Contact & booking details

As far as we know, Sheiks is the only restaurant in Sheffield to offer Lebanese and middle eastern food, so we knew we were in for a taste experience with a difference.

It is located on Glossop Road, which is one of the busiest streets in Sheffield, especially for those seeking a bit of nightlife at the weekend, but as it only opens from 6 pm, you could easily pass by without noticing it during the day.

It's a small family run restaurant, with two dining areas - if you imagine the front room and dining room of a terraced house, separated by the stairs going up the middle, you'll get the basic picture. The decor is pleasant and clean, with a few middle eastern touches, such as a fabric swags on the ceiling and pretty brass lanterns.

The highlight of a visit to Sheiks is definitely the food. For one thing, it makes a refreshing change to be somewhere that serves good sized portions of hearty and filling food. They don't do artistic arrangements of food with a drizzle, and the term salad may mean fresh tomatoes, herbs and cucumber or something bulgar based, but it won't be fancy leaves from a bag.

There is a wide range of hot and cold starters, known as Mezza, with prices ranging from £3.75 to £4.95. We tried 'Burak' which are little filo pastry parcels filled with halloumi cheese or spinach, they were light, crisp and very tasty. Our second Mezza was 'Ful Medamis' which is made of fava beans simmered in garlic, lemon and oil and served with warm pitta bread, very tasty and quite filling. For £12.95 you can order a selection of four Mezza, which would easily make a full meal for one. As main courses, we tried the Lamb Tabseh, a mixture of minced lamb, aubergines and spices and the Vegetarian Tabseh, which was like a middle eastern ratatouille with rich warm spices. The bulgar side dish that came with them was a lovely nutty alternative to rice.

The menu has a good range of meat dishes, including chicken, lamb and steak, plus fish and vegetarian options and they offer Halal food.

The pudding selection is on the short side and only two of them sounded like authentic middle eastern options. Our portion of Baklava could have fed four and was perfectly fine, but the Arabic coffee that finished things off definitely stole the show, it was gorgeous.

Sheiks is a great place to go if you want a change from modern continental cooking. Simple good food, with a touch of the exotic but no pretensions. There was a steady stream of customers all night and as far as we could see, all plates returned to the kitchen quite empty.

July 2005

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