In this mouth-watering celebration of Sheffield scran, we’ve rounded up some our favourite things to chow down on in the Steel City: iconic dishes, snacky street food and traditional faves – a veritable smorgasbord of culinary delight. Time to get stuck in, dear reader!
The Rutty Butty at the Rutland Arms
We can’t talk about iconic Sheffield snap and not mention the Rutland’s famous sarnie. Without a doubt, the ever-changing menu at this beloved real ale establishment serves up some of the finest pub food in the city; but it’s this pimped up chip butty – bread, molten cheese, spicy tomato sauce and plenty of thick-cut chips – that has achieved legendary culinary status. In its previous incarnation as the ‘Slutty Rutty Butty’ (they dropped the first word and the bacon with it), this fabled sarnie even featured in a Munchies documentary exploring the North of England’s tastiest food. How many chip butties do you know that have gone viral, eh?
@rutlandarms
Ashoka’s Taxi Driver Curry
Consistently knocking out ‘reyt good curreh’ since 1967, this Ecclesall Road restaurant is the oldest curry house still going in the Steel City and a regular haunt of the Arctic Monkeys when they’re back on home turf. One of their most popular dishes, the ‘Taxi Driver Curry’, has a heartwarming tale behind its creation. It was inspired when a cab driver came in asking for a curry that his late wife used to cook, remembering “roughly” some ingredients and how it tasted. The chefs put their heads together and eventually managed to replicate it, much to the cabbie’s delight. Waiting staff started getting requests for the dish when customers overheard ‘Taxi Driver Curry!” shouted from the kitchen each time the driver stopped by to pick up his takeaway, so the restaurant decided to officially add it to their menu. It has since become a real crowd favourite, comprising smoky chicken tikka with garlic minced lamb and a nice hit of chilli. Absolutely second to naan.
(Available on City Grab)
@ashoka1967
Keep Calm and Curry on! We’d also highly recommend the following:
- Lavang
- Bhaji Shop (Available on City Grab)
- Urban Choola (Available on City Grab)
- Mowgli
- Colombo Street Food (Available on City Grab)
Falafel Wrap from Fanoush
An Exposed takeaway treat favourite, ‘Fanoush Fridays’ have become a much-loved tradition in the office. You can go for the easily consumable 6-inch offering (£3.25), or, if you’re really looking to slip into a food coma for the remainder of the day, there’s a 10-inch option (£4) to stuff with an impressive range of hummus, salad and sauces. The main event, however, is the generous serving of crispy, crumbly falafel goodness wedged inside the pitta – a true thing of beauty.
‘Fanoush Fridays’ – a much-loved tradition in the Exposed office.
Burgers from Twisted Burger Co
Again, we’re spoilt for choice here, and it would be remiss of us not to pay homage to recent mouthwatering additions on the bangin’ burger scene like Fat Hippo (Kommune), Saw Grinders Union and Slap & Pickle; not to mention other well-established Steel City joints such as Unit (their Korean fried chicken burger is insane!) and the ever-dependable Bungalows & Bears. However, we’ve got to shout out the real OGs at Twisted Burger Co, holding it down now for over ten years with longstanding classics such as ‘Pig Daddy Kane’, alongside popular newcomers like their vegan ‘It’s the Sleeps’ burger – a collaboration with Sheff hardcore punk outfit While She Sleeps.
@twistedburgerco
Want buns, hun? Like we said, there’s plenty to get stuck into…
- Fat Hippo
- Saw Grinders Union (Available on City Grab)
- Unit (Available on City Grab)
- Slap & Pickle (Available on City Grab)
- Bungalows & Bears
Vegan Paradise at V-or-V
Thankfully, due to the exponential rise of impressive vegan/veggie eateries like VorV, a plant-based diet no longer means struggling for options when dining out. Fraternal duo Nick and Matt Burgess have firmly established their venue as one of the most exciting restaurants in the city, serving up an eclectic menu containing plenty of Asian and Middle-Eastern influences, seasoning and spices. The dishes are constantly changing, but the okra fries drizzled in a delicious coriander chutney are a popular staple. We’d highly recommend paying a visit – whether vegan, vegetarian or otherwise – to try something from their range of inventive, flavourful dishes.
