Three Merry Lads: Family-friendly Sheffield country pub is the perfect end to a weekend walk

Walking in the city’s rural areas and the Peak District has always been one of the great joys of living in Sheffield for me, and during the pandemic lockdowns walking was one of the ways I kept my mental health going.

I go out regularly with two friends, Janet and Carolyn, and on the day in question we enjoyed a fascinating walk at Redmires near the dams.

Obviously walking is thirsty work, so we headed for the Three Merry Lads on Redmires Road.

This Sheffield country pub has long been a favourite with Sheffield walkers and people out with their families. You can enjoy a pint and a meal looking out over amazing views, sitting inside or out.

There’s plenty of room at outside tables on their terrace or grassed area, where there are a few pieces of play equipment for little ones.

Their Facebook page says the stone-built pub is 200 years old and is “the last pub on the western border of Sheffield overlapping into The Peak District”.

It was built to serve the navvies building the reservoirs that we had been walking around.

You can see on their pictures that the Union Jack bunting is already up for the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

They have a special celebration on Saturday, June 4 from 1pm with garden games plus a barbecue.

There’s also a chance to ‘take a selfie with Her Majesty!’. Booking is recommended.

‘The burger menu features pretzel burger buns’

After a quick look at the menu, which offers a good range of family pub food, catering well for vegetarians and vegans and offering gluten-free dishes, we headed to the bar to order.

The pub offers a good range of cask ales but I was in the mood for a cold lager.

I love a good pub burger so I ordered a spinach and falafel one. It was on the vegan menu but I’m not a fan of vegan cheese – who is? – so swapped it for dairy.

The burger menu features pretzel burger buns, which I'd never heard of. They’re not crunchy but are made with pretzel dough.

It was excellent, as was the filling. A moist veggie burger was topped with lots of melting cheese, jalapeno peppers and a surprisingly spicy sweet chilli sauce. That was served with fantastic proper chips and homemade coleslaw.

If you prefer meaty burgers, they do beef, steak, chicken and lamb. All are £12.50.

Janet’s food gave us a laugh, just because there was so much of it. She ordered a falafel wrap (£9.95) and got a huge wooden platter loaded up with falafels and wraps to fill up herself with cheese, salsa and yoghurt raita, plus rice and fries. She really enjoyed it.

Luckily, Carolyn ordered a starter as she only wanted a snack and her Wensleydale, red onion and sunblush tomto tartlet with salad hit the spot.

The Three Merry Lads is owned by the Sheffield Pub Company, which also runs the Barrel Inn at Chapeltown and the Rose & Crown (Top House) in Wadsley. Website: www.sheffieldpubcompany.co.uk

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