Dinner At Peppercorn Restaurant, Dore, Sheffield
Published On Wednesday 18 May 2016 by Sticky Beak
This venue is now closed Every so often you come across somewhere that really knocks you for six, and this was the case at Peppercorn. Serves me right really, for making a snap judgement; after all they say assumption is the mother of all .... ups. Anyhow, we poddled inside to what can only be described as Tardis effect dimensions, it was really rather spacious, and very nicely decorated. The wood floors and tables are in darker hues which is then lifted by lovely blue and turquoise floral wallpaper, and I loved the bare foliage that had been subtly entwined with fairy lights near the bar area. As well as the A la Carte menu Peppercorn also do a midweek menu that I think is incredible value for money; starters and puddings are £5 each and main course dishes are £10, and there is a great range to choose from. My Crab was superbly fresh and tasty, and I loved the Cucumber timbale it was sat on and the “sea” of Cucumber ribbons made the plate so beautiful to look at. A disc of Chardonnay Jelly sat atop of the crab and its gentle shimmer was reminiscent of sun glinting off the sea waves. It was a simple dish with clean fresh flavours and a simple white and green colour palate, but this simplicity made you focus on the quality of the ingredients and allowed them to shine. The Beef Cheek was lovely and rich in flavour and incredibly tender, so much so that it hardly needed any touch from the knife to cut it. Colcannon is something that you don’t often see in restaurants at the moment but the combination of smooth mash and green onions really does go well with meat, and the shoestring onions on top added another nice crunch to the dish. A nice, rich gravy is always a winner too with a hearty meat dish, and the one from Chef Charlie Currans kitchen does the job perfectly. For pudding I decided on the Treacle Tart with Crème Fraiche Ice Cream and Honeycomb and Him Indoors had the Crème Brulee in a Trio of Flavours (Vanilla, Malt and Rum and Coconut) and our usual order of Latte coffees. The Man Bird and I sat at our table sipping our Lattes with exceptionally happy grins on our faces as we reflected on the meal overall. If you haven’t been before don’t be put off by the fact that it is technically over the county border because it is only 23 miles from my nest near J28 M1 which, let’s face it, is closer than some towns within the county border!
The Man Bird and I pulled up at the car park and there is a dazzling white board displaying Peppercorns name and logo on what looks like (and I mean no disrespect to Kelly the Manager here) a Portacabin or one of those pre-fab designs. It also looked a little, well a lot actually, on the “bijoux” side size wise.
Ah yes, the bar area; neat, clean and very well stocked, just the perfect bar really in my opinion. There is also a fabulous selection of cocktails to choose from and it was a lovely evening weather-wise so I decided to have the Peppercorn signature cocktail.
This minx is Gin based, with the addition of black peppercorns and Maple syrup and you really do get the spice from the pepper and then the smoky, sweetness of the syrup coming through on your palate.
The Boy Wonder had a pint of his beloved Peroni, which seemed to be hitting the spot just nicely on the balmy evening we were having.
We opted for the a la carte selection and had the Whitby Crab and Chicken and Ham Hock Terrine for starters, but before we tucked into these we had freshly baked homemade mini white and wholemeal bread rolls placed before us by a lovely young man.
I don’t know about you, but I think the smell of fresh warm bread when you break it open is one of those soul-stirring smells that just has that feel good factor to it. As well as plain butter, we had some butter with Hendersons relish in it, and crikey the lovely warm flavour of the relish combined really well with the wholemeal roll. A bottle of chilled water was also brought to our table for us to have with our meal.
The Man Birds Terrine was wonderfully chunky and beautifully seasoned, bursting with flavours that the Pickled Vegetables accentuated superbly. Again, the presentation was lovely with obvious care having been taken when plating up.
When our server came to check how things were we said how much we had enjoyed the food and were looking forward to our main courses; Slow Braised beef cheek on Colcannon mash for His Nibs and Herb crusted Cannon and slow braised Shoulder of Lamb with Potato bonbons and Orange & Rosemary glazed carrots for yours truly. We also ordered a side of Green beans with Goats cheese and Chilli sauce on Kelly’s (the Manager) recommendation.
Both my cuts of Lamb were tender and exceptionally flavoursome. The herb crust on the Cannon was just enough to add its note without overwhelming the (served pink) meat and the shoulder was falling apart with tenderness, as you would expect from a slow braised cut. The Potato bonbons were lovely and crunchy outside and glass smooth inside, then the addition of perfectly wilted greens and the hint of herb and citrus on the perfectly cooked Carrots was the sublime finish to the dish.
Our side dish was also marvellous as the beans still had crunch to them and the creamy, salty Goats Cheese tempered the kick of the Sweet Chilli sauce wonderfully, producing a well rounded accompaniment. A delightful young lady came to check we were happy with our mains, and we assured her that we had enjoyed every morsel.
The smooth creamy Treacle reminded me of the Toffee my Mummy bird would make on Bonfire Night when I was a little chick at home and I relished the comforting flavour on my tongue. Crème Fraiche has that wonderful tart edge to it that cuts through richness whilst adding its own note to the flavour on the palate and this made my dessert a total pleasure to eat. The addition of light, airy Honeycomb with its earthy, nutty flavour took this little delight to a new level of deliciousness in my opinion.
All three Crème Brulees had great crunchy tops to them that yielded a soul-satisfying crack when they were tapped with a spoon and they all had lovely gentle flavours to them that danced on the tongue. The accompanying homemade Shortbread rounds were lovely and crumbly with that pleasing butteriness that quality shortbread should have.
The staff were all very polite and smartly dressed in monochrome uniforms, the premises were pristine and the food utterly fantastic; so don’t wait too long to go and see what’s on offer at Peppercorn for yourselves.
Hot Wings very much deserved by this great team, oh and if the name of the chef, Charlie Curran, sounds familiar to some fellow foodies it’s because he and Kelly ran the Sir Samuel Fox Country Inn before James Duckett.
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