Sheffield food and drink: The Lost and Found's brand new Spring and Summer menu serves up seasonal delights

Set back from the road in the former premises of the Pointing Dog Clubhouse, The Lost and Found is housed in a beautiful yet imposing structure. ‘Inspired by the splendour of nature’, it is an eye-catching location steeped in greenery (even if some is artificial).

A delightful lady named Charly, greeted us at the reception desk, checked our reservation and then took us to our table.

Not long after we were seated Charly also checked whether we had any allergies, a nice touch.

Shortly after this our wine was brought to the table, a Pinot Grigio Blush, Sacchetto Vini Venezie. At £25 for a bottle it’s a vibrant and fruity affair with a curt undertone. In short, it’s nice and refreshing.

We began with two small plates, Crispy Halloumi and Crispy Squid.

The Crispy Halloumi is served atop a chilli jam base, before being capped off with a fresh cucumber, spring onion and chilli salad… it’s delicious, not overly crispy but not greasy either. Complemented well by the jam.

Next up the Crispy Squid is fried in a lovely light batter, tempura-esque and crispy. It also wasn’t greasy. Great textures and flavours, particularly when combined with the generous portion of seaweed tartare, rich and creamy… parfait!

Moving on to the mains, we chose the Maple Glazed Pork Chop and Black Truffle Rigatoni.

I wouldn’t normally go for something like the Maple Glazed Pork Chop but I was very happy with the selection, served with charred Tenderstem broccoli, potato terrine, mustard sauce and a cheese and chorizo croquette — like arancini without the rice.

If I had to be critical, I would have preferred a slightly more pronounced maple glazing. The potato terrine was great, melting in the mouth with each bite. The mustard sauce was wonderfully creamy, piquant even, matching exceptionally well with the potato and pork.

The Black Truffle Rigatoni can also be served with the additional grilled chicken breast if you so desire, but we went without. Instead enjoying the mixture of the mascarpone cheese and white wine sauce, paris brown mushrooms.

Much to our delight garlic was happily plentiful and all the better for it. The rigatoni is served al dente and this could be considered too hard (or even “undercooked”) for some. Personally, I enjoyed it and found it balanced well with the creamy softness of the sauce and the paris brown mushrooms that were perfectly cooked. Seasoning of the sauce was also notable with more than suitable hard cheese toppings, along with a good balance of pepper too. You may want to specify that you like your pasta ‘well done’ if al dente isn’t your thing though.

Finally, we moved onto the desserts. Sadly I wasn’t able to try the tempting Rhubarb and Custard Pavlova, but there’s always next time.

Beginning with the Dark Chocolate Brownie which is served with salted popcorn, cherry compôte and a chocolate and blood orange ice cream. The brownie textures are great and the salted popcorn actually works well with the richness of the brownie and the cherry compôte… but sadly the ice cream didn’t work for me. Perhaps it was chocolate overload… I just think a different flavour would have brought this dish to a better place.

Moving on to the Sticky Toffee Pudding comes lathered with a miso caramel sauce, toffee honeycomb and a caramel ice-cream. Every mouthful left a lingering tantalising flavour explosion, each element is perfectly matched and by ‘eck it were nice.

All in all, it was a rather lovely experience. The Spring/Summer menu is extensive without being overwhelming and features plenty of dishes that’ll please all palates (vegan too). And there is a veritable selection of wines and Victorian-inspired cocktails to choose from.

And this is all without mentioning the staff who were friendly, attentive, refreshingly honest and insightful too… all without being too eager. It’s a very good balance and bodes well for a return visit in the none-too-distant future, as well as a solid recommendation for a dining experience. The Lost and Found is certainly a leafy retreat that I’ll repeat.