"My wife and I visited here for our first post-Covid “Date Night” and overall it was a very good experience, with just a couple of hiccups holding it back from the full five stars. The restaurant has a beautiful location, set in gardens overlooking fishing lakes with views across the Dearne valley and up to Barnbrough Crags and High Melton. It’s nicely decorated and has a large outdoor terrace, perfect for the social distant dinner. Our evening got off to a shaky start. My wife and I are having a non-drinking spell, so are not drinking any alcoholic drinks. Not really an issue normally as there are lots of good non alcoholic beers and several decent Prosecco style fizzes. We emailed them beforehand about this and asking what they had to offer, but got no reply. When we arrived the staff said they had low alcohol beers, and agreed that we could “BYO” low alcohol wine (we had a bottle in the car) for a corkage fee. All well and good, but when I asked for a low alcohol beer non was available. A couple of minor considerations there. Things improved when the menu arrived. It’s heavily meat based, but otherwise well as the balanced, and has a choice for everyone. It also included some unusual options; such kangaroo steaks, braised smoked ox cheek, and roast haunch of Mouflon. I am a bit of a foodie, but didn’t know what a Mouflon is, so I asked. Problem was the waitress didn’t really know either, suggesting it was a breed of Scottish sheep, which it isn’t as it turns out. Anyway we had Ox Cheek and Mussels to start. Both were excellent, with huge portions! My only quibble is that the Mussels were the large green lipped variety, not the smaller, sweeter North Sea mussels which I prefer, and the menu did not clarify this. However they were perfectly cooked and I enjoyed them. Mains were rack of lamb and a Belgian Blue rump steak. Again both were excellent, and it was good to see the chef naming the breed of the cow which I ate part of. My quibble here is that the menu could have benefitted from a better description. Few diners would have known what a Mouflon is, and a few words about it being a rare and ancient breed of sheep, considered to be the original breed from which all other sheep descended would have been useful, as would telling customers that Belgian Blue is a breed of cattle, and not a style of cooking! Minor quibbles I know, but I highly recommend this place. It’s beautiful, the food is imaginative, hearty, and very well cooked. It’s at the high end of South Yorkshire dining at £10 plus per starter, and £23-£26 for mains, but the food is top quality, and well worth it."
