After our disappointing trip to Cineworld in an attempt to watch the latest Bond flick (Saturday night, 2nd day Raya Haji, gig at nearby Arena, and most importantly, second night after opening day), we traipsed down to The Wicker for a little bite. It was a bigger bite for me as I hadn’t had my dinner yet.
La Perle (lit. the pearl in French) is a pâtisserie smack bang in The Wicker, somewhat an unusual site for one considering the type of other eateries you’d find in the locality. This was another halal eaterie to add to the list that doesn’t sell döner (nothing wrong with it but that’s all you get when you want something halal in this part of world, well, mostly). The menu comprised of run-of-the-mill dishes like lasagne, burgers, pasta and steak – again nothing wrong with that either. The steak was a ribeye and for £8 a plate, I asked for a medium. The guys were having just cakes and coffee as they had dinner.
Whilst waiting for my steak, my friends gave me the lowdown on the place. They do open in the morning for breakfast. Most of the time they’d drop in for the hot chocolate and the selection of cakes available. A review in the local paper a few years ago had described the pâtisserie as being a breath of fresh air with the likes of what was otherwise available in this city[1]. The place is owned by an Algerian chap who was previously executive chef at a boutique hotel in Mayfair in The Smoke.
My ribeye arrived and I kinda expected that it wouldn’t be what as I imagined it to be. It was well done and kinda slender for a ribeye, then again for £8, I shouldn’t be expecting an 8-ouncer should I? The gravy was somewhat scarce but on the whole the taste wasn’t too bad. Put it this way, I had better lah. As I was somewhat famished, it was all gone in less than ten minutes (hints at the size of the meat). My friend did say he was not too happy with his hot choc as well (his usual habuan would be made by someone else in the day shift). The cakes on the other hand was nice – amongst them they had a chocolate fudge-like jobbie and a vanilla cream cake. I bought a chocolate cream one but to take away (packed in a polystyrene pack à la would-you-like-some-chips-with-your-chips as they had run out of small cake boxes).
On the whole, it’s a nice enough place to lepak with mates if you are bored with nasi beriyani or SFC. The aforementioned paper review did say the burger served here was the same one served at Fleming’s but at a much cheaper price. Will have to check it out, then!
La Perle
39-41 The Wicker
Sheffield S3 8HS
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[1]That has changed now with Pâtisserie Valerie recently opened in the city centre.
