With all that being the case, the idea of going to a casino for food was quite far down my to-do list, so I wasn’t sure how to react when I received an invite to pop down to Sheffield and sample a range of new menus at the Grosvenor Casino. My curiosity was piqued and the menus read well enough, so when I found myself with a few hours to spare while Baby Fork was at nursery, I popped myself onto a train and made tracks South.

My naivety showed as soon as I arrived at the casino and was asked to surrender my satchel. After conversation with the pleasant receptionist, I was acutely aware of the potential for fraud and deception and made my way inside. The legend of there being no natural light in a casino proved correct – all the better to lose track of time – but the space was clean and comfortable with the bar area being segregated enough from the gambling activities to provide a space in which to relax in front of the appropriately outsized big screen.

With my focus shifting to food, I took a look at the four street food menus in which I was interested and decided to start off with the offering from Absurd Bird. This menu is an offshoot of the fried chicken chain and offers wings, burgers and buckets of fried food apt to soak up a few beers in front of that previously mentioned big screen. My challenge for the afternoon was to sample something representative from each menu, so I kicked off with some fried wings that were served in a box neatly designed to recline into a plate of sorts. It’s no real criticism to say that I’ve had more refined fried chicken elsewhere, but this was a cracking example of the breed, not too greasy but still messy enough to make sure you leave fingerprints on everything for some time.

Next up was a Garden Club pizza from Barrel & Stone. These guys’ core business is providing ‘plug and play’ solutions to other premises that allow them to broaden their offering easily. Here they’re just one strand of the menu, but pizza is bound to be a favourite and thankfully this one is comfortably good enough for the surroundings, with plentiful fresh toppings and a crispy base.

My next gearshift took me seamlessly into curry. This was branded up from Holy Cow and served along with rice and naan. I chose Rogan Josh on the recommendation of my server and enjoyed it, though the naan was on the dry side.

The last question asked of my appetite was by Field & Fin from a menu geared toward restaurant style dishes. I’d had an eye on the slow-braised beef rib from this menu and it was just the luxuriant I’d hoped to finish the day’s indulgences on. With the smoked bacon strip-topped meat smothering the mashed potato base, the presentation was a little monochromatic but the meat had justice done to it.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I accepted this invitation. If I’m honest I’ve not the time or inclination to start to understand the mechanics of gambling so this is unlikely to become a habit, but I enjoyed my visit and the food. The concept of multiple menus could have tripped up in lots of different ways, but the execution was satisfying and I can certainly see how this makes sense for this kind of venue. I’m not sure how much custom over and above their existing base this offering will get them, but I doubt many who do try this offering will be disappointed.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for my attendance. Opinions are impartial.

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Food halls seem to be popping up all over Yorkshire these days. In York, we have Spark to host a range of street food vendors at the moment and the promise of another food hall in the recently refurbished Stonebow House to come in 2019. In Leeds, Assembly Underground has just opened with 50 beer lines to support the existing Belgrave Music Hall and Trinity Kitchen and a little further south, Sheffield is now host to The Cutlery Works in Kelham Island in a building that, perhaps unsurprisingly, was previously a Cutlery factory.

Our visit didn’t get off to a particularly smooth start thanks to an inconsistent bus service in York that left us running a mile or so pushing Baby Fork after which we were able to relax for three minutes before sharing the vestibule on a packed train with seven other people, a pushchair and luggage. On arrival at Sheffield, we recovered with coffee before trekking through the rain hoping that The Cutlery Works would live up to expectations. Thankfully we found it a superb retreat from the rain, welcoming and buzzing while still family friendly with the first floor easily accessible via a lift and featuring decent baby changing facilities.

The range of traders is truly impressive and broad while not cramming too much into the space. There’s a nice mix of food and drink businesses that cover a great range of bases without letting any genre dominate or unduly tip toward feeling like a drinks led space. Downstairs feels more like the kind of place to swing by for a drink and a snack while upstairs dots a few more sofas around, suggesting a longer stay. In terms of traders, the downstairs features craft chocolate from Bullion, Indian from Ma-Ba, poutine from The Gravy Train, arancini from Fritti, pies from Pie-Eyed and burgers and baos from Fin&Bone. Upstairs finds freshly roasted coffee from Foundry, plant-based treats from Shed, and Edo serving up sushi along with a few bars to enjoy.

We settled upstairs, bagging a sofa and a high chair to base ourselves in before exploring the menus. Predictably there’s too much to work through in one day here but I enjoyed living vicariously through the sights and smells as I made my way around. A couple of street food chefs in York had suggested the poutine so I started with Gravy Train’s “Montreal” dish. Peculiar to Cutlery Works compared to other food halls I’ve visited, there’s table service, so I pointed out our table on a plan and returned to the group, where the food appeared quickly enough. The suggestion turned out to be spot on: really well prepared fries paired with curd and drenched in a deeply flavoured gravy. This was a deeply satisfying way to spend £6 while my companions’ similar dish chucked bbq chicken into the mix for another couple of pounds.

We decided to go for something lighter next and ordered a selection of sashimi from Edo that was as beautifully fresh as it needs to be; the scallop in particular being delightful (£15). The other side of the table opted for a selection of small plates from the same outlet that included duck gyoza, Japanese fried chicken and octopus dumplings which my stolen bites served to confirm their positivity (3 dishes for £12) . Finally we hit Fin&Bone for a Bouillabaisse which had a decent punch of flavour but could have been a bit more generous with the seafood to hit the same heights of the dishes we’d enjoyed so far.

The Cutlery Works is a fantastic use of space to give a home to some seriously good food and drink businesses. I absolutely loved the atmosphere; it had plenty of buzz but still felt family friendly without ever looking like a soft play area. Each of the businesses seemed to have space to present its own identity and one can only assume that this will quickly become a stable of the food and drink scene in Sheffield.

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