The Wick At Both Ends: Spring/Summer Menu Launch

After our move back to Sheffield 18 months ago, we discovered a few places we'd never been to before which made us fall right back in love with our hometown. The Wick At Both Ends is certainly one of these, with a great seasonal menu (featuring an array of locally-sourced ingredients), artisan drinks and a Sunday roast dinner to rival your mum's, so when we were invited to sample the new menu we couldn't wait to book a table.

We started our evening as all good evenings should begin - with a cocktail. I strayed from my usual favourite, the Hansel (gin, raspberries, rhubarb liqueur and gingerbread syrup) and went for a Clover Club. Similar to the Hansel in that it had gin (Portobello), and raspberry, this classic drink also featured vermouth and an egg white. Egg in a cocktail is something I used to shy away from, but took the plunge to discover it adds a beautiful frothiness that makes the drink feel like a proper treat. A massive hit of fresh raspberries gave a pleasant tang. Jim selected the famous whiskey sour, which was made with Bailie Nicol Jarvie and citrus, which was slightly too long a drink for his usual taste but still whet the appetite for the meal to come.

For starter we shared the potted crayfish with soda bread, which was a good unusual appetiser. The butter to crayfish ratio could have been adjusted a little to give more of a seafood hit, but it was nonetheless very tasty, and the warm soda bread was delicious. 

My roast haddock main course was well cooked, and came served with new potatoes and a fennel and cucumber salad. The freshness of the crunchy aniseedy fennel worked really well with the fish, and the whole thing was doused in a lovely green watercress sauce. The dish just sang of spring.

The star dish of the meal was Jim's choice of lamb rump. This came to the table deliciously pink, sat on a little cushion of rosemary and mint rosti. The flavour of this was more rosemary than mint, but this was no bad thing, and ensured it married beautifully with the lamb. Carrots and redcurrant jus completed the dish, with a few jewelled nuggets of sour redcurrant which added a real burst of flavour. Lovely.

To finish, we indulged ourselves and shared a cheeseboard. This consisted of Y-Fenni mustard and ale, with a creamy heat of mustard definitely making itself apparent, Cropwell Bishop Stilton, and a delicious soft goats cheese. Alongside the cheese was a homemade caramelised red onion chutney and some nice little crackers. The only downside was we only got one grape, which isn't a fruit that is easy to share!

The meal was washed down with a couple of pints of Hop Studio Citra, one of two cask ales on the bar (the other being the solid local favourite, Abbeydale Deception).

I've noticed on twitter that the chef is already dabbling in some new dishes for the next seasonal change, but I do hope he takes a step back and savours those he's already created - the food at the Wick is a triumph in the world of "pub grub" and it's for this reason that we will return again and again.

Cheers,

Laura x