Located on West Bar Green in a former police station. Not quite in the thick of Sheffield’s social scene, but only a stones throw from the buzz of Kelham Island you’ll find Marco’s New York Italian Diner.

Social Sheffield had been invited along by the lovely people at Marco’s to sample the new #sharesunday menu which was launched last weekend. Lucky old me got asked to attend as part of the ‘Social Sheffield team’ along side Mick, Jason and Edsmond.

The restaurant itself was smaller and softer looking than I had envisaged – lots of cream, browns and blacks. Padded leather booth seating combined with circular and square tables. A large stylish bar (cream padded bar front and gorgeous tiled bar apron) where you could make yourself at home perched on high bar chairs. At the far end of the restaurant  there is an open Kitchen area.

The room layout had a definite wedding reception feel to it. Busy, open-plan, with subtle lighting and large windows to one side of the room providing lots of additional natural light. Our waitress was attentive but not over-bearing and nothing was too much trouble.

We were seated in the centre of the room, absolutely perfect for people watching. There was a mixed clientelle which included a family with a couple of young children. It’s always nice to know the whole family are welcome. To me Sundays are all about family and catching up.

Wine ordered (I was half an hour late. I’m never late.It was much needed!) We set about ordering our food.

Starters comprised of a choice of either :

– Soup of the day – (mushroom) served with ciabatta bread and butter.
– Smoked mackerel pate with toasted brown bread.
– The Sharing platter – BBQ chicken wings, calamari, tomatoes and basil bruschetta and parma ham.

I choose the soup and very nice it was too…with a definite kick to it. I would go as far as to say that in my humble opinion it’s one of the best mushroom soups I’ve ever had. The guys had a taste and thought it was nice but didn’t enthuse as much as I did.

In true keeping with the theme #sharesunday we tucked into each others dishes and sampled the goodies for ourselves. It was a foodies dream.

Mains:
– Gammon joint to share
– Beef joint to share
– Roast chicken to share
– Red onion marmalade and goats cheese tart (vegetarian option)

All served with Yorkshire pudding, duck fat and rosemary roasted potatoes, red wine sauce and seasonal vegetables.
Just typing that is making my mouth water…

We decided to have both the beef and gammon to share. I dont actually eat gammon myself but I eat beef like it’s gone out of fashion. Boy it was good, cooked to perfection and definately one of the highlights of the whole meal, along with the perfect Yorkshire puddings, the delicious roasts and moreish roasted vegetables.

I think I probably devoured all the carrots ( sorry boys) but I’ve never tasted anything near as good. Getting excited about carrots is something I never thought I would do.

The puddings, roasties and gravy were also so good we ordered extra and consumed the lot. Asking for more was not a problem and our lovely waitress advised she would bring yet more if we requested. I had to fight my inner piglet not to take her up on that.

If I could only ever eat one meal again…this would be it! Delicious.

Presentation was excellent, a bloggers and IG addicts idea.of heaven.

Dessert:
– Sticky Toffee Pudding with vanilla ice cream
– Sticky Chocolate pudding
– Crumble of the Day (apple and cinnamon)

With a little room left for pudding both Mike and I ordered the Crumble and custard and waited eagerly for it to arrive. It pains me to say it but we were both left alittle disappointed.

For starters both the crumble and custard were cold and the topping tasted burnt. Our waitress confirmed that it was a cold dessert, something I feel they should make clear on the menu. I don’t know about you but I like my crumble warm with steaming custard. Its comfort food and reminds me of home. It’s not quite so comforting cold.

Luckily the Sticky Toffee and Sticky Chocolate puddings stepped up to the mark and made up for what the crumble lacked. Now they were good! So good infact I tucked in them and never took a photo!

All in all it was a lovely meal and great value at £16 for 3 Courses. There’s something rather lovely and social about sharing not just your food, but also conversation amongst great company. There really is no finer way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For further details about the restaurant, May offers and how you can meet the actual man himself, Marco Pierre White, click HERE. Ladies (and gents) I can’t guarantee you’ll get to touch him but I understand you will be served a lovely meal and all leave with a signed apron! Hold it against you and pretend 🙂

Until next time,

Tracey x