Student Hotspots: Sundaes Gelato by Rishi Parwani

If you’re a student in Sheffield, you may or may not have noticed throngs of people gravitating towards a brand new eatery on West Street. Honestly, with the number of people that line up there, you’d think that it’s an Apple Store (I confess, I am an Apple fanboy, judge me later if you must). Sundaes Gelato is the latest addition to Sheffield’s growing food scene and what makes it so popular is the fact that it’s a dessert parlour, something we lack in our otherwise perfect city. While there are plenty on London Road (which are equally amazing by the way, don’t miss out on going there too), there are very few near our university. This is where Sundaes Gelato comes in to save the day!

After numerous attempts at going for dessert, a plan finally materialised on Wednesday night and I found myself in the queue pursuing the menu after having just gotten back from a sports training session. So much for those lost calories then! The first thing that’ll strike you about Sundaes is its absolutely massive selection of gelato ice cream, I was in awe of all the flavours, colours and variety – it was a pretty overwhelming moment if I must say so myself.

After what was the longest 10 minutes of my life consisting of big decisions and internal conflict, I decided to order the Brownie Bloom Crepe. The description alone was exciting enough, I want you to revel in my excitement so here’s the exact excerpt from the menu:

Freshly baked crepe smothered in hot fudge sauce topped with crushed brownie pieces, sliced banana and chopped nuts, served with freshly whipped cream.

My flat mates accompanied as well and decided to order an ice cream sundae and Nutella crepe. What was perfect about our order was that we all tried something from a different section of the menu and this is going to give you a great idea of what to expect when you go here yourself.

So our desserts finally arrived one by one and I for one was so excited to dig in. They say that a picture speaks a 1000 words so I’ll let the following photos do the talking:

Let me just say that it tasted as good as it looked. In fact, even better than it looked. My crepe (top left) was absolutely heavenly. It was stuffed with crushed brownies and covered with sliced bananas, nuts and noodles of chocolate on top. There was a generous dollop of ice cream on the side too which was perfectly paired with the warm brownie crepe. I thought this would be a snack before having an actual dinner but I was probably in denial and lying to myself because this filled me right up.

One thing to note about Sundaes is that seating is no issue. With an additional floor on top, this dessert parlour is definitely well equipped for any form of a mad rush. The atmosphere is so relaxed yet busy at the same time, you’ll understand when you go there! I was also surprised with the clientele, I thought that there would be only students but there were so many school-children as well as families. It was nice to see everyone coming together for some dessert.

I’m so glad Sundaes Gelato has opened up in Sheffield, that too so close to the Diamond. I’ll definitely be going back soon and I guess this is a time as good as any to resume making use of my gym membership! So there you have it, a very well located dessert parlour featuring all desserts you could possibly think of.

Location: 262 Glossop Rd, Sheffield S10 2HS

Timings: 10am-11pm everyday

Student Hotspots: Peddler Night Market and the delights of Kelham Island by Rishi Parwani

Just when you thought there wasn’t any other restaurant or food-related event left that I could review, I bring to you what was one of the more interesting food experiences I’ve had since coming to Sheffield! Taking place on the first Friday and Saturday of every month (which is perfectly fitting for this coming weekend), the Peddler Night Market is definitely a must-attend event if you are looking for a different eating out experience.

Having grown up in the Middle East, I’m quite lucky in the sense that the weather has afforded me the opportunity to go to a lot of outdoor food markets so when I heard about Peddler Night Market, my first thought was whether or not it would rain – putting me off from going during my first year. I finally went this year and I’m so glad that I did! I will stop yacking about my life now so I can tell you a little bit more about the Peddler Night market.

Located on Kelham Island, Peddler Night Market is an event attended by masses of people from Sheffield. Essentially, the market consists of food stalls of a variety of cuisines including American, Chinese, Italian, Brazilian, British, Japanese and the list just goes on. The market is also dotted with some really funky food trucks consisting of calorie-inducing desserts and there is also a bar on site selling traditional craft beer. You can’t begin to imagine how many times I walked around the market trying to find something to eat because when it comes to food, I feel the need to make the optimal decision on what to get. My friends already had their food in minutes but I took my sweet time and finally settled for a Brazilian Linguica (sausage).

