'Alarming to see' Sheffield restaurants not included in Tripadvisor 2022 Awards

The website – an online resource where customers can rate their dining experiences – released their annual round up of the best of the best places to eat in the United Kingdom and across the world this week.

The ‘best of the best’ are calculated based on the quality and quantity of traveller reviews and ratings for restaurants on Tripadvisor collected from July 1, 2021, through to June 30, 2022.

No Sheffield eateries were included and the nearest to the Steel City was in Doncaster – a tapas restaurant called La Fiesta, which was ranked as fifth in the world in the ‘Best Hidden Gem’ category.

This does not mean there is a lack of good quality restaurants in Sheffield of course – far from it.

Ironically, on the same day the awards lists were revealed it was announced that Rafters, based on Oakbrook Road in Nethergreen, had taken home a third AA Rosette in the prestigious annual AA Hospitality Awards.

Establishments that receive the award are considered ‘outstanding restaurants achieving standards which demand national recognition well beyond their local area.’

In addition, The Vine in Mosborough has been nominated for the Restaurant of the Year Award – North East at the coveted Asian Restaurant and Takeaway (ARTA) Awards, which recognise the UK’s best South Asian cuisine.

Earlier this month, Neon Fish in Millhouses was named as the Best Restaurant in Sheffield at the annual British Restaurant Awards in London. They were also nominated in the Best New Restaurant category for their delicious seafood specialities.

A fellow nominee in the ‘Best Restaurant in Sheffield’ category was Joro, based in Kelham Island.

The restaurant, run by chef Luke French, and based in the Krynkl shipping containers development at Shalesmoor specialises in Scandinavian and Japanese fusions and has previously won praise from the prestigious Michelin Guide.

The fact that the Tripadvisor awards were based on the quality and quantity of diner reviews posted online speaks to Sheffield’s strange collective psyche of not shouting loud enough about what we can offer.

They do it in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, but in Sheffield our ability to self-promote seems to be unusually dimmed.

There’s one simple way to rectify that and to help support our hospitality industry as it faces rising energy bills – leave a review on Tripadvisor.

With any luck, Sheffield’s fine restaurants will at least be included in next year’s Tripadvisor Awards if nothing else.