Street Food Chef review: Sheffield’s best fast food restaurant is definitely worth the hype – Alex Grove

In a city with two universities and thousands of students, fast food restaurants in Sheffield aren’t hard to find.

Everyone will have their favorites and favourites, but there’s one in Steel City that’s apparently better than the rest – and it’s the one I’ve never heard of. Street Food Chef is a family run Mexican street food restaurant with two locations in Sharrow Vale Road and Arundel Street.

Out of 203 fast food restaurants listed on TripAdvisor in Sheffield, it tops the list with an average rating of 4.5/5 from over 400 reviews. It’s an impressive comeback with people describing it as having “the best burritos in town” and for being “always brilliant”. High praise indeed – and I had to try it.

Read more: Eight incredible Yorkshire restaurants named in UK’s top 100

I decided to order online and then make the short 10 minute journey to pick it up at Arundel Street – an area filled with high rise student apartments very close to the city centre.

Obviously, it goes without saying that the menu is all Mexican, so if that’s not your case, this probably isn’t the place for you. Burritos seem to be their specialty and they make up the bulk of what’s on offer. However, there are also quesadillas and naked burritos (everything you get in a burrito but without the tortilla) if you feel like it.

My friend and I went for two classic burritos – one filled with chipotle beef, which is 55p more, and the other with a chicken mole. You can then build your burrito to your liking by choosing to have plain, Mexican, or no-rice, then pinto, black, or no-rice beans. You then choose your salsa with many options available, from pico de gallo, which is mild, to habanero (hot) and hot mex (very hot).

Although I love a Mexican, my taste buds are tamed, so I opted for the pico de gallo. In addition to the two burritos, we shared a quesadilla – a 12 inch toasted tortilla with cheese, main topping, salsa and red onion. We went filled with chicken mole and also had a £3 double chocolate brownie for dessert.

After confirming my order I was told I could pick up my order in less than 15 minutes which was really really quick and that was great as it saved me from waiting at home while I was already hungry to get my food.

When I arrived I parked it and almost missed the restaurant. It’s not on a busy busy restaurant street and is instead tucked away under a high rise building of student apartments. However, when I walked in on a Tuesday evening, I was surprised at how many people there were sitting and eating their food and those going there to pick up or order takeout directly from the counter.

Have you eaten at Street Food Chef? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

It was clear that Street Food Chef is very well known – but there was a slight problem.

Although there was a sign above telling people where to queue, there was no indication of what to do if you were just going there to pick up your order. I waited in line for five minutes until someone in front of me took a punt and snuck past to take their order. I then followed suit myself and had my food in less than two minutes which was great but there should have been clearer signage inside just to help people who are there for collections to move in and out quickly, as there was some confusion.

After driving home, I was ready to tuck into my burrito. It was wrapped in foil so was still very hot when I got home.

As a burrito should be, it was absolutely filled to the brim with ingredients and the shredded chipotle beef was incredibly soft and easy to tear. It had rice on one side, meat on the other, and juicy tomatoes mixed in the middle – and it was absolutely delicious.

It was full of flavor and the ingredients were so fresh. I understood right away why people were raving about it and the only downside was that I couldn’t eat it all.

I ate half and reheated the rest for my lunch the next day – perfect.

The quesadillas were also a nice tasty addition to the meal. In all honesty, the burrito was quite filling and my friend ended up eating more of it than me.

I thought the brownie was quite expensive for £3 and there are probably other desserts you could find elsewhere for less, but it was fine for the pudding and ensured I went to bed very full.

Given that Street Food Chef has been in Sheffield for several years and has won many accolades, I was surprised and perhaps a little embarrassed that I had never heard of it.

But now it’s definitely on my radar for future takeouts and I can wholeheartedly say it provided one of the best fast food meals I’ve had in this town. TripAdvisor isn’t always a plus for ratings, but for this one, it definitely is.

INVOICE

• Classic burrito (with chipotle beef) – £7.45 (+55p extra)
• Classic Burrito (with chicken mole) – £7.45
• Quesadilla – £5.50
• Brownies – £3
• Processing fee – 50p
• TOTAL – £24.45