Pic: Neil Anderson
Get more of that plant-powered goodness at the places below…
- Church – Temple of Fun
- Dishi
- Icarus & Apollo (Available on City Grab)
- Gaard Coffee Hide (Available on City Grab)
- Blue Moon Cafe
BBQ Ribs at Make No Bones
One of the leading lights of the vegan revolution in Sheffield, Make No Bones has made its way halfway across the city in the eight or so years it’s been delighting diners with cruelty-free comfort food in Sheff. Originally starting as a pop-up in the back of a pub where co-owner Dave Shaw worked, they then moved onto their own venue on Chesterfield Road, before being asked by Bring Me the Horizon front man Oli Sykes to join his latest project, Church, based in Kelham Island. They can now be found in another Kelham Island favourite’s kitchen, The Old Workshop. The whole menu is great, but one of the constants has been their humble seitan ribs. That BBQ sauce is the one.
@mnbvegan
Cronuts at the Steam Yard
There aren’t many finer ways to while away some time than with a brew and a bake at Steam Yard. Their sugar-coated bundles of doughy joy are easily up there with the best sweet snacks you’ll find in the these seven hills, made fresh by 4eyes Patisserie with fillings ranging from peanut butter to Oreo – a key reason why this little independent café was recently judged to be the most Instagrammed coffee shop in the whole UK. That said, we’re going to suggest something a bit different and biggup their cronuts: a sumptuous doughtnut-croissant hybrid served in a range of flavours, from lemon mutang to salted caramel pretzel!
@steamyard
Pina Tacos
Take it from us, Pina didn’t become the city’s favourite Mexican-inspired taqueria and late-night chill spot without good reason: their food and drinks menus are consistently top-notch. The signature tacos are what hungry punters come for, an explosion of vibrant flavours wrapped in corn tortillas perfect for mixing, matching and sharing – a nice reflection of the fun, social side of Mexican street food. The traditional fish tacos are particularly popular, combining battered white fish with pico de gallo, pickled cabbage and mayo crema. Plenty of tasty vegan options are on-hand too, perfect when washed down with a cold Pacifico or two…
Pic: Alex Gray
Napoli Centro Pizza
Right, we know foodies take their pizza seriously, as they should do, and Sheffield is blessed to have many fantastic wood-fired/coal-fired/stonebaked offerings, so believe us when we say this one was a toughie. But after some careful consideration, and many ill-advised lockdown takeaways, we’ve got to hand it to Napoli Centro for their incredibly authentic Neapolitan pizza selection, topped with the finest ingredients imported from Campania and cooked in under 90 seconds at 500 degrees, resulting in a fresh, puffy slice of carb heaven.
@napolicentropizza
Pizza lover? Make sure you get a slice of this lot too!
- Zizzona
- Picture House Social
- Nether Edge Pizza
- Urban Pizza Co. (Available on City grab)
- Porter Pizza
Rejuvenator Breakfast at Tamper Coffee
Praised for bringing their innovative slice of Antipodean breakfast culture to the Steel City, we can safely suggest that anything you opt for on the Tamper menu will be a treat – whether that’s their highly-rated sweetcorn fritters with pea, feta, apricot hot sauce & poached egg, or indulging in the Tamper French toast with bacon, caramelized banana, espresso maple butter & syrup. If you’re looking for the perfect way to fuel your day, the award-winning Rejuvenator breakfast is the one: poached egg on sourdough dressed with coriander & mango quinoa, cherry tomatoes, kale, pickled cabbage, mangetout, charred broccoli, paprika hummus, toasted almonds, plus a whole heap of add-ons. Ready to take on the world.
