Nick Hallam spends an evening at The Milestone, the originator of the Sheffield gastro-dining scene.
The Place
The Milestone is a king amongst gastro pubs in our fair city. Nestled on the corner of Ball Street this candle-lit beacon of gastronomy has developed a huge loyal following for its refined creations with locally sourced produce. Their modern twist on traditional and evocative dishes is literally the embodiment of Kelham Island, with the once industrial heartland of Sheffield rapidly transforming itself into a modern hub of creativity and chic.
The Food
After kicking off with a couple of blood orange bellinis and some excellent fresh bread, olives and artichokes, we dived into our beautifully presented starters of pan-seared scallops, pork loin, black pudding, apple and miso caramel and crispy fishcake with creamed leeks and slow cooked hen’s egg. Both were outstanding and devoured probably a little too quickly on our part. The scallop dish was packed with flavour and texture and the savoury pork and black pudding offered the perfect counterpoint to the sweet shellfish. The crispy fishcake was exactly as advertised: a crisp exterior with brilliantly seasoned fillet in the centre and a perfect egg yolk melting on top.
For mains it had to be the pan-seared rib-eye steak, served with potato terrine, whipped shallot butter, baby leek and truffle puree for me. This huge steak was cooked perfectly rare with a bark on the outside that was like being hit with umami cricket bat. It was savoury brilliance. Adding the whipped shallot butter and truffle purée into the equation also did well to balance out the onion hit of the leeks. If all that wasn’t enough, I opted for a side of Yorkshire Puddings as not many restaurants offer them as an accompaniment these days. Now, most northerners have a partisan tie to their mother’s Yorkshire puddings, but these were just as good, which it’s about as high an accolade I can give.
The pan-fried coley, confit Jerusalem artichoke, kale, samphire, chervil and mussel velouté was a much more delicate affair. It paired seamlessly with the salty samphire and decadent Jerusalem artichoke, again showing the menu’s knack for combining contemporary flair with classic flavours.
The Verdict
You can’t fault The Milestone – it just works. The food is constituently excellent, the atmosphere superb and the staff committed and always on-hand to offer tips on the best accompaniments so you can get the most out of your dining experience.
With a popular cookery school, two fantastic cookery books, sister restaurants Jöro and Craft & Dough and now the INC rooftop bar under their belt, The Milestone Group is a huge credit to Sheffield and fully deserves its huge reputation on the city’s culinary scene.
