Since it opened in November, due to restrictions, The Orange Bird has only been able to wow diners with its takeaway menu, giving us a teaser of what was surely to come when they were finally allowed to welcome diners inside.
Thankfully, that day finally come, and from this evening (19 May) the neighbourhood bar and kitchen will be cooking up a storm for onsite guests with dishes from its awesome sounding new menu, which they revealed yesterday.
Co-owner Anne Horner said: “It’s not exactly how we envisaged opening, but we’re so excited to get going. I think the joy of this place is that we’re not already an established business trying to get back to normal, we don’t have a normal yet so we’re just going to get on with it.”
Orange Bird co owners Matthew Duggan-Jones and Anne Horner
Now that restrictions are lifted, The Orange Bird promises to be a ‘buzzy’ and inclusive restaurant and bar, filling a gap for a much-needed top-quality restaurant in North West Sheffield.
All of the dishes will be cooked over coals, or will at least include an element of charcoal, including the desserts, and will use an array of seasonal ingredients to create unique dishes such as pig’s ears, Koji buttered sweetcorn and homemade ice creams, as well as a whole host of interesting vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
Owners Anne Horner, who has lived in the area for 20 years, and Matthew Duggan-Jones both honed their skills at Sheffield city-centre café Marmadukes. Matthew also has experience in two different Michelin star establishments and will take on the cooking duties, while Anne takes responsibility for the front of house.
Speaking back in September, Matthew said: “We want it to be a real neighbourhood restaurant that people can afford but is still high end. The menu is going to constantly change but the main element will be the fire. We’re going to be cooking on charcoal, and hopefully, eventually wood. I’m a South African, so I was born there and lived there until I was 15, and BBQs is what they do there, similar to Australia.
“Some of my best food memories are from the fire. I remember my dad cooking whole lambs over the spit and just tasting the fat dripping off and it just being incredible. I think I’ve just always been obsessed with cooking that way, so I think we’d quite like to incorporate fire into almost every element of the food, including the desserts.”
The restaurant can be found next door to Pangolin Craft Beer, which also opens for the first time this evening.
Anne said: “I feel like there’s such a buzz in Hillsborough, it’s a busy place, and it’s not being utilised. The area is crying out for it. We’ll be something independent and different”
Matthew added: “I love the buzz of a busy restaurant. One of my favourite restaurants is Ivan Ramen in New York, where the music’s really loud and it’s always full. There’s queues out the door, and I don’t know if we can achieve that, but I like the place to be busy. I don’t want people whispering.”
For Anne and Matthew, the restaurant has been two years in the planning, Anne said: “We can’t wait to get going now. We’re really excited, but I don’t think it will feel real until it’s open.”
For further updates head over to their Facebook page here.