The piping hot sausage was drizzled in caramelised onions and sauce in a toasted roll. Coupled with the rainy weather, this delicacy went down like a treat instantly warming me up. It was absolutely delicious and I instantly felt satisfied with taking my time to find my dinner.

The atmosphere at Peddler Night Market is absolutely brilliant too! Despite the rainy weather, live bands were there in full force singing and playing their hearts out. There is usually also a DJ playing a set which really does make for a fun and relaxed evening out. Our dinner didn’t end there though because how can we forget dessert?

Upon recommendation from a friend, we went to the Depot Bakery situated very close by to the market in Kelham Island. I had heard of this bakery for the longest time but never made the trip down there so I was excited about finally trying it out. Depot Bakery’s hipster and surprisingly quiet ambiance was a break from the music playing outside in the market, it’s a perfect place to nip in for a coffee and catch-up after grabbing some dinner.

The donuts (pictured above) looked absolutely heavenly but I decided on trying their famous brownies which one of my friends raved about. I must confirm that the brownies were absolutely amazing, they weren’t too soft nor were they too hard and the flavours were so unique. From what I can remember, there was a cheesecake flavour, a chocolate flavour and a Bailey’s flavour – all of which were just impeccable. I definitely recommend trying them!

So there you have it, a perfect evening consisting of live music and good food, what more could you possibly want? The market will be taking place on 3^rd and 4^th March so don’t miss out for this month!

Location: 92 Burton Road, Kelham Island, S3 8BX

Timings: 5-11pm on Friday and 2-11pm on Saturday

Student Hotspots: Let's Sushi by Rishi Parwani

For those of you that know me, you’ll know that when it comes to sushi I’m slightly obsessed. And for those of you that don’t know me, I will (to your misfortune) become your best friend if you get me some sushi! I’ve tried nearly every single sushi joint in Sheffield but there’s one that I’ve surprisingly never been to before. What’s more surprising is that it’s so close to the Diamond that I’m quite embarrassed I went for the first time just last week.

So what did I end up doing on an hour long break in between labs? With a few fellow sushi-loving course mates, I went to ‘Let’s Sushi’ on Division Street. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Division Street has an impressive list of eateries in the quirkiest of settings, there’s always something interesting food-wise. ‘Let’s Sushi’ is located right at the end of Division Street just a minute away from Sheffield City Hall. We arrived just in time for opening and quickly grabbed a table knowing how busy it gets for lunch.

What struck me about Let’s Sushi was its prices. I’m not proud of how much I’ve spent at other restaurants (it’s my favourite food guys please don’t judge me) but I have to say that these prices were the most affordable I’ve seen for sushi, such a refreshing change. ‘Let’s Sushi’ offers packaged sushi platters or separate Maki rolls that can be ordered from the menu. I decided to go for the Mixed Maki Platter (Maki is just another word for roll in Japanese) and on top of that I got something that I found really unique.

So if you look to the left of the picture below, you’ll see a salad of sorts. That salad is made up of ‘scrap’ sushi rolls. Basically, when you make sushi, you start off with making the roll and then cutting it into smaller pieces. You always end up with pieces at the end which don’t look as good as the rest of the rolls and most restaurants tend to throw them away. However, I was really impressed with this item on the menu and how ‘Let’s Sushi’ uses these end rolls and puts them into a salad instead of throwing them away. And you know what? It was absolutely delicious and so filling. You know what’s even better? It costed just £1.45. You read correctly! My inner student was very satisfied.

My mixed maki platter was perfect as well and oh-so-reasonable at £5. It had a combination of California Maki as well as normal maki rolls. For those of you that don’t know, California Makis basically just have rice on the outside rather than on the inside as you’d normally expect. The platter had rolls consisting of crabstick, cucumbers, salmon and tempura and it definitely fuelled me up for my 4 hour Electronics lab!

I have to say, I wish I found this place earlier. With its interesting concepts, delicious sushi and very reasonable prices – I can definitely see myself becoming a regular at ‘Let’s Sushi’ and I’m already looking forward to my next visit. So there you have it, affordable sushi very close by to the uni buildings!

