My Top Places to Lunch in Sheffield: Nosh, Division Street

Nosh tea

I think Division Street is great! There’s an independent butchers, quirky pubs and bars, cute cafes and even a Chinese bakery (but let’s ignore the dodgy sex shop shall we?). It’s probably one of my favourite places in the city centre to have a little walk down, as well as the cobbled streets near the Crucible. If you fancy a cheap but tasty meal I’d say Nosh is the place to go, it’s a cafe that opened recently, opposite Bungalow and Bears, and is extremely bank account friendly.

The last person I took here said “it’s very orange in here” but he loved the coffee. It’s true the interior is strikingly bright, but it’s still a relaxed place to go for a bite to eat or a coffee. They always seem to have offers on, 2 for 1 on hot drinks some days, 20% for checking in on Facebook, a Monday quiz on Facebook where you can win free hot drinks or a free meal. They’re handing things out all over the place! You’d have to be really unlucky to get there and there not be an offer on! It would be like going to DFS when they aren’t giving away sofas!

Pancakes

Most recently I was awarded some free pancakes for writing a short review of them on Facebook (they also give you free pancakes on your birthday!) so I really couldn’t wait to get down there and eat my prize! I love visiting for the coffee so I was going to go anyway! The pumpkin latte I had during October was really tasty and luxurious but I would also recommend their mochas and regular lattes on a more normal day, it's definitely one up on the big coffee chains. I ordered banoffee pancakes, and although they were out of bananas I had the toffee sauce and chocolate sprinkles with two pancakes while my boyfriend had four pancakes soaked in chocolate sauce! They were really tasty and I would definitely recommend them, even if you have to pay for your pancakes. 

My pumpkin latte

There is a wide variety of coffees, teas, soups, cakes and sandwiches to please everyone. It’s really very popular, there are people of all ages in there taking advantage of the brilliant deals. With students sat at a table next to pensioners, it's brilliant! I’ve been going since I arrived in Sheffield in September and it’s still so good. The big windows make the cafe bright and the smell of coffee mixed with laid back indie music makes it a really great place to go with friends, other halves or even parents for a relaxing and casual time.

Marmadukes - lunchtime happiness with friends

Help yourself to sauces!

One of the things I love about Yorkshire is the friendly and happy attitude that the people carry with them everyday. It’s very different from the way people are in London and it’s definitely quite refreshing. There is a certain stigma about the North in the South in which everyone is poor, speaks like the Starks in Game of Thrones (“aye”) and is covered in soot. Sheffield is a very prosperous town, but the coal mines have been shut for some time, so it’s unlikely that the people of Sheffield will be covered in soot. I have to admit their accents are pretty strong though! History lessons aside, the homely feeling that is so characteristic of the people of Sheffield is something that has also been transferred into their various eateries. Today I visited a wonderful example of this, Marmadukes on Norfolk Row (just off Fargate), it almost takes homely to another level!

Homity Pie

We went there on the suggestion of my friend Abbie, who had been dying to go (you can check out her blog post about it here) along with a few others, for an early and happy lunch. It really is incredibly inside, so warm and friendly, it’s like you’ve stopped off at someone’s cottage in the Peak District for a bite to eat, there’s even a huge cuddly teddybear! The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, with shelves of condiments to help yourself to. It makes you want to stay forever, lapping up the welcoming attitude of the staff and the tasty smells of the food cooking. 

rustic sandwiches with salads

The food that they serve is deli style and very British, with homity pies, salads, quiches and sandwiches for the lunchtime customers. The prices as reasonable, I got a homity pie which comes with a salad of your choice for £6, there’s not much you can really complain about especially as you get a filling meal. 

Outside the cafe

Everything is presented in a rustic way with the homity pies served on camping style plates and sandwiches served on thick wooden boards. For anyone who doesn’t know, a homity pie is a traditional British open pie filled with creamy potatoes, onions and leeks, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten anything like this but gently warmed, this was really tasty with a crisp cheesy top. The cauliflower and couscous salad I had to accompany it, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, I loved and went really well with the pie. 

The choice of cakes and pastries was amazing, with salted caramel apple pie and scones as big as my hand. I think this is definitely my kind of place. I will be coming back very soon for something sweet! The menu is vast and it’s so popular that there’s an amazing mix of people in there. If you haven’t been you really need to, this place is a must if you’re ever anywhere near Sheffield!

My Top Places to Lunch in Sheffield: QC's Bagel Bar

This is going to be a series of shorter reviews on places I would recommend for lunch if you’re in Sheffield and feeling slightly peckish! I'm going to start with...

QC’s Bagel Bar!

My yummy bagel! - Instagrammed! Follow me - @VickiMint

Located next to T K Maxx in the city centre, this hidden gem is extremely popular with those who know it’s there. The shop front is small and quietly unassuming with a blackboard outside showing what they have to offer. This shows that QC’s Bagel Bar do not need to prove themselves. They sell bagels, they’re nice so come inside and buy them!

Inside the little shop comes to life with bagel buns and menus crowding the walls. Then you need to make the decision of what to get, for up to £3 you can order yourself a filling and bagel bun of your choice. The value for money is excellent. 

QC's shop front

The menu offers a selection of fillings all named after Sheffield landmarks, I ordered The Winter Garden which is smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber. Other landmarks include Ponds Forge and The Town Hall, this touch really connects the customer with their food, showing a camaraderie of sorts.

