Ego Sheffield: Mediterranean restaurant is a cozy cure to January blues that will take you back to summer holidays abroad

But maybe there's a chance of enjoying the taste of that long-gone summer holiday in Sheffield instead. And with a bank balance still hurting from Christmas, the less pricey the better.

Ego Mediterranean was a blissful cure to the January blues. This national chain at the bottom of Mercure Hotel is in a premier spot opposite the Crucible and only separated from the Winter Gardens by its windows. It must be a dream to sit in on a summer night when the botanicals are still lit - but there we go thinking about summer again.

Well, call that one more reason to come back another evening. Even in the dead of winter, this restaurant is a charm, with warm and welcoming staff and a class dining room. Better yet, something I didn't spot on the website - the Monday deals. Diners on Monday can pick two courses from the full á la carte menu for £17.95 - which is a quid extra than the much-too modest set menu - plus 50 per cent off some choice wines. It’s the makings of a posh date night or a smart dinner with friends for roughly £25 a head.

I had gone in with a plan to pick from the set menu – now unshackled, I clapped my hands together and pawed over the full menu happily. Other diners were showing off some amazing options – the hanging kebab skewers were a huge temptation, or maybe the prawn linguini. Someone nearby had a stellar looking Moroccan chicken while their partner had a bright and sunny Greek salad. For the starters, with fried chorizo, lamb kofte and breaded garlic mushrooms shouting for attention.

I went for the fried calamari, which are a good test, as they can all too easily be soft and chewy. Not here – the waitress brought a generous plate of crispy fried rings with alioli I would eat with a spoon. But good as it was, my partner let me have one of her garlic prawns (gambas al pil pil), and then that was all I wanted – hot, beautifully soft prawns and in moreish but-not-too-garlicky oil. It’s a top choice.

And here comes the paella mixta, and with one spoonful I'm back in Lanzarote 28 months ago. Simply the perfect hit of spiciness in a big sizzler bowl of rice, chicken and seafood – it’s a smash hit. My partner’s ribeye was gorgeously tender and seasoned – maybe a tad rarer than she wanted.

Ever stuck with whether you want a pudding or a coffee after dinner, but don’t want to pay £12.95 for both? Go to Ego’s – they serve the tiniest little slices of their puddings alongside a coffee for less than the price of a full dessert.

And that capped it off – I’ve found a new favourite place for date night. Ego Mediterranean looked after these two sorry souls who just wanted a quiet one after Christmas that didn’t break the bank. Please consider visiting on Monday, but given the food, I would have happily paid full on a weekend night. Just brilliant.

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