Native — Restaurant in Sheffield

1 of my 2 favorite Sheffield restaurants, by far. I'm a tough customer, having friends/family in the restaurant business, and growing up amongst some of the best food in the world. I don't dine at many local places more than once, as I'm so often let down. I've eaten at Native twice, and looking forward to my 3rd time, which won't come soon enough. I was raised on seafood and living here, I've missed it terribly. I wasn't sure I'd ever have a delicious fish/shellfish meal locally. I'm so glad to have been proven wrong. This isn't just good for Sheffield, or the UK. This food would hold up in San Francisco and LA. Yes, it's that good.

I've ordered the lobster twice, since that's what I miss and crave most. I've always been a thermidor fan, but my first time, the server recommended garlic butter. It was perfect. The next time I got my beloved rich sauce, and while tasty, it just seemed a bit much. The lobster was so good that I prefer it with the simpler garlic butter. I'd never eaten lobster with fries (or chips as you say) previously, and don't really care for them, but the fries here are delicious! I surprised myself by eating most of them. The Caesar salad that comes with it is very good as well...the flavors are so perfectly balanced in this trio, it nearly brought a tear to my eye. I need to order a vegetable side next time, since that's how I was raised, but I'll likely have to go without fries in that case, since the servings are fairly generous.

While the one thing I was slightly less pleased in was the scallop starter - cooked well, I just like a bit more flavor (tho know they're catering for local tastes), the crab arancini is astoundingly good. In fact one of the best starters I've ever had (and I've had some fantastic starters at well-known, highly praised establishments). I only wished there'd been more sauce, it's heavenly. I didn't try any dessert as I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and was too full anyway, yet highly recommend the cocktails. I'm not a wine drinker, but a proud mixed drink connoisseur. They make some strong, mighty tasty ones here. The margarita and amaretto sour are especially nice, however I wish they'd use maraschinos rather than those sticky, mushy glace cherries. It really makes a difference, and the stickiness wasn't fun.

The service was excellent, both when we were the only table and when they were at 80% or 90% capacity.

Though they were using the accessible toilet to store some things, which meant I had to wait for it to be moved (and standing isn't always easy for me). That's always a huge disappointment, and often makes the difference between me never going back to a restaurant, but idk if they're still doing that as I didn't use the facilities my last visit. I hope not. Disabled folks are already made to feel like they shouldn't leave the house here in UK, so it's disheartening when businesses make us feel like we're asking too much. Everything else is so good that I won't hold it against them too much. And they have an accessible entrance, which is huge, since most don't here. Disabled patrons are made to feel welcome, which is rare around here, so immensely appreciated.

Other than that, the only thing that seemed incongruous to me was the decor. As a stylist and former decorater, I can't help but imagine what would really make a place shine, add to the aura, and emphasize what they do and are. There are a few things they could do to really create an ambience, while remaining true to their soul, but I know that's not big here in the north of England. It would make it that much more enjoyable however.

Anyway, if you're local, you've got to try Native. If you're visiting, you should put it on your itinerary. This is seafood done right. I'm so...

We have been to Native before and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the latest experience was really disappointing. Our table of 5 were given a table in the basement. It was dreadful down there. Absolutely no atmosphere and appalling decor. It was cold with a horrid bright light over our heads. . No full time waiter looking after the tables so we had to wait for them to appear from upstairs. The food on previous occasions was delicious. Unfortunately this was completely average. Bottle of wine just plonked on the table. We had booked the table a month in advance and at no point were told we would be seated in the basement. The booking relayed the information that the meal was to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. If we had been told that we would be in the basement we wouldn’t have gone. I told the manager of our disappointment. He told me they were not going to be using the basement in the future because they were taking the shop next door. Frankly they shouldn’t be taking so many bookings that they put people down there. For the prices charged it is totally unacceptable. . Unfortunately we won’t...

Sadly although the staff were very nice and the food was good we arrived on a Sunday without the info that it was a drastically reduced menu. The only fish main course was a lobster risotto. Combined price for a starter and main course was £26 which is fair enough. We asked if we could instead have three starters each - we did not realise, nor were we told that each starter was approximately £15! So with one bottle of white wine and one beer the bill came to £132. We were not given an itemised menu with prices as it was only on a blackboard. Very disappointing and slightly disingenuous. A good meal for £60-£80 but no where near value for money for £132 for two people. More transparency needed and necessary to put on web site the absence of a full menu on a Sunday. Only a Sunday roast and a veg alternative and a lobster risotto on a fish restaurant menu - come on! No fish available on a fish restaurant menu - it’s like something out of Monty Python. Cheese anyone? We would have loved to have gone back but this unfortunate lack of communication has put us...