Blue Moon Cafe has been a quiet staple of Sheffield’s food and drink landscape since 1995. It began life on Norfolk Row but is now located in an old auction hall opposite Sheffield Cathedral on St James Row. It offers a completely vegan and vegetarian menu, and was one of the first places in the city to do so.
Staples on the menu include Turkish-inspired aubergine dish imam bayildi and a comforting homity pie, served with delicious technicolour salads. The cafe is licensed and sells organic and local ciders and ales, as well as a variety of wines. It’s also perfectly acceptable to pop in for a coffee and a cake. All food and drink is available to take out, but there’s not much reason to: the beautiful, historic room is a feature in itself.
The inside has a rustic, calm and lived-in feel, with lots of wood, air and light. On any weekday afternoon it's populated with friends, families, couples and shoppers, as well as the coffee shop set (though you might have have a tough time finding anywhere to plug your laptop in). Blue Moon retains a sense of individuality from a time before the chain cafe revolution. If you enjoy old fashioned tea rooms but don’t care much for fuss, it's well worth a visit – whether you’re vegetarian, vegan or neither of the above.
- Words by
- Lucy Holt
- Images by
- Nigel Barker
