The Angel is somewhere I’ve known about for a while and not visited, probably because it’s on the outskirts of Sheffield. Actually, it’s in Derbyshire, but this place is worth the drive out if you’re coeliac. It’s a traditional looking pub in Holmesfield, about 30 mins drive from the very centre of Sheffield. It has a bar area and a restaurant with a small conservatory. But it’s not just any old pub – they actually specialise in cooking gluten free food!

We found a good reason to go to the Angel on a Monday lunchtime in the school holidays before taking the kids to see Minions at the cinema in Chesterfield. Top tip there, Sheffielders – if you live on the west side of Sheffield, Chesterfield cinema is smaller and nicer than the Sheffield cinemas in my opinion, and usually easier to park. Anyway, I digress – back to the Angel…

The fabulous thing about this place is that most of the meals on the menu are gluten free. So unusually, I had a really great choice of food. The gluten free dishes are all marked on the menus, which avoids the tedious browsing of an allergen folder, and makes for a pleasant ordering experience.

We only had time for one course, so I opted for seared duck with a shredded duck and spring onion hash and a 5 spice sauce from the specials board. Exactly the sort of thing I can’t normally have. The duck was well cooked and still slightly pink inside, although I would have gone for a slightly crispier skin. The hash cake was a generous size and crispy on the outside but lovely and soft inside. It came with a little side dish of vegetables and a nicely flavoured sauce. All in all, it was divine, particularly as I’d not had to have a conversation about gluten free food and didn’t have to worry about whether the chef understood.

Hubby ordered a beef and mushroom pie off the main menu, which came with gluten free pastry. This was a bonus as I was able to give it a try too. Hubby thought the pastry was very good gluten free pastry, although he could tell it was gluten free as it was very short – but I think that’s a fact of life with GF pastry. There was plenty of meat in the pie and the mash was very smooth.

We ordered the seafood chowder from the light lunch menu for my two boys. This came with regular bread (no need to inflict GF bread on them if I don’t have to!) but they would, of course, have provided gluten free bread if we’d asked for it. The chowder was fab too – choc full of potato, prawns, fish, peas and mussels. One of my boys isn’t keen on mussels, and I was pleased when the waitress offered to make one chowder without any in – a good indication that things are being cooked freshly. They scoffed the lot.

We didn’t have time for pudding, but there were again plenty of gluten free options, such as sticky toffee pudding, pecan and chocolate brownie and apple and berry crumble, amongst others. Gluten free pudding? Choice? Pinch me!

All in all, this was a rather unexpectedly special trip to the pub. It felt like before I was (diagnosed) coeliac, when I could order without worrying and try other people’s food. Combined with attentive service and friendly staff – what a gem. The Angel was lovely for lunch, but I think it would also be great for an evening meal out.

Go there – it’s ace. And it certainly lived up to its name.