A key attraction of attending CAMRA’s Members’ Weekend is exploring the host town or city. This year’s venue, Sheffield, has plenty to offer both drinkers and diners, and here are our top tips for the latter.

Sheffield, a large cosmopolitan city, was recently rated second in the 2023 Time Out list of Best City Breaks in Europe. As it said: “Combine the lush greenery – and proximity to the Peak District – with a vibrant city rich in culture, food and drink, and you have two kinds of holiday wrapped into one.”

Opportunities for eating out are many and diverse. These range from what could be described as basic, to four restaurants in the Michelin Guide. In recent years, the city has seen a boom in independent eateries: from food halls to fine dining and from street food to cosy cafes. Many are listed on the Welcome to Sheffield website.

Our conference venue is close to many outlets. For example, True North outlets provide traditional pub food. The Common Room and the Forum are close to the brewery, about a ten-minute walk from the Octagon. It also brewed the 2022 Champion Beer of Sheffield, Devika IPA (5.2 per cent). Other pubs with both good beer and food close to the conference venue include the University Arms and the Red Deer.

There are 10 Wetherspoon outlets in the city, several in the city centre. The nearest to the Octagon is the Francis Newton, originally built as the family home for a wealthy cutlery manufacturer. It has been a pub since 1994, originally the Aunt Sally, a Tom Cobleigh pub until 2009. Wetherspoon then took on the building reopening in February 2010.

There are many other pub options. Close to the railway station is the Rutland, home of a variety of excellent bistro-style cooking, while in Nether Green, the 2022 Sheffield and District Pub of the Year, the Rising Sun provides an extensive menu and dining room. Other alternatives include excellent honest food at the Nags Head (Loxley) and gastropubs like the Castle (Bradway) and the Cricket Inn (Totley). Closer to the Octagon, the Forest, tap for Toolmakers brewery, offers good value Sunday roasts.

If you’re looking for Michelin recommendations there are Brocco Kitchen, Joro, Old Vicarage and Rafters. Joro is in the Krynkl shipping container development, a few steps from the Cider Hole and close to the multiple-award winning Fat Cat. Since 1981, the latter has been home to a wide range of cask beers and a good value range of home-cooked food options. The vegetarian ploughman’s is a good choice.

A short walk away, the Cutlery Works was voted the best UK Food Hall in the 2022 British Street Food Awards. Closer to the centre of Sheffield, Kommune, located in a Grade II-listed building, provides a similar mix and also includes Hop Hideout, an award-winning beer shop and tasting room.

There is no shortage of themed restaurants. Viraaj won the 2021 English Curry Award for the Most Wanted Restaurant in Yorkshire and Humberside. If you’re looking for pizza, Napoli Centro Pizzeria (Glossop Road) and Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana (Division Street) are both relatively close to the conference venue. In addition, the mobile Sunshine Pizza Oven is always worth frequenting.

There are also many other options including Chinese, Thai and Turkish.

When and Where

Friday 21-Sunday 23 April Octagon Centre, University of Sheffield, Western Bank S10 2TG

CAMRA members can register and volunteer at: https://tinyurl.com/yc3xpz55