Location: 14 Division Street, Sheffield, S1 4GF

Timings: 11:30am – 10pm on weekdays and open till 10:30pm on weekends

Student Hotspots - Proove Pizza - by Rishi Parwani

Back by popular (pretty questionable) demand, I bring to you another gem of a restaurant my flatmates and I stumbled upon a few weeks ago. Now let’s face it, we are no strangers to the delights of pizza. We’d queue up in a blizzard for a free personal pizza Domino’s if we had to but recently, I found this perfect little pizza place and can’t wait to share my experience with you guys.

Situated on Fulwood Road perfectly located for the first years in Endcliffe or Ranmoor on their commutes to and from university is Proove Pizza. I had heard of this restaurant for a very long time and word has it that it’s one of the few pizza places in Sheffield that uses a traditional wood-fire oven so if that’s something that you’re after, keep reading.

 

Have you ever had those moments when you go to a restaurant, read through the menu and get so confused on what to order that you secretly wish you’re a vegetarian so that it’d be easier to decide what to get? Just me then? Alright. All of the pizzas sounded incredible and to make the decision even more harder, the specials menu for the day looked really appetising too. After careful consideration consisting of mental decision matrices and pros and cons list (I’m kidding, I’m not that lame…maybe), I decided to order the Funghi Pizza. This consisted of roasted Portobello mushrooms, truffle infused extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes and mozzarella. Because we were a group of people, we also ordered some dough balls to share as well as garlic bread. I must add as well that the service had been excellent up till now.

Our starters arrived and this is where I have to chime in with yet another one of my whacky observations. Where I originally come from, I associate garlic bread with separate pieces of bread with a garlic and butter spread on top however the UK is the only place in the world where I’ve seen it served in the same style as a pizza. Nonetheless, it tasted really nice and exactly the same as normal garlic bread but it’s just an interesting comparison to other places in the world if anything. The dough balls were good too albeit a tad bit burnt however we chomped up our food feeling very satisfied up to this point. The dipping sauce really did enhance the taste of the food. 

  

And finally, the main attractions were served. You can’t begin to imagine how happy I was too finally be able to try this pizza I’ve heard so much about it and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed. The pizza bread was just cooked to perfection in the wood-fire oven with its combination of fluffy and crusty texture. Along with the sauce and the toppings, this pizza was definitely a winner and I finished it feeling very satisfied.

So there you have it. A pizza place right in the middle between the university and student halls which serves excellent pizzas. Moreover, I also noticed that the deserts looked incredible but at that point my flatmates and I were far too stuffed to even consider sharing an ice cream or a cake. To add the icing to the (unordered) cake, I must say that Proove Pizza has very reasonable prices for what it offers. With a full Margherita Pizza costing GBP5.90 you really can’t go wrong given the quantity. Bottom line, if you’re ever up for a pizza which is different to your standard Domino’s, definitely try Proove.

Address: 261 Fulwood Road, S10 3BD

Timings: 11:30am – 10:30pm from Sundays to Wednesdays and 11:30am – 11pm from                   Thursdays to Saturday

Student Hotspots - The Steam Yard - by Rishi Parwani

Have you found that perfect little coffee shop that just effortlessly ticks all the boxes? Be it you want a perfect place for a date, a place where you can soak in a hipster-like ambiance or even just a casual setting where you can indulge in heavenly donuts with your friends? I’m happy to report that Sheffield is home to one of these coffee shops.

Situated on Division Street not very far from the Diamond, the Steam Yard is a small coffee shop tucked in Aberdeen Court that is quite easy to miss when going the first time. Believe me though, you wouldn’t want to miss it any subsequent time after! Established in 2014, the Steam Yard is another addition to Division Street’s quirky and alternative list of establishments.

So how does one objectively review a coffee shop? Well I don’t know how others would do it but I took a fellow foodie along with me so that we could order a spread of items from the menu. I went with my standard order of a Café Latte and pursued the menu for something unique to the coffee shop itself. After a bit of advice from the cashier, we ordered two Peanut Butter-Marshmallow S’mores donuts as well as a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Our food and drinks finally arrived and after a long (longer than I am proud to admit) session of taking photos of our food from every single angle imaginable, we finally tucked in. I have to admit though, when it comes to food photos, nothing beats a good ol’ bird’s eye view. See for yourself.

