Maria’s Greek Taverna, Crwys Road, Cardiff

For one thing, you might spend time talking with perfectly lovely people who are risking huge debt to chase their dream, people who are desperate for their cherished hopes to succeed. To then find their food underwhelming, can feel churlish at best, and you worry for them.

I’m happy to tell you the family behind Maria’s can rest easy, because they do what they do very well. Very well indeed.

There aren’t any surprises on a menu from somewhere which bills itself as a meze bar and Taverna. Yes, there will be squid. Yes, there will be souvlaki. Yes, there will be gyros. This is not taking your understanding of Greek food in a radical, challenging new direction. But why bother, when you can deliver the classics with aplomb?

And why bother at all unless you want to show your country’s food in a positive light?

‘Every dish on this menu is prepared fresh, in house on a daily basis. If we wouldn’t eat it ourselves, we won’t serve it to you.’ I’ll have some of that.

Maria herself, who runs this with her husband and sons, is a personable host. The menu leans heavily on the charcoal grill, and it’s here we are anticipating things will fly or fall, because how they treat meat will go a long way to deciding their success or otherwise.

The spinach and feta croquettes are light and crisp, a good curtain-raiser. The salt cod variety are nicely substantial, obviously hand-made, and heavy on the fish for a meaty finish. Many places would eke out the ingredients with a starchy filler, but that’s not the case here. The fine-spun potato purée is not so much kissed with garlic as headbutted by the stuff, which is A Good Thing.

There’s fresh-baked bread, too. All in all, the portion sizes are generous to put it mildly (and yes, we checked other tables to see we weren’t getting special treatment.) The whitebait is simply dredged in seasoned flour and fried long enough to crisp up: a squeeze of lemon and this homely, hearty stuff sings.

Squid is so often a reliable indicator as to the quality and skill of a kitchen. Here they pass the test with flying colours- it’s cut into thick, well-seasoned strips which are pretty much faultlessly tender. Simple, yes, but beautifully easy to cock up, and with a citrus mayo it’s lovely stuff.

Souvlaki continue the hot streak. Served on skewers over salad, with chips which have a chunkily satisfying hand-cut look and taste to them, (‘Sausage and gravy chips’ says Brad and he’s summed them up impeccably) the chicken is very good but the pork is superb. The marinade seems familiar- lemon juice, oregano, olive oil- but it has all known just enough flame to pick up some smoke yet remain juicy.

There are little details which mount up in favour of the kitchen. There are fresh herbs and a hearty tomato-based dressing for the shaved pork in their gyros.

The bread has that lovely chew to it; that attention to those little details says more about their love for this food than any press release guffing its usual guff.

You’d be hard pushed to find a more soothing bowl of instant consolation than their spanokorisotto. It’s a soothing bowlful of rice and herbs and spinach which hits all the right notes-salty, rich, oozing, savoury: this is comfort food dialled all the way up to δέκα, all finished with a fruity olive oil.

Oh – did I mention their plans for Sunday lunch? Something about whole lamb, spit roasted..?

Maria’s won’t change your life. It will make it that tiny bit better, though. You’d be hard-pressed to spend more than about £40 here, and you’d be well fed and well looked after.

68 Crwys Rd

Cardiff 

CF24 4NP

Sunday- Thursday 12.00-10.00

Friday and Saturday 12.00- 11.00