We went to the Cross Scythes for a Mother’s Day meal with the teenagers and the grandparents. This is a pub in Totley that’s changed ownership a couple of times recently. It’s now part of a very small chain, having been bought by Northern Collective, who also own The Dore and a few venues in Hathersage (Bank House, and wine bar Vintners).

It’s a mid-priced gastro pub with quite an extensive menu of mixed cuisines, which is why we picked it – something to suit everyone. And for the gluten free among us, a very decent amount of choice marked on the menu as either GF or GF option. As well as starters and desserts, you can choose from salads, regular main courses, ‘from the grill’, Sunday roasts and sandwiches. They also have pasta and nachos on the menu, but those don’t appear to be GF or GFO.

As it was a celebratory meal with family, we splashed out and went for the full three courses. Four out of the six starters were GF or GFO. I generally prefer to choose dishes that are GF, as the O bit usually means you’re missing something tasty, but my mum ordered the GFO crab on toast and the only thing that was different from the regular version was the bread. She was very happy indeed – it was a lovely portion, the bread was not from a square loaf, and it was delicious.

I had pan fried cod cheeks with roasted cauliflower puree and asparagus. It looked and tasted lovely, but I did have to search for the cod. I don’t suppose cod cheeks are massive, but I was expecting more than the few flakes I found.

Sticking with the theme of fish in a white sauce with green accompaniments, my main was a pan fried hake fillet with truffled potato gratin, asparagus, courgette and a herb veloute. This was lovely, and I didn’t have any trouble finding the fish, which was cooked well, with a crispy skin. The truffled potatoes were soft and rich, which made this a filling dish even though it doesn’t look that big on the plate.

My mum chose the roast lamb. As expected, it didn’t come with a Yorkshire Pudding or stuffing but the portions were fairly reasonable so she didn’t mind. She also ordered a side portion of cauliflower cheese, which was a bit of a treat – generally one of the things you miss out on when eating out. Shame it wasn’t part of the main dish.

Having wisely chosen two fish courses, I had just enough room for a pud. It felt like there was a bit less choice here; four out of nine options were GFO, of which one was ice cream and one was cheese. So of the actual puddings, it was just two of seven: creme brulee or cheesecake of the day. I opted for the cheesecake and the gluten free version was chocolate orange, which I think came with chocolate ice cream, so no complaints there. A perfectly stodgy, chocolatey way to end the meal. We also had a cheeky round of Baby Guinness shots on the table as well, as they had an offer on.

Overall, this was a lovely meal with plenty of choice and good service, especially considering it was Mother’s Day. Definitely enough there to go back for. Prices were £7-12 for starters, a wide range of main options from £16-26, and £5-10 for desserts.

Cross Scythes
Baslow Road, Totley S17 4AE