Victoria Quays - entering a new era
The Sheffield canal basin dates back to 1816.
But thanks to an injection of new businesses filling its historic arches, this waterfront space is enjoying a fresh lease of life.
And with the return of the monthly Quayside Market, organised by the team behind Joanna’s Bar, we spoke to three passionate Sheffielders who are part of the area’s exciting resurgence.
📖 Article published 4 August 2026.
All information correct at time of publication, but please check individual websites for further information.
Sandman Signature Sheffield Quays Hotel
Victoria Quays, S4 7YB
“Personally I’d like to see it become like Kelham Island”, smiles Jack Smith.
The enthusiastic sales manager of the Sandman Signature Sheffield Quays Hotel welcomes people from across the country to Victoria Quays every day. Guests range from corporate teams to footballers, and from families to contenders on Gladiators during filming at Sheffield Arena.
All can sample the results of a multi-million pound refurbishment, which has transformed the site’s rooms, business, leisure and dining facilities.
Jack adds: “We’ve had a really positive response to our refurbishment, we’ve got everything that people need in one place. People love the location because it’s a really tranquil setting at the quayside but in two minutes they can be in the city centre.”
The hotel’s renovation has turned its 128 rooms into cool, contemporary spaces and some have balconies overlooking the canalside. Beds feature luxury Glencraft mattresses, handmade in Scotland and even supplied to the Royal Balmoral Estate.
Jack added: “We had a footballer come to stay who loved the bed so much he ended up buying the whole set. We do get a lot of sports teams staying here.”
The hotel’s spacious gym and conferencing facilities have already been updated to the latest standards.
Another 32 rooms with kitchen and living spaces - a specialty of the family-run Canadian Sandman brand - are now being added to the dog-friendly hotel.
Work is also due to begin on revitalising the pool, spa and sauna areas.
Tavern on the Quays is the hotel’s restaurant, opening out onto the waterfront, with a menu that includes pizzas, poutine and puddings. It’s open to non hotel guests, with a daily happy hour offer.
Jack said the local business community was rallying together to put the Victoria Quays area on the map.
He added: “In five years I’d love to look back and say I was part of promoting the area. That’s something that anyone from Sheffield would be proud of.”
LM8 Waterside Coffeehouse
Arch 16, Victoria Quays, S2 5SY
When Sheffielder Libby Hamilton was hunting for new business premises online, she was surprised to come across a hidden gem on her doorstep.
“I’ve lived here 20 years and I’d never heard of Victoria Quays”, she said.
She and her partner drove to the canal basin and then booked a viewing at the unit based in Arch 16. The rest…is history.
Last weekend was the first anniversary of LM8 Waterside Coffeehouse, billed as Sheffield’s ‘only waterside coffee house’ and sister business to BWNA Bakery.
It specialises in decadent baked goods - think brownies and cookie pies - as well as iced matchas and juice coolers.
Libby added: “The majority of people who come here say it really needed somewhere like this - especially at the weekends when we are the only daytime coffee shop.
“There used to be a lot of people down here before Covid and to visit the Dorothy Pax then it got very stuck in its ways. You need fresh people in to give it a lease of life and I think it’s getting that now.
“We could see the vision and a lot of things are coming to fruition, like the new apartments (at The Straddle building), Castlegate, Pollen Market and Quayside Market.”
The bakery provides goods for other Sheffield businesses and in the future Libby hopes to secure a permanent alcohol licence for the venue.
She praised the efforts to secure a diverse range of Sheffield-run businesses for the Quays.
There’s also family-run weekday sandwich shop the Victoria Junction Cafe, The Lock Inn run by the team behind Watt Bar in the city centre, and weekend stand-up paddleboarding from DC Outdoors.
She added: “When it’s hot in summer like the last few weeks there isn’t anywhere nicer to sit. It doesn’t feel like you are in the city centre, it feels like you are in a beauty spot.
LM8 Waterside Coffeehouse is open from Wednesday to Sunday and they offer a ten per cent discount to anybody living or working within one mile of Victoria Quays.
Midnight Margaritas
Arch 12, Victoria Quays, S2 5SY
“There seems to have been a shift in society around spirituality - and I felt now was the right time to open,” said Danielle Downs.
Her Practical Magic-themed bar, Midnight Margaritas, opened in November 2025 inside Arch 12.
And demand for the waterside cocktail haunt, which offers tarot reading and mediumship events, has surpassed even the most dazzling of predictions.
Danielle added: “We’ve been very well received, not only by Sheffielders but we are getting people travelling three to four hours just to visit us. It seems crazy, but it’s what people want.
“Victoria Quays had been quite run down for a while, but I could see the potential and that new businesses were moving in, new apartments were coming. It’s very much an up and coming area. For us it’s near the water so that also works well in terms of the energy as well.”
Midnight Margaritas - named after the iconic scene in the 1998 film Practical Magic - is an intimate setting, seating only 25 people. While the weekly walk-in tarot evenings and special events are popular, it also welcomes visitors who just fancy a whimsical drink by the canal.
Mum Danielle, who leads tarot sessions with her crystal ball on Thursday evenings, added: “Anyone can come in and have a drink or book a table.
“As we head towards our one-year anniversary, we want to continue building. We’re going to be putting some mediumship events on and getting other tarot readers to come in.”
A standard tarot reading at Midnight Margaritas costs from £10 on a walk-in basis every Thursday from 4-8pm. The bar opens from Thursday to Sunday.
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