The Broadfield: Vegan Fish and Chips
The Boardfield Ale House, in Nether Edge, Sheffield was the very first place where I tried banana blossom “fish” and chips and I fell in love with it instantly. Part of the True North Brew Co., The Broadfield is mostly known for its homemade award-winning pies and constantly changing range of cask ales. The pies change daily and always offer up a vegan version. On the food menu, they have a vegan winter root goulash served with chives & sauerkraut, a garden pea, mint & vegan feta burger served with beef tomato, shredded lettuce, Rothschild ketchup & gherkin on floured pave with fries. The Broadfield also offers a mock duck sandwich with pickled Moulis as well as a starter plate of kimchi dumplings. On Sundays, the alehouse also serves roast dinners alongside its usual mains so there is always to come back for. There are plenty of options for your meat-eating friends as well so everyone is happy.
The Boardfield Ale House was built in the 1890s by Albert Twigg whose memorabilia is still on the walls of the pub. Situated on Abbeydale Road, the Boardfield was refurbished in 2011 to restore the pub to its former glory and to freshen it up by serving homemade food and crisp pints. The beers are sourced locally from the True North Brew Co and the same goes for the spirits from True North Sheffield Dry Gin. To keep you coming back The Boardfield hosts multiple supper clubs, these include a James Bond evening consisting of a five-course supper club serving up a menu inspired by the iconic spy. A French Classics night serves up a homage to the homeland of fine dining with offers such as Coq au Vin, Tartiflette and Beef Bourguignon. As well as a vegan Dungeons & Dragons special which promises an evening filled with magic, camaraderie, and delectable weird and wonderful plant-based dishes.
On this visit, we both got the vegan version of the fish and chips. Look at it, how could we not! Beer-battered banana blossom with thick-cut chips, mushy peas, tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. Of course, due to being in Sheffield, we covered the whole thing in Hendersons Relish. The whole meal was just amazing, the fish was cooked and battered to perfection. As someone who has worked with fryers before and who has personally battered banana blossom at home, I know how difficult it can be to make the “fish” hold its shape while also making sure the batter is cooked inside and out. The Broadfield absolutely nailed it. The chips, as always, were way too big and that’s exactly how I like them. Huge, chunky, thick-cut chips are, in my opinion, the best variation of chips. As stated in my ultra-processed food blog post, it’s so easy and so much more tasty to home make mushy peas and it always pays off. This meal is probably my dream main dish if anyone was to ask me my dream starter, main and desert, I honestly think I would pick this. The Broadfield never misses and I would urge anyone when they go to Sheffield to go here!
