Ego

A Mediterranean restaurant is turning heads in Sheffield.

The Mediterranean philosophy to dining out is alive and well at Ego, a new restaurant that forms part of the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel in the heart of the city.
Diners are encouraged to take their time over a menu described as ‘healthy food made from natural ingredients’.
And you’ll want to take your time. The glass-walled restaurant is light and spacious, affording views over Tudor Square from one side and the Winter Gardens from the other. Décor is contemporary but warm, with lots of wood and leather seating; there’s a small bar area and an open kitchen so you can see what’s going on.
Bread, olives and a nice glass of a flavoursome Austrialian Shiraz Cabernet proved to be the perfect appetiser as we looked over the menu. There’s plenty of choice, with a good mix of starters, pizza, panini, mains, sides and desserts. There’s also a lunch rapido menu, available Monday to Saturday, for those in a hurry as well as an ‘early bird’ prix fixe menu, offering two courses for £11.95 and three for £13.95. A Monday special, with two courses and a bottle of house wine for £17.50 per person, is also available.
Like any good Mediterranean menu there’s a good choice of seafood, which formed the staple of our starters – Seafood Fritti and Gambas al Pil Pil. The Fritti, which consisted of whitebait, calamari and prawns, were all well cooked and seasoned, with plenty of crunch from the batter. The lemon wedge and roasted garlic aioli added a further dimension.
The Gambas al Pil Pil had come highly recommended by friends who had previously dined at Ego and proved to be a wise choice. The prawns, cooked in chilli, garlic and parsley, had a real zing with plenty of tomato rubbed bread to mop up the sauce.
For mains we tucked into Calvados and Apple Pork Fillet and Lamb Osso Bucco.
The former, wrapped in Parma ham and served with sautéed potatoes was served on a wooden platter, giving the dish a real rustic edge. Emphasis, though, is always on flavour and my partner was pleased that it had it in abundance.
My lamb, a Milanese-inspired dish, was also packed with flavour. The meat was deliciously tender and fell off the bone and of particular note was the accompanying jus, which had real depth. We also shared sides of courgette fritti and rocket and parmesan salad.
Dessert also offered plenty of choice; we decided to share a trio of warm chocolate fondant (rich and delicious), tarte tatin (sweet and sticky) and tiramisu (light and fluffy). All were very good.
Relaxing with a couple of espressos, my partner and I decided that the Mediterranean philosophy definitely has its plus points. In fact, lots of them.

Ego
88 Surrey Street
Sheffield, S1 2LH
Tel: 0114 278 2004
www.egorestaurants.co.uk