Sheffield Telegraph Friday 10^th February 06.

Thyme is right for a split personality

Eating out: One of Sheffield’s most acclaimed restaurants has opted for a split personality. Lesley Draper reports.

If its not broken, don’t fix it, says the old adage – which is good advice in the general scheme of things.

So it begs the question why one of Sheffield’s best-known chefs would scrap his award winning restaurant and start all over again with a new name, new look and new menu.

The answer of course, is that Richard Smith has done it all before – and pulled it off.

His first restaurant, Smiths of Sheffield, opened ten years ago at Crosspool and quickly established a reputation for quality food, earning a string of accolades. But after five years as the city’s top rated restaurant, the winning formula was ditched in favour /of the smart city chic and contemporary cuisine of Thyme.

Five years on that look too, has had its day and its all over change again – this time transforming the upper room into a new fish restaurant, Catch, and the ground floor into bistro Artisan.

It’s a brave move, but Richard is confident it’s the right thing to do. He has always wanted the kind of informal eatery where people pop in regularly, not just on special occasions. This time he seems to have done it.

Smiths original Bedouin tent look gave way to the blanched wood and minimalist décor of Thyme; Artisan is altogether darker, cosier and more comfortable (especially for those like me who prefer to sag a little in their chairs)

Oxblood leather banquettes line the walls beneath tilted mirrors, somewhat in the manner of a Victorian railway carriage. And it’s certainly more sophisticated that the average French bistro, with dark wood furniture, polished walnut floor and ceiling fans for a touch of rustic air conditioning.

It’s all quietly upmarket: pristine white china, sparkling wine glasses, flat profile brushed steel cutlery (David Mellor no less) and not a candle in sight. That might be a mistake actually; up lighters, hidden behind the mirrors cast a harsh light which would benefit from a soft glow at table level.

In charge of operations at Artisan are head chef Simon Wild and manager Tim Treeby, a convivial Scotsman who has previously run Thyme Café and the Smith’s Peak District acquisition, the Druid Inn.

“I love the new look,” he said “I’m not the most formal person – people want you to talk to them so they feel at ease and that suits me. We want to make it more inviting, with a more informal, family style service.”

Tim shoukd be good at that, he has a 17 year old son as well as a 13 week old baby.

The menu at the new restaurant has changed as much as the décor. The accent is now on authentic bistro fare.

“We’re going for a much more classical style of food – quite rustic and hearty. We’ll be offering a product more in keeping with what our customers require,” says Smith.

“I want to be known as a quality place to eat and I want to be known for value, too. So we’re going back to coq au vin, beouf bourgignon and classical simple food, rather than being different for the sake of it.

It’s difficult to know quite where to start with the menu. In addition to the a la carte selection there are house specialities, plats du jour and a choice of two fixed price options: one at £16 for three courses, available lunchtime and early evening, the other at £23.

There’s a fair amount of fish on offer, considering the specialist restaurant is only upstairs. Other specialities include cassoulet, seven hour braised shoukder of lamb, duck shepherds pie and Seventies classic tournedos Rossini

Plats du jour, all at £10, range from fishcakes and frites to bangers and mash. Both fixed price options offer a good selection from the main menu.

The wine menu is top notch. We settled for the house red, a quaffable Richelieu vdp l’Herault.

Starter of endive, pear and blue cheese salad was nicely done. Curving leaves were splayed over soft, crumbled Yorkshire blue and slices of pera poached in spiced red wine.

Sweet candied walnuts and a tangy dressing added the finishing touché – a perfect meld of distinct yet harmonising flavours.

Rillettes a la fermiere was a meal in itself, quirkily delivered in a miniature kilner jar. The coarse pate-like duck was topped with goose fat and proved somewhat tricky to dig out, considering the depth of the jar and the implements provided for the task, but it was worth the effort.

It came on a bread board with slices of crisp French toast and accompanying dishes of pickled gherkins and cinnamon infused chutney. A triumph – but one between two would be plenty.

My companion – he who eschews anything to do with fish – perversely chose lasagne of finnan haddock from the fixed price menu…..and declared it delicious. Chunks of smoky fish with leeks, parsley a nd cheddar were layered with the pasts in a velvety smooth sauce.

My calves liver was meltingly soft, fried to pink perfection, topped with caramelised onions and served in rich gravy on a bed of wilted spinach. Creamed potato, garnished with two crisp rashers of smoky bacon, completed the dish.

Desserts were simply too good to miss, so we shared a portion of sticky toffee pudding; firm textured sponge in a pool of exquisite butterscotch sauce, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Let’s just say it was good enough to trigger a scene from When Harry Met Sally….

We finished the meal with coffee which was the low point of the evening, but salvaged by homemade chocolate truffles.

Cost: our food bill came to £53

Verdict: Artisan is defined as “skilled worker;craftsman” – Richard Smith is certainly that. No doubt this latest reincarnation will be as successful as its predecessors.

Open: lunch Mon-Sun 12-2:30pm; Dinner Mon – Sun 6pm – 10pm

Artisan of Sheffield, Sandygate Road, Crosspool, Sheffield 0114 266 6096