A café by day and one of Sheffield’s most talked-about eateries by night, Restaurant Elm is already making serious waves – and it’s only just getting started…
On the ever-bustling Glossop Road, one of the city’s most exciting culinary spots has been quietly turning heads and earning critical acclaim. By day, Elm is a bright, easygoing café – the kind of place you drop into for a quick coffee and end up lingering over brunch. Come evening, though, the lights soften, candles flicker, vinyl spins behind the bar and the space shifts into Restaurant Elm – a confident, design-led dining spot drawing food lovers from across the north.
The project is a collaboration between brothers Nik and Jon Daughtry – both designers by trade – and chef Nathan Wall, formerly of Jöro and Fischer’s at Baslow. It’s an alliance that’s grown naturally, born out of a run of ‘Bistro-Pop’ nights that steadily built momentum. As Nik explains: “A couple of years ago, we started doing the Bistro-Pop nights, where we’d showcase different chefs in the evenings. Nathan did one and it was just completely different… we kind of just thought, when can we get him back?”
That question ended up answering itself. After a string of increasingly popular pop-ups, the trio decided to make it permanent. Restaurant Elm became a partnership roughly 10 months ago – and in that short time, it’s already picked up two AA rosettes, an achievement that places it firmly among the region’s top-tier dining destinations.
What makes Elm work isn’t just the food, though that’s central. It’s the clarity of vision across everything else. Nathan’s approach is refreshingly straightforward: “I cook food I actually want to eat. I’ve worked in kitchens where you’re putting up dishes you’re not that into, and I never wanted that. Everything on the menu is there because I believe in it.” That ethos carries through to a menu that evolves gradually rather than resetting wholesale, shifting with the seasons and the kitchen’s instincts.
Around that, Nik and Jon have pooled their considerable design skills to build a space that sets the tone just right. “I want to work in a place that I’d want to live in,” Nik says, and that balance shows. It’s stylish without being stiff, relaxed without losing a sense of occasion. You can come for a romantic corner table or settle into the hum of a busy Saturday night – either way, it feels like a good fit for Sheffield these days: cool but not showy or pretentious.
There’s also a strong sense of thoughtfulness running beneath the surface. Elm operates with a low-waste mindset and a focus on ethically sourced products – from Day Drug coffee through to a tightly curated list of low-intervention wines. Even the small personal touches matter: receipts presented in keepsake wallets, postcards marking milestones, details designed to turn a meal into something more memorable.
And then there’s the atmosphere – something the team are clearly proud of. “It’s not a hushed environment – everybody’s having a nice time and that’s encouraged,” says Nik. From the curated playlists to the front-of-house service, it all comes together into something that clicks nicely without feeling forced. “People don’t just come for the food,” he adds. “The service, the music, the overall vibe – all of those things are so important.”
That approach seems to be resonating. Regulars are becoming friends, word is spreading beyond the Steel City and diners are regularly coming from across the Pennines and beyond to see what the fuss is about.
So, the food.
We were treated to five dishes from the seven-course tasting menu (£75), which feels more than fair for the level Elm is operating at. It opens simply, but perfectly – warm treacle bread, baked fresh that day, with cultured butter. The smell alone tells you everything you need to know, and it becomes clear this is something you’ll want to ration across the early courses.
That instinct pays off when the roasted Jerusalem artichoke lands – paired with a vintage cheddar custard, artichoke sauce, chive oil and roasted yeast. It’s rich, savoury and deeply comforting, with the treacle bread acting as the perfect tool for mopping up every last bit of that cheese-laced sauce.
Next, Yorkshire peas cooked in lardo arrive with pickled girolles and a generous snowfall of grated Wakebridge cheese – somewhere between a Pecorino and something more local in character. Nasturtium herb oil cuts through with a peppery lift, bringing brightness to what could otherwise lean too heavy. It’s a delicious, delightfully earthy dish.
The duck course is where things really step up. Rich breast and braised leg come together with pumpkin seed, carrot and orange purée, chicory marmalade and a proper, glossy duck jus. It’s confident cooking – bold, balanced and clearly a standout.
Desserts, though, are where Elm seems to have found another gear. A jasmine tea and ginger fruit cake arrives topped with a slab of Baron Bigod, alongside white port and vanilla syrup, Sheffield honey and a punchy pickled walnut ketchup. It sounds unlikely on paper but lands brilliantly, moving between sweet, savoury and sharp without losing control.
A pre-dessert of chocolate namelaka – Japanese for “ultra-creamy” and, fittingly, almost impossibly smooth – hides a core of miso caramel, finished with torched black sesame for a subtle smokiness. It’s a small dish but one that lingers.
Finally, a caramelised whey and white chocolate parfait closes things out, with rhubarb jam, ginger sugar tuile, sour cream and yuzu bringing balance and lift. It’s a fitting end – technical without feeling overworked, and a neat reflection of the kitchen’s wider approach.
If Elm is still in its first year, it doesn’t feel like it. This is a restaurant that already knows exactly what it is – and what it wants to become, with its early accolades pointing towards bigger things still on the horizon.
Nik sums it up: “We’re definitely not resting on our laurels. It’s been amazing how quickly it’s grown, but we’re not looking at it like we’ve made it. We just want to keep pushing it forward, keep improving, and see how far we can take it.”
elmsheffield.co.uk // @restaurant_elm
