Tasty treats
5
5
Date of visit: September 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Excellent
The Crucible Kitchen is the café at the bottom of the Crucible Theatre in the centre of Sheffield. I had a lovely time at this café, it had a nice atmosphere and lots of food and drink options. There was a selection of seating available, some bench seating along the wall, some standalone tables and chairs and some bar-height options too. Throughout the café area the flooring was a combination of wood laminate and some was carpet. There were also some power sockets available by some of the tables for people to charge devices including mobility devices. The counter to order was quite high and I had to stretch to see some of the food options on display but the staff were really helpful and brought my order over to my table. There were two accessible toilet options, the women’s toilets had a larger stall that operated as an accessible toilet and there were lowered sinks and hand dryers in here too. I'm not sure if it was the same in the men's. There was also a Changing Places toilet in here as well. I really enjoyed this café and I actually ended up taking my Mum there too!
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
There was an entrance that came straight into the café, which was on the lowest floor of the theatre. This had large signage outside saying ‘Crucible Kitchen’ so it was clear that it came straight into the café area. The main entrance to the theatre was on the other side of the building and came in a level above the café. There was a lift available on this floor which stopped at all the floors of the theatre. Both entrances had automatic sliding doors to enter. Throughout the theatre the flooring was a mix of smooth tiling, wood laminate, carpeting and absorbent mats. It was all very easy to push my wheelchair across. The lift was a decent size. It had a handrail inside and a small drop-down seat too. The main entrance of the theatre had a main reception desk with a lowered counter which seemed to always have a member of staff. The counter in the café was much higher but the staff were really helpful and happy to assist in any way. There was a really good selection of food and drinks in the café including vegan and gluten-free options. I found that the café had a good vibe, it wasn’t too loud or too quiet. I was there when it wasn’t too busy though. There were only a few other tables being used. If there was a performance happening in the theatre then it may be much louder.
Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas
Parking & Transport
Good
The theatre is 550 metres away from the train station where you can access many train services. The train services currently available from Sheffield train station are East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and Northern Trains. These provide services to locations such as London St Pancras, Norwich, Liverpool Lime Street, Edinburgh Waverley, York, Newcastle, Plymouth, Reading, Cleethorpes, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, Nottingham, Scarborough, Lincoln, Huddersfield, Doncaster and other stations along the way. 400 metres away is Sheffield Interchange, the bus and coach station. From here you can get coaches run by National Express and FlixBus and a large number of buses. The bus routes available from here are: 2, 7, 8, 9a, 18, 29, 41, 43, 44, 50, 50a, 50b, 53, 56, 57, 65, 73, 80a, 86, 95, 95a, 120, 135, 208, 216, 218, 252, 256, 257, 258, 271, 272, X3, X5, X7, X17, X54, X71 and X74. There are a few tram stops within walking distance of the theatre. The Cathedral tram stop is 350-400 metres away, depending on the route you take. Castle Square tram stop is 400 metres away. Fitzalan Square/Ponds Forge tram stop is 500 metres away. Additionally, there is a tram stop attached to the train station. The tram stop is located on the far side of the train station from the theatre so it is roughly 750 - 800 metres away. Sheffield Theatres have a partnership with Q-Park so those attending evening or matinée performances can get a discount on their parking costs. The car park that this is available for is the Q-Park Charles Street which is 400 metres from the Crucible Theatre. The car park has 530 spaces including 20 accessible bays and 13 EV charging bays. There is a height restriction of 2.10 metres for this car park and they only take card payments at the machines.
Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking
Accessible Toilets
Good
In the ladies’ bathroom on this floor there was a larger, accessible stall. I wasn’t able to get inside it as it was busy when I tried but it had a wheelchair on the outside of it so it would have been a decent size inside. The bathroom also had lowered sinks and a lowered hand dryer as well which was really good to see. There was also a Changing Places toilet located in the same area as the café. The toilet door opened inwards and had a standard door handle on each side to open and close it. The lock mechanism twisted to lock the door. It was on the smaller side of some of the Changing Places toilets I have seen but still enough room for multiple people to be in here. Inside there was a ceiling hoist and a height-adjustable bench. The bench was similar to those you may find in a doctor’s surgery or a hospital. The mechanism to raise and lower the bed was a lever that you operate with your foot rather than with an electric control. The toilet had space for a left-side transfer but not a right-side transfer. There was a grab rail that could be raised and lowered on the left side of the toilet (as you looked at it) and a fixed, vertical grab rail on the wall to the left of that. On the right of the toilet was a fixed, horizontal grab rail underneath the toilet roll dispenser. The toilet had a cushioned back support. The flush was on the toilet cistern but on the opposite side to the transfer space so you had to reach across to get to it. In between the sink and the door was a small sink. It had a single tap that was manually operated (no automatic sensors) and the twist mechanism controlled both the temperature and flow of the water. On either side of the sink was a fixed, vertical grab rail and above the sink was a small mirror. However, this was mounted too high for me to be able to use from my wheelchair. To the left of the sink, a manual soap dispenser was mounted on the wall. An automatic hand dryer was mounted to the wall to the left of the toilet. The emergency red cord had been tucked behind a grab rail and a pipe despite having a Euan’s Guide Red Cord Card on there so I made sure it was hanging freely to the floor before I left. There was also a baby-changing table in here. It was a free standing table rather than a fold-out one that was mounted on the wall so it took up more space. I did not see any privacy screens in here or any instructions or weight limits for the equipment.
Facilities: Changing Places toilet, Accessible toilet
Staff
Excellent
The staff were really helpful. When I entered via the main theatre entrance, a member of staff pointed me in the direction of the lift and also pointed out where the toilets were when I asked. When I was ordering the staff were friendly and helpful. They brought my items over to my table for me so that I didn’t have to try and navigate carrying them and pushing myself back to my table.
