Styr Bistro: Sheffield woman, 27, puts her life savings into opening her own tapas and cocktail restaurant

A young woman has told of her 2024 plans for her new Sheffield restaurant after she spent her life savings on pursuing her dream.

After 10 years of working in hospitality, Georgia Rose, aged 27, who lives in Sheffield city centre with her wife Sarah, decided it was time to open up her own restaurant. With managerial experience at Yo Sushi in both Sheffield and Leeds, she knew she had the knowledge she needed to run her own business. 

After coming into some inheritance money, Georgia found the premises at 984 Abbeydale Road, formerly Bessie’s Cafe, and began a £30k renovation to make it into her dream restaurant - Styr Bistro. The name comes as a tribute to her late mum, Lynda Styring, who sadly passed away in January 2023.

“My mum lived in Spain, so we spent a lot of time there because she retired there 10 years ago. The majority of the menu is Spanish food as a tribute to her, with some Italian in there too. 

“I just took elements from lots of dishes that I liked to put on the menu and then perfected it.”

She added: “I grew up cooking as a child. My dad, Kenneth Cook, gave me my passion by teaching me. My dad came in to eat for the first time on New Year’s Eve, and he’s not an emotional man, but he did have a little cry."

With the help of her two “amazing” full-time staff, bar manager Maia Hall and kitchen manager Tanya Ali, the trio created a tapas-inspired food menu, complimented by a cocktail menu, that is sure to take Sheffield by storm. And since opening on November 24, they have received plenty of positive feedback.

The food menu began with both brunch and tapas, but the popularity of the tapas dishes has since seen it take over the menu. This includes meat, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, such as deep fried squid, mushroom arancini, chicken and mango salad, smokey beans, mini empanada, tacos and more. 

For Georgia, 2024 will bring new challenges as she continues to upgrade the restaurant with new outdoor seating on decking outside the front of the restaurant for the spring and summer. They may also come back to the brunch menu with increased footfall.

She said: “The crushing weight of failure never leaves you, but it’s exciting, and the response we've had to the menu has been amazing - it's just physically getting people in that has been stressful. 

"This is this my life savings. This restaurant is like all I've got now, it's all I'm doing with my life.

“But it’s something I’m really proud of. Obviously we’re really early into it, and it’s not busy yet, but how excited people are when they come in to try the food, and how many people are enjoying it - that’s really exciting for me. It’s terrifying too, but in a good way.”

Georgia gave special mention to her wife Sarah Rose, and her step-mum Sharon for their support in opening the restaurant.

Styr Bistro, at 984 Abbeydale Road, is open 12pm-8pm Wednesday and Thursday, 12pm-10pm Friday and Saturday, and 11am-3pm on Sundays. To keep up to date with the team’s latest news, follow them on Facebook here, and on Instagram @styrbistro.