La Vaca — Restaurant in Sheffield

La Vaca is an independent, family run Steakhouse based in Broomhill, providing a taste of South America. Rodrigo (born in Chile) and wife Gloria want to bring a taste of the fabulous steak restaurants of Chile and Argentina to the UK, using the best local, quality beef and cooking over an authentic open charcoal grill.

Ben took me to La Vaca for my birthday meal in February and it was bloody good. It was a Monday evening, however the restaurant started to become busy from about 7pm which was a good sign, and we quickly saw why…

We decided to go for the Parrillada – Minimum of 2 people £21.50pp; Includes 2 x 8oz Sirloin steaks (cooked to preference – ours is medium rare), chorizo, morcilla (mini sweet Spanish black pudding), pork ribs and chips. We also got a side of Greek Salad £3.50 and Baked Tomatoes £3.00. Our aim was to take any leftovers home… but there wasn’t any.

The steaks were juicy, the chorizo was lovely, the ribs were a tad dry but we still enjoyed them and I have to say I don’t usually eat black pudding but I tried it and it was so tasty, I ended up eating it all. The side dishes gave our palettes a little cleanse throughout all that meat and were really refreshing and light. We cleared our plates with too much ease.

The staff here were attentive, the restaurant itself is a little dated decor wise, however it’s obvious that it’s a popular place which people return to due to the quality meat and humble, down to earth serving. Not only do the owners use quality Yorkshire-based meat providers, they have tried to source mainly Argentinean and Chilean wines for their wine list to give your steak that extra air of authenticity.

If you’re appetites aren’t as big as ours, there is a wide range of nibbles, sharing boards, Grill and other Main dishes to choose from, as well as an array of sides to accompany them. La Vaca also have an Early Bird Menu which is any sandwich or a 6oz rump steak served with salad and chips, a beer/small glass house wine/soft drink and a hot drink all for £11.95, available Monday to...

Located in studenty Broomhill, La Vaca has carved out a comfortable niche for itself turning out a wide range of steaks from high quality Yorkshire cattle. Slightly beyond the regular student budget, this week it's a popular venue for post graduation family meals, and rightly so. Friendly staff had our large table ready and were attentive without being 'in your face' from the minute we started to arrive. It was no bother to them that our group convened our the space of 30 minutes. Everyone got drinks and refills when they needed them.

We ordered 3 sharing plate starters (while waiting for the last people to join us), and they came to the table a few minutes after the last people got settled. Lovely selections of meats and cheese - really tasty and kept everyone happy.

Each steak order we placed was different, each was cooked as requested - no quibbles there...even a couple of people who rarely choose steak, and won't eat it pink, were happy with their meat. WELL DONE La Vaca, thanks for treating our 'cremated cow' orders well and not sending out shoe leather like so many places do. The salmon looked good too.

So, to those sides. It's great to choose exactly what you want from a great range. Fab crunchy chips, buttery mash and chilli coated new potatoes, creamed spinach, green salad, slow roasted tomatoes, all top notch.

With a large group, there's always a few who find the room for a puddle, and they didn't disappoint either.

Full marks to kitchen staff and front of house alike. The graduate may move away from Sheffield, but you'll be top on the must visit list when any of us are...

Great but overheard abuse

This was our first visit to La Vaca, we went based upon recommendations from our friends. The place itself gives you a feel of the South Americas when you enter, with a wooden theme and great aromas coming from the kitchen. My wife and I were seated instantly and were offered drinks while we perused the menu. We ordered Empanadas and Gambas al Pil Pil for starters and a Sirloin and Rib Eye for mains (there are other items on the menu but we thought it would be a waste to try anything other than what La Vaca is famous for). The food arrived promptly, there were not many in at the time we ordered, and I can vouch for the deliciousness of it all. The food isnt cheap but then again, you get what you pay for. The drinks were drinks, san miguels and diet cokes (we had to bring the car from the other side of town). I can recommend La Vaca on all the above, in fact we would be going every week if it wasnt for what happened next. I am guessing the owner was not in the building at the time as a female chef appeared and began talking to one of our servers, we were within earshot. I think there may be some changes in the offing at this place as it appeared by what the chef was saying that the 'new owners' were coming in and the chef was not too happy, in fact her four letter expletives describing them made get rather angry that my wife could hear this foul abuse. I said to my wife that we wouldn't be going back there again however this may have been a gut reaction and we need to rethink. I am hoping the owners are there next time so we can...