LoveFood

What do we like? Food! Eating! Gorging ourselves! And what better place than Sheffield? Full to the brim of fantastic quality cheap eats and restaurants with award winning fare from across the globe, we truly are foodies here. London has it’s Michelin stars – but at those prices you can keep them, thanks. We’ve got the Asian sensation that is London Road, Ecclesall Road’s Italian and mediterranean charms, and hundreds of fantastic cafes and restaurants popping up all over the city.

Check out our restaurant reviews, mostly from our resident food critic sweetkomal, a chef at Sheffield’s fantastic Fusion Cafe!

LS on food…

Komal:

I’ve been interested in food since I can remember and my mum got me cooking at about 10 years old. Younger if you count chopping vegetables and stirring! My mum is Pakistani so I love south asian food and can make some rather delicious curries myself.

I got my first job in catering at  pizza hut on abbeydale road when I was 17 . I loved it. It taught me how to cope under pressure which was useful as it got extremely busy at times.

I  studied for a professional chefs diploma at Sheffield college which I finished last year. It was incredible. I got to make the most beautiful cakes and chocolates. I also won an award and worked for a week at the park lane hotel in london where we did canopés for 500 people for a huge function. That was intense!

I love to travel and eat the local food. My most recent holiday was to China where I visited Shanghai, Xi’an and Hangzhou sampling all their delicious and sometimes very weird food – tea boiled quails eggs anyone?

Sheffield is a great place to eat out as long as you choose the right places and london road has some absolute gems.  My favourite places to eat include:

Noodle Inn and Pho 68 – Two great places to eat chinese food on london road.
East and West – Sri lankan food, absolutely delicious best indian restaurant in Sheffield no doubt about it.
Cubana – Lovely tapas and great atmosphere.
Jabu – Amazing fondue house – not the cheese kind, the big bowl of stock which you cook your own food in kind. Their lamb and coriander dumplings are just amazing.
Amigos – Lovely little mexican place – great for lunch.
Bragazzis – Italian deli on abbeydale road, the best sandwiches in Sheffield.
Yo! Sushi – The best thing about meadowhall. Great for a group and you and you get to try lots of different dishes.

Rosie: I love food! I may not be as knowledgeable as Komal but I sure as hell much my way through a lot! My friends are always commenting on my appetite and I guess that’s led to my love of food. One of my friends (who shall remain unnamed) who confesses to not being interested in food completely baffles me – it’s one of life’s great joys as far as I am concerned. So where do I like? Well, after spending some time living with a Shanghaiesne family, I am a complete devotee to Chinese food, especially from that area (which is pretty hard to come by in Cantonese obsessed Britain), and Vietnamese, Thai and variants. I’m discovering sushi slowly, but until last year I didn’t eat fish (and I am otherwise vegetarian) so still not sure. I love chinese greens, steamed rice, marinated tofu and garlic aubergines. I also LOVE noodles a bit more than is probably healthy. So where to go? My top Sheffield restaurants would be (in no particular order):

Pho 68 on London Rd – a relatively recent discovery but their food is just fabulous, fresh and well presented. This is high quality Chinese/Vietnamese food by skilled chefs.
East One Noodle Bar, West One complex. I was introduced to this place at a friend’s birthday party, and boy I just can’t keep away. Definitely the best place to eat before a night out!
The Mogul Room, Sharrowvale Rd. One of the best curries in Sheffield, using excellent quality ingredients and not too much oil. Yum.
Platillos & Cubana. Both popular tapas restaurants in the city centre. I used to go to Cubana quite a lot but Platillos is now miles ahead for me because the menu at Cubana hasn’t changed in years and for a vegetarian like me it’s a bit boring – that said, if it’s atmosphere you want then head down on a weekend evening. I also think their food doesn’t match the hype, so I’d suggest you give Platillos a go and be pleasantly surprised.
Bahn Thai. I love Thai food, and this place, in an old bank, is gloriously lavish inside featuring gilt screens, Sukhothai buddhas and beautiful table settings. The food is exquisite, try their corn cakes as a wonderful starter. Definitely somewhere for a special occasion!