Sheffield Street Food: Kommune, Peddler and Cutlery Works

Kommune opened in the old Castle House building in the city centre and transformed a significant historical problem – what to do with a large, unloved brutalist building – into one of Sheffield’s best food destinations. The food hall format houses independent food traders across multiple floors alongside a bar and event space. The trader selection is curated and rotates. The quality is consistently high. Kommune is the most city-centre option and the easiest for a lunchtime visit.

Peddler Market operates on a market model – monthly events in a covered outdoor space near Neepsend that draw the biggest crowds in the Sheffield food calendar. The number of traders fluctuates but has been as high as fifty. The food ranges from slow-cooked BBQ to Japanese street food to specialist dessert traders. The atmosphere at a Peddler Market evening is genuinely good – the combination of food, music and outdoor space creates something that is social rather than just functional. Check the dates in advance; Peddler is worth planning around.

Cutlery Works is a permanent food hall in a converted cutlery factory in Neepsend. The industrial space is well-adapted for its current purpose. The traders are permanent or semi-permanent rather than rotating, which gives it a different character from Peddler. The quality is generally excellent. The Korean, Japanese and Filipino food traders have been among the most consistent in the city. The bar area makes Cutlery Works a full evening destination rather than a lunchtime stop.

The clustering of Peddler and Cutlery Works in Neepsend has driven the regeneration of the area significantly. The combination of street food, independent bars and creative industry units in the neighbourhood makes it feel like the northern equivalent of what has happened in other post-industrial English urban areas. The difference is it happened organically and relatively recently. The energy in Neepsend is still forward-facing rather than retrospective.