Did you know all University of Sheffield bars, cafes and restaurants are open to everyone?
This means that regardless of whether you're a student looking for a bite to eat before your next lecture or a local that wants a hot drink and cake whilst catching up with friends, the whole community can benefit from the options available.
Each building is unique, but warmly welcoming, and there's always an incredible selection available to choose from for all dietary requirements.
And for climate-conscious foodies, you're in for a real treat.
The University of Sheffield puts the planet at the forefront of its plans, and minimises its environmental impact wherever possible with its 'think local, act global' initiative.
The idea is that as many ingredients as possible are sourced from local butchers, greengrocers, coffee roasters and even dairy farms.
Our Cow Molly is a prime example of this. The local farm is located in Dungworth (S6), and sees their milk go from cow to coffee in as little as three hours. The locality of the business means that delivery emissions are reduced, local people are given jobs within the production line and customers like you and I get fresh free-range milk, served in giant 20 pints churns to minimise plastic wastage.
Now of course it's impossible to source everything from Sheffield but when the university is looking for products like coffee beans for instance, the supply chain is reduced as much as possible to ensure farmers and suppliers have their pay potential maximised.
The development of Roastology, the local supplier UOS uses for its coffee, is currently partnered with researchers from the University of Sheffield to support the development of the co-operative and work to solve problems within the global industry.
Food waste accounts for 9.5 million tonnes per year, but the University of Sheffield is ensuring that not only is all food wastage minimised, but that it goes to a deserving cause.
If there's any sandwiches, veggies or even cake left over at the end of the day, it is placed inside the community fridges at UOS accommodation sites Endcliffe and Ranmoor for students and members of the community to help themselves, completely free of charge. This is saving an average of twenty tonnes of food each year alone.
There's murals all around the cafe documenting the different initiatives across the university campus, encouraging locals to find out more about the reusable cups, electric delivery vehicles and even a 'Save our Sandwiches' campaign that minimises food waste and supports vulnerable people in Sheffield.
Need any more stats to get you thinking? This academic year, across the University of Sheffield, over 100,000 fewer single-use cups will be used across campus.
To find out more about the University of Sheffield's sustainability initiatives, you can visit the WithUS website.
All images - Benjamin Elliott via Unsplash
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Inside Cats – the new Catalonian-inspired café and bar that’s just opened in Sheffield
If you're looking for a place that swiftly transitions from day to night with ease, then look no further.
The brainchild of four Sheffield co-founders - Sam Swire, Tom Walker, Nicky Swire and Jenny Swire - Cats is a laidback cafe-bar on one of the city's best corners.
They have spent the past nine months gutting and renovating the space on Glossop Road, and the outcome is truly magic.
The interior is deliberately stripped back complete with unfinished plaster walls, reclaimed maple flooring, wine-red joinery and a concrete bar counter.
Image: The Sheff
Exposed brick, iroko shelving and exposed joists finish off the low-lit, sexy basement that acts as the perfect backdrop for date night.
The founders' family have connections to southern France, Barcelona and the Catalan region that shaped the concept from the start.
Images: The Sheff
The wine list is sourced exclusively from Arthur & Adrien, two sommeliers based in the South of France whose bottles don't currently reach the UK through any other route.
Cats imports every wine directly and each one has been rubber-stamped by Carcassonne’s Michelin chef, so whatever you order you know it's going to be good.
Images: The Sheff
Alongside the wine, Cats pours Moritz lager on draught, which is still brewed in Barcelona and serves espresso on a La Marzocco GB5 S using beans from Sheffield roaster Cuppers Choice.
Other than the fabulous drink selection, fresh croissants, baguettes and sourdough come in daily from a local artisan bakery, seven days a week.
Co-founder Sam said: "We've spent months stripping tiles and plaster, dealing with flooding and a lack of electricity, and it's finally starting to feel like the building can breathe again," said co-founder Sam Swire.
"It was the much-loved Nibbles Pizza but had sat empty for years. What we're putting in its place is closer to a café-bar you'd find in a square in Europe, just dropped onto Glossop Road instead."
A festival dedicated to Sheffield’s independent coffee scene is launching this October
Clementine Hall
Get ready for ‘Sip Fest’ - a new citywide celebration of coffee and café culture.
Taking place in sunny Sheffield from Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, Sip Fest will bring a full week of free citywide events alongside a major weekend at Trafalgar Warehouse.
Founded by Matt Cottrill of Steam Yard and Corner Store and Neil Midgley of Motore Cafe, you just know you're in good hands.
The festival programme is built around three parts, so let's break it down.
Images: The Sheff
From Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October, Sip Fest will host a free citywide fringe, with events taking place across more than 40 coffee shops, cafés, bars, brunch spots, roasteries and spaces in Sheffield.
On Friday 2 October, Trafalgar Warehouse will host a free industry party for people working across coffee, hospitality, food, drink, events and the wider independent business community and on Saturday 3 October, Trafalgar Warehouse will become the main Sip Fest hub for a ticketed public event, split across morning and afternoon sessions.
The Saturday programme will feature more than 30 stalls, talks, tasters, freebies, Sheffield’s biggest latte art competition, Coffee School sessions, street food, DJs and the UK’s biggest coffee run.
The festival has been created to celebrate Sheffield’s independent coffee scene and the people behind it, and we're sure it's going to do just that.
Matt Cottrill said: “Sheffield has one of the most exciting independent coffee scenes in the country and we want to showcase this to the city and beyond.
“Sip Fest is about celebrating the places, people and energy that make Sheffield’s coffee culture what it is. We want it to feel like something people genuinely look forward to every year, with a sense of fun but also something meaningful behind it.”
Sophie Smith -
15th December 2023 
