My intentions to get to The Milestone were abruptly kicked into gear a few weeks back after watching their success on Ramsay's Best Restaurant. I've been meaning to get there for a while now but never really found the time or the occasion. I'd really like to say I went before all the fuss, but this was our first time and by the sound of it we were lucky to get a table.
The taxi picked us up early and we arrived well before the time our table was reserved for. We were initially taken to the bar for a drink but were seated at our table before we'd been served.
The gastro-pub menu has a great mixture of dishes with nothing too fancy-sounding and plenty to entice. We decided to get starters with my partner ordering a salmon dish with fennel, vegetable salsa and creme fraiche. I was tempted by the meatier options but ended up going for the more interesting sounding pea panna cotta with soil and seeds. Both dishes were fantastic. I'm not a massive fish eater but the combination of the slightly acidic salsa, creme fraiche and smoky salmon was amazing. The panna cotta was served with an olive tapenade (that looked like soil!) and toasted cumin seeds. If I were to criticise anything I'd have to say that pea flavour of the panna cotta was overpowered by the other elements of the dish, but the salty tapenade and the earthy seeds worked well with the pea - something to try at home! Both of the portion sizes were a little more minimalist than I was expecting, but the quality of the food definitely made up for it.
Unsurprisingly, the restaurant was unfalteringly busy the whole time we were there. The atmosphere was buzzing but not overly-noisy and the background music was at a pleasant level. The amount of customers didn't seem to phase the waiting staff; we received attentive and helpful service throughout the night with only a slight hiccup of surliness from the waiter who brought out the main course.
Being both incredibly indecisive, the number of mains on the menu that we would actually consider ordering made the decision even more difficult. After a complex process of elimination we settled on short rib of beef served with a tomato sauce and rosemary gnocchi and a sausage and puy lentil casserole with crispy back fat. The portions size of the main meal were also much more up my street. I'm never sure whether I'm supposed to be ordering a side dish in restaurants like The Milestone, but in this case we made the right decision not to. The beef was really good and the tomato sauce had a rich, garlicky warmth. The gnocchi made for a great alternative to plain potatoes. The casserole was served as two large slices of pork sausage on a bed of puy lentils with bacon and was equally good; perfect for a cold and miserable evening.
The oddly small dessert menu was abandoned in favour of a cheese board, petit fours and a couple of glasses of dessert wine. The cheese board was served with homemade cheese biscuits and bread, with a selection of four cheeses. The amount of cheese was a little on the small side in comparison to the amount of bread and biscuits but was lovely.
Overall, our visit to The Milestone was one of the best meals I've had in Sheffield. The food was close to faultless and was matched by the service and atmosphere of the restaurant. It's easy to see why they've been getting so much attention recently. If my bank account could sustain it, I'd happily go back again and again to explore the rest of the menu. Not that it's overly pricey. With three courses, drinks, a bottle of wine and two desert wines (it was a special occasion!) we were pleasantly surprised by how much the bill came to. Although, if you're strapped for cash there's the also an early-bird menu served before 7pm.
Oh, and as an added bonus The Fat Cat is just around the corner. Convenient if you've got any room left for a quick pint!
