Turnip & Thyme: Top Sheffield restaurant with wide choice of sophisticated British cuisine hits the spot

Banner Cross punches above its weight for highly-rated restaurants thanks to Urban Choola, Olive, Holt, and Turnip & Thyme.

Review sites can help you choose one. But the problem is they can get booked up early for the weekend. Which is how we came to Turnip and Thyme, at a ‘lowly’ 14th of 1,128 restaurants in Sheffield, according to Tripadvisor.

Entering, you see two rows of tables extending towards the rear, just eight in total, with room for 32 diners at capacity. This is not a cavernous, raucous food hall. It’s cosy and you can hear your companions talk, no shouting required.

There were three friendly waiting staff, which meant speedy attention and no stress.

Serving British contemporary cuisine, the menu includes comfort food with a hint of sophistication - pork belly, beef tagliatelle, mushroom and chestnut gnocchi, salmon en-croute and chicken supreme.

I had the plant-based “chicken” and leek pie at £18.95, with tarragon peas, triple-cooked chips, and Hendo’s gravy. It was a hearty treat on a winter’s night with the four (very thick) chips stacked like a game of jenga, a talking point. The gravy had a piquancy that only Hendo’s can bring, another tick. The pie had wonderful shortcrust pastry and a filling to rival anything made of meat.

My wife had baked cod for £22.95. The fish comes with chorizo and butterbean risotto, poached egg and parmesan crisp. She said the combination sounded unusual but was realised perfectly.

My sticky toffee pudding at £9.25 got the balance just right with a scoop of ice cream and a warm, caramelised sauce. A light hazlenut sponge rounded out this sweet delight.

My wife said her Baileys panna cotta for £9.25 was the best she’d had. It featured burnt white chocolate, shortbread and raspberries - a playful and delicious combination.

Despite French and Italian dishes, Turnip & Thyme revels in the Britishness of its menu with Sunday roasts every week. They are £18.95 for both the ’succulent’ meaty one and the cauliflower steak or plant-based chicken one. Sometimes a roast is all you need and it is likely to lure us back.

A lack of non-alcoholic drinks, especially gin, was the only disappointment. Including a can of Thornbridge Voyager, a coffee, a bottle of Fentiman’s fizz and a port, we spent £78.40.

The lower section of Banner Cross has a mix of takeaways, restaurants, shops and houses and can be strewn with litter and fallen wheelie bins on a windy night. But sometimes you just have to turn a blind eye to these things.

If you don’t get out much and you want as close to a sure thing as it’s possible to get, then Turnip & Thyme will see you right.