23 Bar & Restaurant – 10th November 2009

Unit 3, the Plaza, 8 Fitzwilliam Street, S1 4JB
Tel: 0114 2732323
Bar 23 is located in the West 10 complex at the top of Division Street. Booking a table is only necessary at the weekends although Tuesday (pie night) and Wednesday (steak night) it does fill up. Downstairs is a cocktail bar, the clientele being 20-30 years old and a bit more upmarket than the vodka revolution next door. The restaurant itself has a good mix of people of all ages who seem to be dressed fairly smartly especially at weekends. The lighting isn’t too bright, and the tables are of ample size and aren’t too close to your neighbours. The decor is of a similar vain to the bar downstairs, with browns, reds and dark wood. It sounds cosier than it feels but overall it’s pleasant. At weekends I can imagine it will get loud from the music downstairs, but during the week it’s fairly relaxed. Bar 23 offers 2 courses for £16 and 3 for £18, however if you want steak those rules don’t apply and you can add another £6 on for a fillet steak. Starters are £5 and mains between £11 for a Crispy duck salad or butternut squash risotto, to around £14-18. The menu isn’t extensive but would suggest things are cooked fresh. We ordered deep fried brie fritters with cranberry jelly and salad to share. Mmm, not much to say really, it didn’t taste of much. The jelly was sweet and bland and the brie should have been left to mature. For mains we ordered pan-fried lamb steak with lamb dauphiniose and red current sauce (£14.50). And the escalope of pork with Parmesan crumb and herb butter (£12.50). The pork was greasy and there wasn’t really much taste of the Parmesan crumb, so some extra Parmesan on top wouldn’t have gone amiss. That aside it was Ok, not the best quality pork. The lamb was delicious, and plenty of it with some really tender lamb sitting underneath the dauphiniose potatoes. To finish we shared a chocolate brownie dessert, which was dark, gooey, calorific, rich and very nice. Overall it was pleasant, reasonable atmosphere, un-rushed, just a shame the pork was a little greasy. With a bottle of beer and a glass of wine, it came to around £45. The service was polite and not rushed, although it just seemed to be two fairly junior people on and no overall restaurant manager. However they seemed to have it together.
Strange really, I can’t say anything too negative about the place but would I rush back? Is it a must go place? Errrr no! I’d probably go there again, maybe with a few friends mid week. All other reviews have raved about it, but for us the food was average to good but not amazing. The atmosphere was perhaps a little flat, the service too, nothing sparkling. However it’s good value, some nice well done dishes on the menu and in a good location.
Food and Presentation 7/10 Ambiance and Decor: 6/10 Favourite Menu Item: LambBest Suited For: A quiet mid week bite to eat with friends (try the steak or pie night).Overall Product Rating: 6.5/10 I was expecting more and for it to live up to it’s reputation.

