Feast your eyes: Why Sheffield’s national breakfast snub means nowt

By David Walsh
Published 8th Jun 2023, 04:00 BST
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

There’s a new newspaper article on the best breakfast cafes in the country that doesn’t mention Sheffield - and we’re in shock.

The Guardian piece lists 32 ‘top’ places from Ipswich to Cardigan via Penzance and Edinburgh. Ordinarily, we might shrug off this slight, but the city has become used to being mentioned on a national stage by the likes of Time Out, The Times and even, ahem, The Guardian - which in February asked readers if Sheffield was ‘The UK’s most exciting food city?’

Taken together, these plaudits show the city is on the rise - which makes this latest omission sting a bit. So what’s going on? The article has no criteria and seems biased towards unique locations: a beach, view, or heritage interior. Great for photos - but what about the grub?

From personal experience, Tripadvisor and literally thousands of votes, we can confidently state Sheffield serves up some of the best breakfasts in the country.

Jonty Cork holds up a wild mushroom, black pudding and new potato hash with a fried egg dish at Made By Jonty, Sharrow Vale Road.Jonty Cork holds up a wild mushroom, black pudding and new potato hash with a fried egg dish at Made By Jonty, Sharrow Vale Road.
Jonty Cork holds up a wild mushroom, black pudding and new potato hash with a fried egg dish at Made By Jonty, Sharrow Vale Road.

HowSt at number one serves the joint-best flat white in the city, the other being the cafe at Decathlon, an unsung venue if ever there was one.

The Hidden Gem at Bents Green has a five-star rating based on an astonishing 806 reviews. It can be summed up by a diner who wrote simply ‘always perfect food’.

The Rhubarb Shed at Manor Lodge has quality and character, while 'That Place' on Chesterfield Road completes the four with a perfect five out of five.

But there are many, many more in the not-to-be-missed list, such as Made by Jonty, Steam Yard, The Grind Cafe, Bragazzis and Tamper Coffee, or how about Nam Song, in Broomhill which does a great Vietnamese breakfast?

The Grind Cafe at Kelham Island offers a top quality breakfast menu.The Grind Cafe at Kelham Island offers a top quality breakfast menu.
The Grind Cafe at Kelham Island offers a top quality breakfast menu.

Sometimes only a fry-up will do and thankfully there are still plenty available, including in The Moor Market’s incredible and original food hall.

The city has dozens more cafes where staff toil every day to give you, the customer, a breakfast of kings - national recognition or not.

As retail declines, food and drink is taking over, especially in the city centre, so the quantity, and hopefully quality, will only continue to rise. So we may have been snubbed, but we won’t let it ruin our appetite.