Cutlers Spice: Award-winning restaurant in Gleadless, Sheffield, announces shock closure

Cutlers Spice, on Leighton Road, in Gleadless, won numerous gongs at the English Curry Awards, including a lifetime achievement award for chef Ashrafun Neesa Begum in 2017 and the Yorkshire team of the year award in 2016. Just last year, the family restaurant was awarded Travellers’ Choice status by Tripadvisor for consistently earning great reviews and being ranked within the top 10 per cent of businesses. It boasts nearly 800 five-star ratings on Tripadvisor out of 1,045 reviews and has an impressive 4.4-star average on Google reviews.

But posting on Facebook today, the restaurant said: “After much consideration, we've decided to close Cutlers Spice until further notice, due to the rising costs running a restaurant. Thank you all for your loyalty.”

The news prompted an outpouring of sadness from fans of Cutlers Spice, which is based in the former Cutlers Arms pub and claims to be Sheffield’s ‘premier Bangladeshi restaurant’. Within two hours of the announcement, there were more than 120 comments as people expressed their dismay at its closure.

One person wrote: “So sorry to hear this. You are the most amazing Bangladeshi restaurant. More importantly you are a wonderful family - thoughtful, kind and generous.” Another fan commented: “Sorry to hear this. Best curry in Sheffield. Lovely and authentic.” And a third person wrote: “Brilliant restaurant and lovely staff. Will sadly be missed. Best of luck.”

When The Star visited in 2017 for a food review, it praised the ‘delicious’ chicken tikka tandoor and commended the value of the food on offer. In 2021, Cutlers Spice came third in a Facebook poll run by The Star to find the city’s best restaurant – behind only Rafters and The Oak House in Chapeltown.

Cutlers Spice is the second popular business in Sheffield to announce its closure in the last few days, with Lisboa Cafe & Patisserie having said it would be closing the doors of its Peace Gardens branch for the last time tomorrow, Sunday, February 19, though its other cafes are staying open. It cited a combination of ‘rising costs’ and ‘dropping footfall’ in Sheffield city centre as the reasons for its closure.