Thyme Cafe |
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The following review has been written by Sheffschefs after a visit to the establishment. All visits are made anonymously, as ordinary paying customers. To read user reviews of this restaurant click here. Thyme Cafe has been a busy little place since it first opened well over a year ago and it's easy to see why. It is located just off the busy main route through Broomhill on Glossop Road and it operates strictly as a cafe, with no advance reservations. The interior is a fusion of 'industrial meets old style', with modern ducting running the length of the roof and an assortment of mellow wooden tables and chairs. Very inviting in fact. Owner Richard Smith is perhaps better known for his up market restaurant in Crosspool, but it seems that you don't have to spend a fortune now to sample their delights. The cafe serves food every bit as good as that on offer at the main restaurant, albeit in an environment more suited for a casual occasion rather than a grand night out. As you would expect from anything fronted by Richard Smith, the food is impeccable. Menus are dotted around the room on large chalkboards and several of the dishes can be ordered as either a small (starter) or large (main course) portion. This is clearly ideal if you can't decide what to go for, as you can simply have two small portions and be completely indulgent! On the mid week night we visited, dishes included up market fish and chips at £11, monkfish tail with chorizo risotto at £15 and mussels in pesto cream at £10. Good options were available for under £10 too, so it is possible to eat there without entirely blowing the budget. There is plenty of fish, with a few meat dishes, but we did notice that vegetarian options seemed limited. There were however, dishes that could clearly be adapted, so as everything seems to be freshly cooked, the chefs could probably cope with reasonable requests of this nature. We arrived at about 6 pm and it was already getting quite full, but we were given the option of perching at their window bar or sharing seats at a large table for 6. We chose the latter and it was nice to note that our waitress didn't want to pack us in with other diners either, as she indicated that the two middle seats would be left empty. We tried the meat and potato pie with mushy peas and the smoked haddock gratin. Both were delicious. The meat and potato pie was a sizeable portion, cooked in an individual dish. The peas were 'old fashioned' just like the ones that Mum or Gran made up themselves before the advent of the bright green tinned varieties. The haddock gratin was a few good chunks of undyed smoked haddock in a very good cream sauce, served with a small salad. A bread or carbohydrate of some kind would have been nice, but there is the option to order from the extras section of the menu if necessary. We skipped puddings, but there were several on offer including vanilla creme brulee, passion fruit tart and chocolate cake, all priced at £5. Thyme Cafe has a good wine list with bottles starting from about £12, but also available by the glass.
We had a very enjoyable meal, good food in a very relaxing atmosphere, with friendly staff. It was full throughout our meal, but tables were vacated and taken again on a regular basis.
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