Chequers Inn – 27th October 2009

Froggatt Edge, Calver, Hope Valley, S32 Tel: 01433 630 231

The Chequers Inn is located on Frogatt Edge on the road to Calver. It’s about a 20 min drive out from the south side of Sheffield. At the weekends it’s best to make a reservation. On weekdays although not quiet, you will still have a few tables to choose from.
We went to the Chequers on a random Tuesday evening. However, many think of it as a Sunday lunch place. It’s a bit of a, ‘bring your aging mother in law and the kids, in your Beemer for Sunday lunch’ pub. Actually we have had a really good Sunday lunch here about 18 months ago. As I recall there were no over boiled vegetables or 70s mash here, a clean nice plate with a succulent piece of pork, fresh greens and tasty roast potatoes (around the £7 mark).
It’s a sort of traditional pub with a modern twist. I always think of it as dark cosy pub with the traditional red carpet, but actually it is bright and airy with wooden floors and not at all scruffy. It has mixed the old/new pub well and they do take the food seriously. No TV here and the walkers leave their boots in the porch. This attention to detail, gives me confidence in the cleanliness of the kitchen and the toilet seat.
The Chequers serves new traditional pub food; duck leg, pork belly and homemade soup to start. Mains are quite manly; pies, calves liver, butternut squash risotto and swordfish. On the pudding menu; Bakewell tart, ginger sponge and cheese. The bar serves a good selection of wines by the glass, I enjoyed a large glass of Ozzie semillion chardonnay (not bad for me on a non-drinking week).
After flying down country lanes in the dark (Winston was driving) my stomach was all over the place and I decided after a meagre lunch I would venture for a mans dish of lamb and rosemary pie on the specials board. The lamb was fairly tender, although the gravy was a little bland with not too much of the rosemary flavour coming through the gravy. The pie crust (most of which someone else ate) was crispy and not soggy or overcooked. The greens were not boiled to within an inch of their life and surprisingly for us, we ate the lot. Winston had the gammon, which was a handsome large piece on the top of a layer of mash.
The service was efficient without being on your table before you have taken your coat off (too quick service puts me off, was it just in the microwave?). We ordered at the bar, and the waitress was friendly and polite.
Starters are between £5-7, main are on average £15 and puddings £5. So good pub food, at restaurant prices. However for two reasonably priced mains, some fresh bread, a bottle of beer and a large glass of vino, it came to £27. Puddings are only needed for the gluttonous here.
Nice pub, good food, not a cheap option when nipping out for tea. Will go back, but next time probably for Sunday lunch. Due to its position in the middle of nowhere this pub has to make sure the food is up to scratch to keep the punters coming, and the walkers deviating for a pint. Can be enjoyed by all the family.
Food and Presentation 7.5/10
Ambiance and Decor: 7.5/10
Quality of Service: 8/10
Overall Product Rating 7.5/10
Recommend to a friend? Yes

La Luna – 31st October 2009

La Luna – 31st October 2009
961 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, S11 8TN, Tel: 0114 2676161

It’s Saturday evening again and this time we went to ‘La Luna’. The restaurant is located on the infamous ‘Eckky road’ although at the top end of the road near the Banner cross pub (not near the where the slags hang out at ‘Nonna’s). Around 5pm on the day we booked a table for 9pm and selected a couple of bottles or red (Portuguese red ‘Doure’ from Sainsbury’s) as the restaurant has a ‘bring your own’ policy. Upon arrival just after 9pm (after a quick one at the banner cross) we were shown straight to our table. The interior is one a of a typical Italian family restaurant in that there are cheap ornaments, low hanging memorabilia, one main room upstairs and downstairs with dim lighting which creates a cosy relaxed atmosphere. In the centre of the room on the ground floor there was a large table of ten or so middle aged diners who looked like they had consumed some booze and all looked like they were having a good time. I think it may have been one of their birthdays (the boozed up version of ‘Happy Birthday’ gave it away! The menu consisted was of classic Italian style, starters included Bruschetta, prawns, pasta and several others. The main included steaks, chicken in Parma ham, pasta of various combinations and several interesting vegetarian options. We shared the Aubergine parcels for starters, these looked harmless (then so did Adolf Hitler in his young days!) I am not saying they tasted bad, in fact they tasted of nothing. Anyway moving onwards and upwards, for the main I had the Steak special which came with a cream and truffle sauce. The presentation was good, the steak was tender and well cooked (medium rare, cooked as expected) and the sauce worked well. My partner went for the penne with beef which lacked presentation, was clearly reheated in the microwave judging by the steam off the penne (which was a little less cooked than ‘al dente’) and was generally a bit bland. Moving on to the service, it was reasonably efficient and the three waitresses were friendly. There were times when all of them were concentrating on getting the tables prepared for the next customers and perhaps overlooked the wants of the some customers.

Overall it was a nice experience, average food however with a bill of £30 for two it was good value for money!

Best Suited For: Relaxed meal, not a special occasion

Kid Friendly: Yes

Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Food and Presentation: 5/10

Ambiance and Decor: 7/10

Quality of Service: 6/10

Overall rating: 6/10

Take is easy and have a good week,

Winston!