia Mészáros.
Members Officer
Ellie (N.B Menu is not made for cohesiveness but ultimate pleasure experience).
Water for the table: Tap water from upstairs bathroom at home. Served in my nice water bottle.
Poppadoms or bread? Well done crumpets with President butter. Outside should be darkened and crisp, but inside remains spongy to soak up butter.
Starter: Chicken and bacon caesar salad made by yours truly. I trust myself to make it best.
Main Course: Pork white sesame ramen from my old workplace. Tastes better when eaten during or after an extremely busy shift.
Side Dish: Middle Feast chips and garlic mayo. Stolen from friends that were frivolous enough to pay for them, at the end of the night.
Drink: Japanese melon soda. Not Ramune because it’s not flavourful enough. I unfortunately don’t know the brand as I can’t read Japanese.
Dessert: Selection of my favourite sweets from my hometown sweet shop. They wouldn’t hire me, but I kept going in. Highlights include: giant fizzy cherry cola bottles, sour watermelons and gummy meerkats.
Like the evidently popular tiramisu, the Norman Rea Gallery is all about the right balance: creativity, teamwork, and vision. These elements come together to create unique flavours for each exhibition and event.
Come along to the gallery to see Food for Thought: a Tasting Menu, up until February 27th 2026.
‘Off Menu’ was inspired by Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s podcast of the same name.