 I chose a spinach bagel bun which was toasted for me while I watched and filled with my tasty fillings. It really was delicious, there’s something so special about smoked salmon and cream cheese in a bagel and at £3 for my lunch I had nothing to complain about!

Because the shop does not have any seating we took our bagels to the Winter Gardens (how ironic!) and enjoyed the quiet of the garden. It was a wonderful way to spend our lunchtime and I would definitely recommend it!

It really is incredibly popular so be prepared to wait for your bagel! It will be worth it in the end though.

So next time you’re wondering around the city centre and fancy a quick, cheap tasty bite to eat, don’t dash to McDonalds (!) pop into CQ’s Bagels and try them out for yourself!

Leopold Kitchen - Review

I’ve moved to Sheffield! So reviews of places up in South Yorkshire (and maybe a bit of Derbyshire) have
started!

My brilliant parents drove me up from Surrey to Sheffield so when we got here we were in the market for some

Leopold Kitchen from across the road

lunch! I’ve actually been to the Leopold Kitchen (which is located opposite Leopold Square on the corner of Church Street and Leopold Street) before and really loved it. So I took my parents from my nearby flat to this cafe (convenient or what?!).

It’s a cheap and cheerful cafe which serves the usual cafe food (sandwiches, pasties, pizza slices etc.) but

with a slight difference which makes it more than a cafe, offering "proper hot dinners" as my mum (who is originally from Sheffield) would say! There is friendly air and a welcoming atmosphere. Living within spitting distance of London my parents are used to London prices and so were very impressed by the value for money.

Roast Pork Sandwiches!

On the railing on the edge of the pavement the cafe advertises a roast pork sandwich with trimmings and salads included, it even comes with a free cup of tea! 

So my mum and I ordered the roast pork sandwich because it just sounded 

so tasty! I was expecting something filling and tasty, but what arrived was bigger and better than I had expected. The sandwich was less like a sandwich and much more like a baguette, filled to the brim with roast pork, stuffing, apple sauce and even crackling. I love crackling, but sometimes it is a massive disappointment, soggy and fatty, ewww... so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this, but I was impressed to bite into crisp, crunchy and tasty crackling. It really completed the sandwich! The salad that came with the sandwich was also really tasty, it was fresh and crunchy with a tangy dressing. My dad ordered a Cornish pasty and although he said that it was nice, he was clearly jealous of our sandwiches and had his eye on my mum’s.

My dad's pasty

Mum and her free cuppa!

I would definitely recommend that anyone anywhere near the city centre pop in here for a bite to eat. It’s good food for a good price, the coffee is nice, you can get tea with your sandwich and it’s convenient for the shops. There are lots of chains in Sheffield but you should definitely try some of the independent cafes and restaurants (of which there are so many) and I aim to review and visit as many as I can!

Baking product review: Lakeland Silicone Mini Doughnuts Mould

The doughnuts mould

About a week ago I saw a recipe for chocolate baked doughnuts somewhere, I have since completely forgotten where I got this recipe and have started to believe that I dreamt it... Anyway, before I realised that this recipe was lost in the ether of my mind/bedroom I made a little trip to Bluewater with my mum and brother. As I had this baked doughnut recipe in my head (I had become obsessed with it) I felt compelled to buy a mini doughnuts mould from Lakeland. At £5.49 I thought that I could use this as an experiment to decide whether it is worth baking doughnuts.

Mini doughnuts with icing sugar (so cute!)

I am a lover of all things sticky and sweet so doughnuts are pretty high up in my estimates, yet they have to be good! No one is going to get away with trying to palm me off with cheap Morrisons doughnuts!

 I’m a Krispy Kreme fan, but their calorie content rather puts me off having them too often! Baked doughnuts are promoted (at least by Lakeland’s website) as a healthier alternative to usual doughnut which is deep fried, yet surely if you eat too many (and cover them in sugar) could it really be that good for you? I wasn’t really thinking about my waistline when I thought of making these doughnuts anyway! 

I mentioned earlier that I’d lost that chocolate doughnuts recipe and alas I didn’t find it, but after a bit of searching I found that Lakeland have a recipe themselves! So I thought I’d follow that! You can find it here. Note that the recipe is for full size doughnuts rather than the mini doughnuts which the mould makes (so don’t go doubling the recipe unless you also want to end up making 50 mini doughnuts...). 

The recipe is really easy to follow and makes a reasonably runny batter, (which will go all over your kitchen if

Runny mixture!

you’re even slightly clumsy) but that's how it is supposed to be!

I followed the recipe to the letter (which I don’t usually do) and ended up with really lovely little doughnuts. My dad and brother were eating the warm ones while I was still trying to take them out of the oven! The recipe recommends that you roll them around in sugar but I sprinkled mine with icing sugar and  iced a few to look like what I’d call  "Homer Simpson Doughnuts". 

Homer Simpson style

They were tasty and the size is great as it’s a bite of doughnut, brilliant finger food! My mum said that she thought fried doughnuts still have the edge and I’d have to agree, these are more cakey than doughy but they’re still a lot of fun. I’d definitely recommend the mould, I’m guessing kids would love these too!

My mum thought they could make great mini rum babas, which sounds like a brilliant idea! I’ll keep you posted on that one! 

Vicki xxx