Review: Joro, Sheffield

I don’t usually go for wine pairings with a tasting menu. I find it ends up being too much booze and I can’t really pay attention to the later courses, often leaving the restaurant feeling a bit dyspeptic to boot. Now and again we make an exception and I’m very glad we did at Joro. It’s a ten course tasting menu and we had no less than ten drink pairings. Ten! With sake, vermouth and cider mixed in alongside a wide range of wines. The sommelier was deeply well informed, passionate about his stuff and easy to chat with. In some ways this absolutely made the whole meal.

But then again, it would have been a great menu even without the drinks. Joro is very much Nordic via Japan, with plenty of British produce. The restaurant is in converted shipping containers that sit fairly lonely on the side of a big road. You get the impression that someone hoped to spark a revitalisation of the whole area and it hasn’t quite happened. It’s an odd spot, but once you are through the door it is dark and comfortably welcoming inside, smart open kitchen and comfortable seating.

Right in the middle of the menu we had a good early candidate for my dish of the year. Perfectly cooked langoustine buried in a pile of vivid orange and massively spice-warming Thai red curry foam. Underneath, a sticky rice puree that added a clean and nutty taste to balance the power. This was knock-out cooking.

Of course, pretty much everything that came before and after was splendid. Chunks of aged hamachi and turnip in a pool of fish bone oil. Chawanmushi custard with onion broth and tiny apple cubes to add zing. Beautiful piece of lamb with a pickled dulse gel and a stonking wild garlic raita. Kombu ice cream! There’s a special savoury seaside flavour to kelp, but who knew it worked well as ice cream? This was all stunning stuff. The trout with beurre blanc was about the only thing I could say “meh” to, and that’s really only by comparison; it would be a top dish on most lesser menus!

At £85 for ten courses, Joro is just superb value for the sheer invention and quality. Go to Sheffield! Find the shipping containers! Have the flippin’ wine pairing even if you don’t usually!