Steeliac

Tag: Gluten free Sunday lunch

  • Bistro in the Barn

    Bistro in the Barn

    ***Sadly closed down in 2022***

    I generally don’t go out for Sunday lunch because, as a coeliac, what’s on offer is rarely as good as I can make at home. We tend to have a roast most weekends – usually chicken, beef or pork, sometimes with Yorkshire puds and stuffing (which are rarely gluten free in restaurants), always with mountains of veg and roast potatoes.

    Unusually, we found ourselves in the position of needing to be near Barnsley last Sunday, so we took the opportunity to try out Bistro in the Barn, which is a gluten free specialist restaurant that used to be a cattle feeding barn. It’s right on the edge of the Peak District with fabulous scenery all round. A little outside of Sheffield, but worth the stunning drive out into the countryside.

    As well as being a gluten free specialist, they are also gin enthusiasts, so there was a whole menu of gins to choose from – great way to start the meal! The food was lovely and pretty much everything is gluten free, which is a joy, of course. No ring binder of doom to trawl through here…

    We started with a complimentary appetiser of parsnip and apple soup, which was a really nice touch.

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    There was a mix of traditional and some more interesting starter choices. I had a satay chicken. Boy #1 had a huge bowl of creamy garlic mushrooms, and dad had a chive cake with pear and melted stilton, which had a great texture.

    For mains, several of us opted for the slow cooked beef cheek with mash and the boys both had salmon with a creamy chorizo and pea sauce. I would have chosen the beef cheek in other circumstances, but I opted for the roast beef, to see how it compared to my home cooked Sunday roast.

    I have to complement the Yorkshire pudding, which had a really good structure and made me think I need to experiment with my recipe. And the rest of the meal was lovely, too. The meat was delicious, and there was plenty of gravy, which I love.

    Even though we were stuffed, a few of us found room for a pudding. The boys are always drawn to sticky toffee pudding, which I’m told was fab, and not a scrap was left. I tried the apple tart, warm with cream, which tasted delicious, although the pastry didn’t benefit from re-heating.

    All in all, we had a great meal. It was really relaxing not having to worry about cross contamination and we were spoiled for choice with all the gluten free options.

    Bistro in the Barn, Hazlehead Farm, Lee Lane, Millhouse Green, Sheffield S36 9NN

  • Pub review: The Doctor’s Orders

    Pub review: The Doctor’s Orders

    ***UPDATE Sep 2026 – Think they use food concessions rather than making their own now, so I’ve no idea if there is still a gluten free offer***

    We were looking for somewhere to go for a Sunday lunch with my mother in law, who lives in Broomhill, and Tripadvisor suggested The Doctor’s Orders, which is right next to the Hallamshire hospital on Glossop Road. We’d always thought it was just a student pub, but it has very good reviews on Tripadvisor for food and specifies gluten free, so we decided to give it a whirl.

    It’s a fun, themed pub, with medical memorabilia, such as  a full height skeleton and old fashioned framed advertisements. It was interesting explaining some of these to the boys!

    The kids really enjoyed reading the Staff Prescriptions board and spotting who was serving us. We’re fairly certain Liam R and Rob looked after our table, and very attentive they were, too. They obligingly took my various ingredients questions to the chef and came back with confident answers, which is always reassuring.

    There were a few gluten free choices marked on the menu (e.g. steaks, nachos, baked Camembert). Others can be made gluten free, such as the fish and chips (they have a separate fryer, but don’t batter the fish for GF) and the burgers, which can be served with a gluten free bun.

    We decided to order a starter portion of nachos to share. I took a photo but it’s not pretty because we’d already started eating, so it won’t do it justice. It was a great big bowl full – plenty for all 5 of us to have a helping, with a generous amount of the cheese, salsa, chillies and chicken toppings.

    For mains, my older boy tested out a gluten free burger. He went for the Smokey Swine, which was a monster stack of pork, bacon, pulled pork and cheddar on a pretty good gluten free bun. It came with some great wedge chips and a nicely spiced bbq sauce. A whopping portion, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

    I opted for something a bit more Sunday lunchy from the specials menu: a whole ham hock served with creamy apple mash, honey roast carrots and parsnips and a cider jus. It wasn’t marked as GF, but I was informed it was.

    I too was presented with a proper Yorkshire portion. I’m not sure anybody really needs to eat a whole ham hock in one meal (and I consider myself a bit of a pig, so that’s saying something). But it did taste divine. The meat just fell apart, and the mash sweetened with apple was fantastic – a very well balanced flavour.  The only thing it could have done with is a bit of green veg because it was so rich, but all in all, I really enjoyed it. I’d say the jus was a gravy to be honest, but that’s not a complaint – I like gravy.

    We really enjoyed our meal, but were far too stuffed for pudding. Mind you, there didn’t seem to be any gluten free choices on the menu, and I forgot to ask! I did enquire about the Sunday roasts and found out that they have gluten free stuffing, but not gluten free Yorkshire puds.

    The Doctor’s Orders, 412 Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JD