And wow, we were in heaven at this point. The s’mores donut was absolutely delightful. The texture was just incredible with the combination of the warm, gooey marshmallows and the actual donut itself. I normally gobble my food down without really giving it a second’s thought but I genuinely felt the need to eat this donut slowly so I could enjoy its texture and taste longer. It really did hit the spot and the culmination of the peanut butter and marshmallows lingered in my mouth. My friend offered similar reviews, raving about his donut and grilled cheese sandwich. The coffee, while standard, definitely hit the spot especially given how cold England can be.

I left the Steam Yard feeling very satisfied and I can’t wait to go back and try their Kronuts which everyone seems to be raving about on social media! So there you have it, a coffee shop not far from the university where you could easily walk over to during a break! Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll be writing about some more student hotspots so stay tuned.

Address: Unit 1-2 97, Aberdeen Court, 95-101 Division St, Sheffield S1 4GE

Timings: 9:30am-5:30pm everyday

The Daytrip Diaries: Leeds - by Rishi Parwani

There’s a great saying that goes something along the lines of ‘the more spontaneous a trip, the better’. Alright, I lied, I don’t know if there is such an expression but it makes sense doesn’t it? In this series of posts, I’ll bring to you the story of a daytrip that screams spontaneity.

The United Kingdom is a country full of incredible sights and cities, some that are so nearby that it would be a shame to miss out on. Last week, my friend and I ventured out to Leeds on as little as 5 hours’ notice because we really wanted to take a daytrip before the start of the second semester and what a day it was!

First things first, to sum up transportation, we decided to travel by National Express coaches because in terms of price it was the most reasonable (Approximately GBP7 return with a Young Person’s coach card) with a travel time of 55 minutes. The train is 45 minutes to Leeds albeit a tad bit more expensive if you don’t have a 16-25 Railcard, which I do highly recommend getting by the way.

Upon arrival at Leeds, being a Sunday, a lot of the attractions were still closed so we started the day off by aimlessly walking around marvelling at the architecture. Almost every single building looked incredible, each with a story to tell with their impressive stonework and façades.

 

After a quick breakfast, we started exploring the city and were quite lucky because, relative to British standards, the weather was definitely on our side that day! Trinity Leeds is one of the largest malls in the city so we started by walking through and I was impressed with its wide range of shops, really puts Meadowhall into perspective. The mall itself was very nice and open too with a glass roof which allowed for a lot of natural light to pass through.

Our first few hours in Leeds followed the same tune of aimless exploration which lead us from the city centre to the Minster which looked very grand, to the markets and to the canal.

Our thirst for exploration continued throughout the day and we proceeded to visit the main town hall, which was undergoing restoration but we couldn’t help but notice how much thought went into preserving its aesthetics despite the renovations. As you can see from the photo below, the façade in front matched the design of the town hall itself.

We carried on with our walking around the city and stumbled upon the Leeds Public Library which inside looked very traditional and quite beautiful, very different to our modern libraries at the university. This was followed by a visit to the Leeds City Museum which was actually very impressive as we learnt so much about the history of Leeds and it was just so much more diverse than we thought it would be. I would definitely recommend a visit to the museum to learn a bit more about the local history if you find yourself in Leeds.

After a very quick lunch on the go, we continued onto the University of Leeds campus right in time for the sun to come out which made the day so much more better than it already had been so far. Everything on campus was so close by which was awesome but to be honest I quite like my morning walks to university as it gives me a chance to wake up if anything! We ran into a friendly student who highly recommend visiting the Brotheron Library so we took on his advice and (after getting lost a few times) we found our way there.

Here’s one interesting thing you may or may not know. As long as you are a member of a Russell Group university (which we are here at Sheffield), you can use the facilities of any other university in the same group so upon presentation of our U-Cards, we were issued a day pass and sent on our way in. The library was absolutely magnificent and so well designed. It featured two galleries as well which were unfortunately closed the day we were there.

So there you have it. If you want an easy and enjoyable day trip that is not very far from Sheffield, head down to Leeds. My friend and I had a really great day and are now anticipating the next spontaneous trip.