Caffe Massarella is tucked away in a quiet corner of Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield next door to what was once the large Debenhams department store. Despite that now being shut the restaurant is none-the-less popular despite the obvious drop in footfall. The closure of Debenhams has given them the opportunity to expand their seating beyond the confines of the physical restaurant and there are plenty of tables ‘outside’.
We arrived shortly after 12.15 and were quickly and easily seated, given the choice of where we wanted to sit. The restaurant was reasonably quiet at this point but rapidly filled during our stay.
Mrs Wanderer played a quick game of musical chairs as she said her chair, despite showing promise with the padding, was quite uncomfortable. I had to agree as I could feel the chair frame beneath the seat pad. They could change the chairs for something more comfortable but that is obviously an expensive exercise.
Service was quick and we ordered our meals and drinks. I opted for the Pappardelle Bolognese with homemade beef ragu and my wife went for the salmon and grains salad.
The drinks arrived shortly thereafter quickly followed by the meals. The pappardelle was a decent sized portion and the pasta cooked nicely al dente. The dish was garnished with wild rocket however, despite there being a nice amount of tomato ragu, there wasn’t a great deal of beef. It was however very tasty and I enjoyed it despite the shirt stains afterwards!
Mrs Wanderer’s ‘salad’ consisted of cured salmon with beetroot chunks and giant cous cous. The salmon had clearly been cured in beetroot given the colour. She enjoyed her meal too.
During our meal another couple took their seats behind us and I chuckled when the gentleman also swapped his chair for another!
This was our second visit to Caffe Massarella at Meadowhall so, despite my minor gripes about the chairs and meat content, they are doing something right to draw us back. The number of people waiting to be seated is also testament to that. Worth a visit.
The Willoughton Wanderer 
Leave a comment