I’ve been after an excuse to have afternoon tea at The Rhubarb Shed for ages – I’ve seen lots of recommendations on the Sheffield Gluten Free Facebook page. We’ve tried to book and not been able to get a table in the past, as it’s a popular place.

But we did manage to get a booking for my birthday a few weeks ago, and went with the family, and we had a brilliant time.

The platters arrived not long after we’d poured our tea into the dainty cups – an eclectic collection of old fashioned tea cups, one of which my grandma used to have a set of. I opted for Earl Grey – I don’t generally buy it for home, so it’s a nice treat out and about.

The two layer stand in the photo was a serving of gluten free afternoon tea for three people (3 coeliacs in the family!) and there was plenty of food to go round. They also do a dairy free and a vegan version as well as the regular afternoon tea. (They also have a regular gluten free menu which looks amazing – things like Oven baked goat’s cheese crositini, smoked fish hash and the fabulously-named Onion bhaji naan-wich!)

The first course included your traditional finger shaped sandwiches – ham, chicken, cheese and egg mayo. We also each had a piece of sausage roll, pork pie and a cheddar and red onion marmalade tart, accompanied with a little pot of piccalilli, which was a great addition.

Next we had a fruity scone with clotted cream and jam. A little on the crumbly side, but that didn’t matter.

I have a decent appetite but even I was struggling a bit by the time it came to the sweets. We each had a small trifle in a jam jar and five squares of tray bake – ranging from tiffin and brownie to lemon cake and an almond type with fruit in. I managed the small trifle and one of the cakes, but we had to get a box to take the rest home. This afternoon tea was a proper Yorkshire portion!

A lovely afternoon out! And reasonably priced at £25 per person (£22 for the non GF). I’ll definitely be going back to try out the rest of the gluten free menu.

The Rhubarb Shed Cafe
389 Manor Lane, Sheffield S2 1UL