The Herd — Restaurant in Sheffield

I went for lunch today with my partner. I have eaten at The Herd multiple times and have always enjoyed my food but unfortunately today that wasn’t the case. I ordered the Mother Clucker chicken burger. When it arrived I noticed the batter was very dark. I’ve never actually seen it that dark before, it was dark brown almost chocolatey looking but not burnt. I checked the menu and it said Cajun coating, so I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. I didn’t want to cause a fuss but thought if anyone came to ask how our meals were, I would check if that’s how it was supposed to look. Nobody came to ask. I ate half of the chicken but I wasn’t sure if it tasted weird or just psychologically I was weirded out by the colour. I thought I would check when someone came to clear our trays but nobody did. We left in a bit of a rush because someone wanted our table. By the time I got home I was in agony and had real stomach issues. It’s about 7 hours later now and I’m still having stomach cramps, there’s no denying it was the chicken. I’m disappointed as I liked The Herd; the atmosphere and the general vibe. I’m not one to complain unless I think there’s a genuine issue. I’m writing this review in hope of the management taking note and ensuring food standards are up to scratch and someone with a weaker immune system than myself...

Came in for a drink and some food and ordered from the Sunday lunch menu. I asked for a child’s portion of the Sunday dinner as I didn’t want a full one and didn’t want to waste food. The order was taken with no issues, but what arrived was just a bowl of sliced beef and nothing else.

When I questioned it, I was told I’d ordered a “kids portion of beef” (I hadn’t). I asked again for the actual child’s Sunday dinner I’d ordered, but the chefs refused to make it, saying they don’t serve children’s meals to adults. I explained I didn’t want a full plate and simply didn’t want to waste food, but was told my only option was a sandwich. The beef was then taken away with no refund offered. I later had to ask for it back as it had been paid for, and eventually it reappeared with a dish of gravy “as an apology.” By this point, the kitchen had closed so it feels that they just didn’t want to make a new plate. The whole thing was handled really poorly. Slow food service, no flexibility, and a disregard for customer experience. More importantly, in a time where we’re all encouraged to be mindful of food waste, refusing to serve a smaller portion to someone who genuinely doesn’t want to over-order feels tone-deaf. It all ended up feeling more like a bad comedy sketch than a meal out. Sadly, we won’t be back any time...

After hearing good things about the Herd we decided to head in for something to eat and drink. Managed to find a table, it was busy and it felt a little pretentious, both the atmosphere and the people in there. The drinks are an eclectic mix of craft IPAs and unknown foreign lagers, meaning prices were high. First pint was £5.90! The cocktails were really good, average price at £8.50, they have a cocktail happy hour which I wasn't aware of but they remebered me on my second order so got it for £6.50 which was great of the staff.

Service was very good and one of the ladies serving explained the processes. The food is 'street food' aix of burgers, flatbread pizzas and tacos wit the usual sides. We have a burger, nachos (these were on specials), chips and corn on the cob. The food was good, the cheeses sauce on the nachos was cold though. Burger was tasty and homemade. There was a strange sauce in it which i would prefer not to have but it all tasted good. Food came.out quick and the ladies serving at the food counter was very friendly and attentive.

There was live music but the speaker systems took about an hour to sort out, not the poor singers fault. The singer were ok once it was all sorted.

All in all not bad, would I...