Stanfield’s Eatery — Restaurant in Sheffield

As we enter the restaurant we had no idea what to expect. However sitting at the bar and ordering a drink and seeing the presentation, expectations became very high.

One look around and we would notice the salad bar and the pastry cabinets full of nice fresh desserts well presented and very tempting.

The menu is nicely laid out in multiple pages for different things that one might want to eat. We ordered the fresh fried mushrooms the shrimp cocktail, the chicken pizza, The ribeye flatbread and a blue cheese hamburger medium rare.

Don't expect much in beer if you're a beer drinker which I am I ended up having a 30 extra dirty martini and the beer I think the most flavorful happy beer they have is a yearlinger. There are no craft beers with any strong robust aromatic flavors here they deal strictly and Michelob ultra as their main stream high seller.

Presented firstly with the pizza we were very impressed because it was delicious. The crust was nicely done crispy and chewy at the same time and well balanced with ingredients.

But as the food and appetizers came, our expectations were let down. Just because a restaurant says they make all their entrees from scratch doesn't mean that they're going to be correct or meet your expectations at all.

For instance one photograph attached is the shrimp cocktail The shrimp were absolutely delicious but that's all.... it was 8 peeled shrimp in a glass with cocktail sauce no garnishment no lemon no excitement.

So the pizza was delicious the cocktail tasted good The mushrooms were little to be desired because they were not crispy; but mostly somewhat crispy and parts and doughy in others.

My wife's ribeye flatbread was acceptable very good to her. She liked it except for the macaroni and cheese side. You could still taste a lot of the artificial ingredients which goes into some boxed macaroni and cheese regardless if they say they make it from scratch she did not care from it. she is a macaroni and cheese nut; she loves macaroni and cheese.

On the other hand if you go into an establishment expecting a hamburger that's going to knock you off your chair this is not it.... As I said I ordered the hamburger medium rare and it came out well done. Besides that with the regular size bun that everybody is accustomed to there were two smaller patties of hamburger that didn't cover much more than half the bun each and I did not eat any of it because it just wasn't cooked right... Over cooked actually.

Almost forgot the pub chips are not really what you're accustomed to. It's more like if you're in England and they have a chip it's really a french fry so or a potato so what happens here is they're pub chips are sliced baked potatoes soft inside and slightly crisp on the outside and some people may like them some may not but they definitely don't mean my expectation as a "pub chip" as we Americans would expect.

The staff is kind and courteous the people who tend the bar are very nice I enjoyed our time there but as we went through the food selection we were let down little by little until the final main entree came and we were disappointed to the point where we just had to leave and not have their delicious looking desserts.

However on that note I did show them the uneaten hamburger and told them about how it was supposed to be prepared and how I was disappointed and they did take that...

As a party of 8 on a Tuesday night at 6:00, we were easily seated within 20 minutes. Groups of two or three could have been seated immediately but I would recommend calling ahead for larger groups. The salad bar was great as usual. It was stocked with cheese, carrots, eggs, ham, pepperoni, bacon bits, croutons, sunflower seeds, pickled okra, tomatoes, peppers, olives, beans, cucumber, broccoli, pickles, pasta salad, potato salad, and more. There were 6 (or more) salad dressings. They had grapes, pineapple bits, pears, mandarin oranges, peaches, strawberry fluff, and chocolate mousse also making it an easy choice to order the unlimited salad bar for your meal if you enjoy salad. The fried chicken sandwich was praised as one of the best in the area with not one bite left on the plate. The grilled shrimp skewers can be blackened or seasoned with lemon pepper; you can also skip those and opt for regular to get their perfectly seasoned grilled flavor.

With a larger group you're probably going to have some negatives, right? The kids plates were disappointing. Avoid the chicken tenders altogether. There were 2 sad, skinny, overcooked tenders that looked tiny even on the smaller child sized plate. They should be embarrassed to have let them leave the kitchen. The popcorn shrimp came on the same smaller child sized dish but was overflowing with plump, golden shrimp. However they were too spicy for the kids to eat them. (As an adult that enjoys spice, the shrimp were delicious but certainly surprising for a kids dish. So avoid it if your kid can't handle mid range spiciness.) Sadly, even the kids noticed the difference in the amount and quality of food served on their plates. Comparing the two plates would have been comical if those tenders weren't so pitiful. The brisket nachos came on a pizza pan with enough for 2 to share and have leftovers. But wait, how is this a negative you ask?? They were so very dry. The person had to stop eating multiple times just to wait for more drink so he could wash more down.

Our server was kind and helpful. I know larger groups can be difficult and we certainly had plenty of requests while there. (We didn't send food back though so I can't speak on that. We don't typically do that. If we ever send back anything anywhere, certainly 3 plates, there'd have to be bugs or other foreign objects in the food.) We did need the endless refills, extra utensils due to drops, and extra napkins, but she never showed a hint of frustration or annoyance if she was feeling that way though.

It's been at least a year since I had eaten here before this visit, but in the past the food was usually pretty good. So it's disappointing that 3 from the group had negative experiences related to their food in this visit though. I won't be going back anytime soon but I'm sure I'll go back eventually since it's a popular choice with...

The wait staff is great! I just wish the food and experience could live up to the hype because this was my birthday dinner.

We had a reservation for 4:30, but were seated 30 minutes late, despite more than half the tables being empty. (This was not apparently due to a staff shortage, because they were all full by the time we left). We were a party of 3, but they, oddly, put us right at the front door at a table for 8. We had to ask to be moved, because we were freezing every time the door was opened and did not wish to dine in our winter coats. The decor, while pretty, is very odd for a restaurant. The booth we were moved to had light-duty fabric upholstered COUCHES, instead of booth seats with sturdy upholstery that would last more than 18 months of heavy use. All the booths are like this. They have arms on the ends, albeit low arms, but they made it very difficult to sit down, and especially get up from the booth. The chairs at the previous table also had super low backs and were uncomfortable.

The menu is kind of a mess. If you've ever been to a Cheesecake Factory, imagine that giant menu, but in all BW text on legal size paper, ring bound at the top and homemade instead of professionally printed.

We got: shrimp and crab dip, pretty good, but the chips served with it were very thin and broke every single time personal cheese 9" pizza, it was good, but not $9 good wedge salad, this was excellent and probably the best thing we had. The blue cheese dressing tasted homemade ribeye steak with loaded baked potato, steak was very good. Cooked just right! loaded steak fries - we had to ask for twice and they were barely warm and dried out when they arrived parmesan shrimp pasta - this....I had to send back. According to the menu, it was supposed to be pasta and shrimp with a parmesan sauce. What I got was salad shrimp (the tiny ones) and pasta in a bowl of parmesan SOUP! It did not come even CLOSE to resembling a sauce. I tried a bite and it was just....pasta soup with salad shrimp. The waiter offered to bring something else, so I asked for fettucine shrimp alfredo. What he brought more resembled what it was supposed to be, but it still missed the mark with the same tiny salad shrimp!! After a couple bites, I just asked for a to-go box so I could take it home and fix it. They just don't seem to know how to do pasta properly.

It was also freezing in the whole restaurant until we were almost finished (7:00ish). It seemed someone had finally turned the heat up appropriately. However, there does not seem to be any heat in the BATHROOM! Cateful sitting down, and don't expect any hot water for your hands. Cause there isn't any!

Someone had some nice ideas, but execution left a lot...