Kelham Island, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This “long-established and well-loved Sheffield classic, in a perhaps surprisingly suburban location” (of Nether Green) serves “imaginative three- and four-course menus and tasting menus” – with “great food” and “superb service”, it “always feels like a special experience”. A “small venue (26 seats) with over-table lights, creating a more intimate space in the evening”, it is approached up “steep stairs, which may be an issue for some”. Co-owner chef Tom Lawson left after 10 years in summer 2024, so it is now wholly owned by co-founder sommelier Alistair Myers, with Dan Conlon as head chef. Top Tip – the midweek tasting menu is £65 per person (much cheaper than at the weekend when there’s only a £110 per person option, or the ‘Kitchen Bench’ at £135 per person).

“Initially housed in a converted shipping container, but shortly (in 2024) to move to a leafier suburb” – Luke & Stacey Sherwood have won fame since they opened in 2016 in the city’s ‘Krinkyl’ development and in September 2024 their success has enabled them to up sticks to the Oughtibridge Paper Mill development on the edge of the Peak District, now complete with two bars, an all-day dining terrace, an outdoor kitchen, bedrooms, and a deli shop on site. Reports hitherto auger well for the move: “What can you say? this restaurant is better than most Michelin-starred restaurants you will visit”. “Exquisite combinations from locally foraged and international sources are wonderful to look at and eat” and the “always interesting and well-researched drinks pairings” are a form of “magical alchemy”. (Another visitor in March 2024 was The Times’s Giles Coren, who humble-bragged about now being the first reviewer to visit, but left Sheffield delirious with the thrill of such good food for so little money and very excited about coming back to try the new place). We’ve maintained the current ratings during the move. Three final thoughts: -1- Will the absence of the recherché shipping container and higher overheads of the new set-up dispel some of the mystique that’s so far distinguished the place? -2- One reporter notes that “the chef has been to Japan and some dishes can be a bit unbalanced with umami flavours dominating”… hopefully a passing phase. And -3- if you don’t want to travel to the new location then Konjö (see also) will be moving into the Krynkl shipping container they’ve left behind.

A “very enjoyable and original menu of small and large plates is eaten with a great view of the countryside” (particularly from the conservatory, though you can also eat in the bar) at this “always superb” 12th-century inn – Visit England’s pub of the year in 2023, and – even more impressively – the fifth oldest pub in the land. PS – if you want to linger in the Peak District, they now have five luxury bedrooms as well as a stand-alone cottage, ‘The Barn’.

“Correctly described in last year’s guide as ‘What the Peak District needed… and now has” – this “warm, welcoming” and unmistakably ambitious venture (crowdfunded five years back) occupies the cosy setting of a converted stable block. Chef-patron Lee Smith oversees the modern British cooking, based on “really good locally sourced produce (meat is from a real farm shop next door)”, and “tasting menus are not obligatory” since there’s also a “good à la carte” – plus the £23 per person ‘Market Menu’, which will have you in and out in under an hour. Whichever you go for, it’s all “exceptionally good” and “definitely worth the detour” if you’re heading up north.