A quaint spot just on the edge of town, Nice Neighbourhood’s focus on affordable eats, unique dishes and inclusivity brings character to Glossop Road.
It’s an easy spot to miss, if you’re not paying attention. The big front door of Nice Neighbourhood on Glossop Road, just next door to the Harley, resembles that of a standard two up, two down from a by-gone era. Delve deeper into the building’s history, and, as it goes, 342 Glossop Road is actually a Grade II-listed Georgian terraced house, which was more recently home to creative hub ROCO, and has now emerged as Nice Neighbourhood – a project similar in spirit with creative studios and work spaces but if we’re honest, we’re here for the restaurant and bar..
All throughout the corridors leading up to the main bar and restaurant area, designers, freelancers and students tap away at their laptops, making use of the tranquil surroundings. The hanging plants from the ceiling, the gorgeous contrast of blue, orange and coral décor and the amiable staff make for a pretty stunning entrance.
Whilst pondering our afternoon tipples at the bar, our eyes light up at the selection of baked goods on the counter. Nice Neighbourhood works with local suppliers and traders to freshen up the selection of ‘kruffins’, ‘cronuts’ and gluten-free ‘dough-nots’ on a regular basis, so if the all-day brunch menu isn’t to your liking, this display is a pleasant alternative.
Once we’d settled down with our drinks, the dishes came out one by one, each to an audible gasp of appreciation from the recipient. First up, our editor’s Kashmiri masala hash arrived topped with crispy eggs and miso hollandaise sauce. All veggie – the eggs sat atop a spiced beetroot and potato pancake and made for quite a centre piece, before being consumed at a record rate.
Our photographer’s fried chicken and French toast with chilli gravy was as good as it sounded and my flatbread stuffed with feta and mozzarella (and topped with a baked egg) was fantastic, despite some initial doubts about those strong flavours blending well with each other. Finally, our sales director’s choice, the ‘huevos rotos con chorizo’ steals the show in terms of taste and presentation. This dish consists of buttered potato terrine, fried chorizo, oyster mushrooms and a crispy deep fried egg, topped with squid ink aioli. Hats off to the chef Blake for such innovative dishes.
After dinner, owner Andrea Burns takes us up to the as-yet unfinished rooftop bar. There’s talk of a full cocktail bar installation up there, and if we have another never ending summer like last year, we know exactly where we’ll be heading for our post-work tipple…
5 mins with Nice Neighbourhood owner Andrea Burns
Can you tell us a bit about Nice Neighbourhood?
NN is a mix of café/bar, creative workspace and events spaces. At our heart we are a community of designers, creators and business makers who love good food and good beer. We’ve piled our passion into building a space where awesome things can happen.
There’s the bar and food element too – what can we find there?
We have pretty unique space with courtyards and terrace for the summer which we can’t wait to get open. Our aim is to keep the cost a pocket friendly price. This can be quite challenging sometimes when sourcing fresh and seasonal ingredients but it’s important to us that we deliver quality to our customers.
There seems to be a strong local and creative ethos here. Is supporting local independents a big part of NN?
It’s huge – it’s why we are here! Sheffield has changed a lot over the last few years and we seemed to have hit a tipping point when it comes to the opening of new spaces where people are being more adventurous with the offer and the ambition. This is a fantastic movement to see and we are really excited to be in the vanguard pushing forward for Sheffield’s creative businesses and independents.
niceneighbourhood.com // 342 Glossop Road