On the last day of the Christmas holidays we treated ourselves to one final meal out. We went to the Castle Inn off Twentywell Lane in Bradway for a gastro pub tea with the boys.

The Castle is run by Jack Baker and Jack Windsor, both formerly of Smith & Baker on Eccy Road, who have great reputations in Sheffield, and according to this article they relaunched the pub in about May 2016.

The pub doesn’t have a specific gluten free menu, but there were a few things to choose from and the chef was able to tell us what could be made gluten free. Based on the photo in the link above, it was Jack Windsor who talked to us, and he certainly seemed to have an in depth knowledge of his ingredients. He told us straight away that the chorizo contained some rusk and that I couldn’t have the pulled pork as it contained English mustard. Whilst this might be what you’d expect, I’ve been served barley in a Michelin starred restaurant before now, so a chef who knows what he’s on about in terms of allergens isn’t always a given!

I chose a fish pie from the specials board for the boys to share, and the chef made up a special one with no flour in the sauce, so frankly, I was really impressed. It even came served on a fish shaped plate, which we loved (I’m easy to please!) although you can’t tell from the picture unfortunately.

The boys really enjoyed the fish pie, although there was a very long and drawn out episode of getting boy no. 2 to eat a couple of green beans and try the cabbage. At one point he offered the contents of his piggy bank in exchange for not eating the green beans, which was very tempting as it contains his birthday money. He saw sense eventually. Apologies to the people on the next table – things got slightly raucous at one point.

I opted for a flat bread, which are highlighted on the menu as being available as gluten free. I wondered why they didn’t call a pizza, but when it came I understood – the base was definitely more flat bread than pizza dough. My topping was meat feast and although one or two items had to be substituted, what I got was great. It included meatballs, bacon, ham hock and tandoori chicken, (which is a better combination than it sounds!) with sweetcorn and chillis and a teensy bit of salad to make it feel healthier than it is.

It was quite an indulgence really, but I very much enjoyed it. I would definitely go back and have another of these – plenty of other toppings are available…

Also on the menu is their rotisserie chicken, which comes with a variety of sides and sauces. There are loads to choose from including roast potatoes, slaw, corn on the cob, red pepper and walnut pesto, lentil dahl, harissa yoghurt amongst others. I’m sure not all the toppings will be gluten free, but I bet enough are to give you a decent choice.

The pudding menu was a bit more limited in options but they did have a gluten free pistachio creme brulee. I was too stuffed to eat a dessert in any case. They also serve the delicious Moevenpick ice creams and sorbets, many of which are gluten free (see their allergen info).

We had a really nice meal at the Castle Inn, and the serving staff were also great. I’d completely recommend it – a big thumbs up from us. 🙂

Castle Inn, 1 Twentywell Road, Sheffield S17 4PT