The Wig and Pen by The Milestone

My family and I recently had dinner here before a play at a nearby theater. Wig and Pen is a modern pub whose food is on par with others in the area. I ordered the burger which was fine but nothing memorable. The chips were thick and tasty. I also ordered one of their local brews which was fine, again nothing memorable. The atmosphere is nice, sleek and spacious. Service was good. Overall an OK pub conveniently located in the center of Sheffield.

We went here in a group of 10 people so between us all we sampled quite a lot. The service was very good, we were given plenty of attention when we required it and they remembered to come back to take extra drink orders, offer us anything else we might need, and to check on the quality of the food.
I had the starter of Deviled Lamb kidneys, English mustard mayo, octopus carpaccio and green apple purée. I found this to be really, really nice as did the others at the table who ordered it! Everything was cooked perfectly, the flavors were really nice and the dish was very innovative. We also had the wild rice risotto which was also nice, as was the heritage tomato/​mozzarella salad. I tasted the hay smoked sea trout and found it to be nice, but the flavors were much more muted compared to my starter.
The mains fell a bit short as the proteins were cooked poorly. I had the steak bavette with beef cheek pudding. I was asked how I wanted my meat cooked (medium rare.) as were the other people who ordered this plate. My meat was in fact cooked to the correct temperature, BUT it was so tough we all had trouble cutting it. The beef cheek and fried oysters saved the meal as they were amazing.
The seared duck breast was also popular at out table and when I tasted it I found it to be really REALLY dry and tough. The two people next to me ordered theirs on the rare side– one came rare-​ish, the other was way overcooked.
The deserts we all nice. nothing special. We also had cocktails before and after dinner. all of which we very well made.
I would think that if the restaurant improved their cooking/​selection of proteins that this would be an amazing place to eat. As it is, I would recommend it and go back, but I would really hope that the meats were better.
Visited August 2012

We’d been attempting to go here since seeing the sister restaurant ‘The Milestone’ on Gordon’s best local Restaurant and the necessity to be in Sheffield Saturday evening presented the perfect opportunity.
I had booked us in 5 weeks ago for 6pm and trust us to get lost! For anyone who knows Sheffield the road system is a nightmare!
We did phone ahead and said we’d be 20 ish mins late and they were ok with it.
We arrived and managed to get parked right outside on the street which is always a massive bonus.
The place is pretty nondescript from the outside and it’s a bit confusing over how you get in.
Nonetheless we entered down a few stairs straight into the bar area, there were a few people in the bar but it wasn’t busy as such.
We were seated swiftly away from the bar area in a fairly rustic corner.
The décor is a mix of modern yet shabby chic I’d say. Boards around show the offers available and the furniture is basic chairs with unpolished wood tables.
We were presented with 3 menus, early bird, a la carte and seasonal– very confusing I must say!
Our drinks order were taken while I’d escaped to the loo which was a trek in itself! Up a load of stairs so don’t wait until you’re desperate!
The toilets weren’t fantastic either– toilet roll all over the floor in one of the cubicles and quite sterile and faceless.
I returned to the table and tried to choose what to have.
I quite liked to look of the seasonal menu but in looking around didn’t see anyone eating the food it featured– how odd. I asked one of the waitresses if it was being served and she said ‘no’. No explanation or anything else.
So, the Early bird menu it was £14 for 2 courses or £18 for 3.
I chose: —
Ham hock ballontine, minted pea and pancetta salad: followed by
Seared bavette steak served rare, mashed potato, spring greens and
beef jus
the Mr ordered
Chicken liver parfait and also the Bavette steak.
I’d asked for my main cooked ‘medium’ and the waiter said ’ you do know that will make your meat tough?‘
I thought his approach a little rude but merely dismissed him with a ‘yes’.
We managed to distract a waitress passing (no easy feat) to order some ‘homemade pork crackling’ while we waited.
Our starters arrived quick enough and although nice, there was too much parfait and no bread or toast to accompany the ham hock which too the shine off things.
Our plates were cleared in a timely manner but there was then a delay in getting our main course but no explanation was given.
When our main was served, i asked which was the ‘medium’ and the waitress clearly didn’t know, merely looked at the plates and pointed to the one she had set down in front of me and said ‘that one’- it was no more well done than the one in front of Mr!!!
I also noted that my plate wasn’t exactly clean– it was greasy and smeared around the edge but seeing as we’d waited longer than I thought necessary I just got on with it.
By now the bar area had become crowded with a large party of people for a birthday so the noise level increased massively and they were all stood watching us eat– quite unnerving to say the least.
The food was OK, not exactly hot and more rare than I would have dared elsewhere.
We ate but I’d safely say we weren’t blown away by the food, the service, the venue or any of the experience.
When we finished we asked immediately for the bill– we were brought the one for the adjoining table and then ours a few minutes later.
We paid the bill £33.70 which wasn’t expensive in the slightest but we won’t be making any special effort to return again.
The atmosphere was strained, we had 3 different servers and feel that the whole place is lacking somewhat.

Modern tapas style wine bar. Good food if a little on the pricey side. Always popular

Lacks atmosphere

Over the years I’ve eaten in most of the restaurants in and around Sheffield city centre, and this one is consistently the best.
The bar serves excellent and varied tapas, plus relatively cheap bar meals — if memory serves me correctly, they do an excellent bangers and mash for under a fiver.
The restaurant, which has recently been expanded and redecorated, serves fancier dishes, but in a relaxed and unfussy environment. The cuisine is what I guess you’d call modern european, inspired mainly by Spanish, French and British food.
Their regional food evenings are highly recommended: for around £35 you get 4 or 5 courses with a different drink served with each course. Often these evenings feature exclusively food and wine from one particular region of France or elsewhere in Europe, but sometimes the theme will be a little more quirky, highlighting for example English beers, Scottish whiskies, or local produce. The food and drink are always expertly matched, and the head chef and sommelier give a little introduction to each course as it is served.
The atmosphere is very laid back and the décor modern, quirky, and relaxing. Service is pretty decent though not the best I have experienced — I would probably give this ⁴⁄₅ compared with ⁵⁄₅ for all other aspects of the dining experience.