Full steam ahead for Sheffield restaurant's unique rooftop 'railway carriage' dining area

The Summer House, on Abbeydale Road South, near Dore train station, was given unanimous planning approval from Sheffield Council to build a brand new rooftop dining area which includes a section inside an old railway carriage.

Councillors on the planning committee praised the plans and said the restaurant - which has been open since 2015 - was 'super'.

Councillor Andrew Sangar said: "I will be supporting the application, I think it is an imaginative scheme and it supports an established restaurant.

"Those of us in lockdown are looking forward to when we can go back to restaurants but this is about thinking of the future and as I say, this looks like a good scheme and I wish it every success."

Coun Peter Price added: "Andrew took the words out of my mouth, I think it's brilliant."

The site was first a garden centre and bike shop before owner Kate Cavan took it on and transformed it into what they describe as a "luxurious and bespoke" restaurant.

The design was inspired by an English country house garden room and its menu offers pizzas, fresh fish, locally sourced meats and sophisticated classics.

It currently has about 80 table covers and the new expansion would allow it to add around 70 more.

In their application form to Sheffield Council, they said it would also increase its staffing numbers by six more full-time and seven more part-time employees.

Ms Cavan said: “What we are hoping to do is extend our family oriented local restaurant. We want to be able to provide more outside space to meet demand.

“We are lucky to have many lovely, regular, and supportive customers, who cannot wait for us to reopen. We pride ourselves on being part of our local community, a hub for families, retirees, friends, couples and business people.

“We are complimented all the time on how the restaurant looks and how much people enjoy being in there, which is a tremendous reward and makes the more challenging aspects of running a restaurant worthwhile.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor