Triple threat Italian bar, restaurant and cafe Grappa has joined the Sheffield food scene, in the heart of the city. Situated on Glossop Road in the former American Diner So Famous, Grappa (named after Italy’s pomace brandy digestif) is owned by successful restauranteur, Steve Zsirai who previously ran Chesterfield’s popular Italian restaurant Giorgio’s for a decade.
Grappa opened its doors in early December 2023 and just a few weeks later we were lucky enough to be invited to dine and sample their cocktail menu.
On arrival we were already deeply impressed with the venue, it was almost unrecognisable from So Famous, combining rustic decor with a modern contemporary twist. Spanning two-floors, the downstairs is a cafe by day and bar by night with weekend live entertainment, while the upstairs is a restaurant with floor to ceiling windows that overlook the Glossop Road/West Street area and a lounge. It’s a beautiful venue and ideal for a fancy meal or start to a night out.
The Grappa staff gave us a complimentary drink on arrival, we chose the crowd favourite Pistachio Martini, which was just perfect; light, creamy with a hint of sweetness. And the very strong and boozy Jägermeister based cocktail Black Forest Sour. After, we were taken upstairs to our table by our waitress Tullia, and we were introduced to the upstairs bartender Isabella who would be supplying us with drinks throughout the night, both servers were friendly and attentive.
For our meal we shared the Arancini Al Ragu, Fritto Misto Napoli and Calamari Fritti starters. Then had the Spaghetti Carbonara and N’duja Amatriciana pasta dishes for our main, finished with Tiramisu’s for dessert and a cordial glass of Grappa.
The meal was kind of a mixed bag, our arancini was dry and had a more rice like texture than gooey. They didn’t have much beef in and no significant cheese pull either, but the cherry tomato sauce was robust and uplifted the dish. The Fritto Misto Napoli was pleasant but a bit too similar, nothing particularly stood out and there wasn’t much difference in taste between the potato croquette or the mini arancino.
The carbonara was unfortunately scrambled when it came, with little guanciale, which was disappointing with it being on the more expensive side. The N’duja Amatriciana was a little bland, it lacked seasoning and spice which was expected from the n’duja. It also didn’t help that there was a delay on some of the mains, so some of us had to wait awhile while the rest of the table ate.
Although there were a few negatives, there were also a lot of positives. The Calamari Fritti was definitely the shining star of the night, it was fresh, crispy, nicely seasoned, the homemade tartar sauce was beautiful. The tiramisu was definitely authentic Italian tiramisu, it was rich, creamy with a surprising crunchy texture from the crumbled biscotti on top, it was absolutely delicious. We also couldn’t resist having another Pistachio Martini and a couple of on the rocks Maple Margaritas which were sweet and smokey.
Overall we had a lovely evening, the decor was great, the Italian radio was a nice touch that added to the atmosphere, the staff were lovely and apologetic when things were delayed in the kitchen and the cocktails had consistently balanced flavours. I’d definitely recommend Grappa for after work drinks or a night out. However, there are a few things that need ironing out in the kitchen, it was a quiet Monday evening with only a couple of extra tables so we were surprised with the long wait for mains. Hopefully once they’re used to the space and crowd those few wrinkles will be ironed out. We’ll definitely give it another try in the future to see, and if you’re a fan of hard spirits like Whiskey, we’d definitely recommend trying their namesake Grappa — it’s not for the weak hearted!
Grappa is situated on 266 Glossop Road, Broomhill. It’s open 9am - 12am Sunday - Wednesday, 9am - 1am Thursday and 9am - 2am Friday - Saturday.
They’re currently taking bookings for the Valentine’s Day 3 course set menu.
To book, click here.
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