(Available on City Grab)
@tampercoffeesw
Deckards Bao Buns at Barrow Boy
Deckards are the street food vendor in charge of the kitchen at cosy Abbeydale Road hangout Barrowboy, and the star attraction on their menu of bar bites are the baos – Taiwanese steamed buns stuffed with a range of tempting fillings and sauces. You can get these little containing a range of mouthwatering combos: Korean beef and cochugang mayo, buttermilk Asian-fried chicken and coriander hot sauce, fried halloumi and mango chutney, breaded aubergine and katsu curry… hungry yet? They’ve become a real staple of the foodie scene in the area, look no further than their award as Best Street Food Trader at the last Exposed Awards for proof.
@deckardsfood
Beres Pork Sarnie
Nothing short of a Steel City institution, Beres have roots in Sheff going all the way back to 1961, starting out life as a small specialist butchers based in Wadsley Bridge. Owned by Sandor Beres and his wife Eileen, the establishment soon built up a reputation for its delicous pork sandwiches, going on to open another three stores over the following two decades. Now firmly established as Sheffield’s favourite sarnie, Beres has just opened its 13th shop in the city. It’s a straightforward ethos that has successfully echoed through the decades: combine friendly, local service with freshly roasted pork, homemade breadcakes and zero skimping on stuffing, crackling and apple sauce. Loveleh.
(Available on City Grab)
@beresporkshop
Shy Boy Cantina Burrito
Following an absolute stinker of a year for our favourite local bars, the news that Mexican street food specialists Shy Boy were returning to the Gatsby had us practically jumping for joy. Not only this, but they’d be serving their bangin’ burritos both in-house and through a new takeaway hatch? We’ll have a bit of that too. It’s your usual plethora of tasty street eats – wings, loaded fries, stacked sarnies and tacos – but it’s the hefty meat and vegan burritos that always catch our eye.
@gatsbysheffield
More tasty Mexican street scran, you say? Seek these out, amigo:
- Street Food Chef (Available on City Grab)
- Pellizco
- Taco Mex (Available on City Grab)
- Burrito Y Mas (Available on City Grab)
- Amigos (Available on City Grab)
Notty House Pie
As all self-respecting northerners should, the people of Sheffield go proper potty for their pie. Nothing says home comforts like some golden flaky crust drowned in gravy and generous lashings of Henderson’s Relish. As such, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to traditional pubs knocking out tasty pie and mash classics. When it comes to local stature, however, the Nottingham House towers above the rest, having consistently warmed the bellies of locals and students for donkey’s years now. Whilst keeping it traditional, variety is also the name of the game: there’s an impressive choice of fillings ranging from steak and ale to chicken, bacon and mozzarella, as well as both veggie and vegan options.
(Available on City Grab)
Crust us on this… a truly wonderful pie.
Good as they are, Notty H don’t do the only pies in town. Here are some other belters:
- Pretty much all True North venues: Broadfield, York, Old House etc. (Available on City Grab)
- Cafe Pie
- Silversmiths
- Waterall Bros (Available on City Grab)
- Pieminister
Roast at the Broadfield
The ol’ Yorkshire pud cravings have kicked in, so you’re naturally in the market for a traditional boozer, preferably with a decent drinks selection to wash your roast down with. A spacious beer garden for some al fresco dining wouldn’t go amiss either. Look no further than the Broady, a titan of the Steel City Sunday Dinner scene, knocking out hearty meat and veggie roasts served with mahoosive Yorkshires, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, braised red cabbage and real ale gravy.
@broadfieldalehouse
Getting roasted? Stick these on the Sunday Dins list…
- Silversmiths
- The Beer Engine
- The Cricket Inn (Available on City Grab)
- Brocco Kitchen
- Thyme Cafe (Available on City Grab)
Sheffield Iconic Food Dishes is sponsored by City Grab and Henderson’s Relish.
