Môr, Mumbles, Swansea: review
On October 2, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanWith Môr’s new inclusion in the 2022 Good Food Guide, this is a good a time as any to remedy a longstanding oversight and pay a visit. ‘We are an independent restaurant serving the very best local produce from sea and soil’, they say. That menu changes frequently- they are still printing today’s when we
Unsung heroes: an alternative Cardiff list
On September 26, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanIt’s easy to come up with a list of Cardiff’s restaurant peaks. Those times when inspiration, sourcing and technique bring us something definitive, something which sets the local standard to widespread recognition. Think Tom Simmons’ chips or mushroom butter. Bar 44’s croquetas, Asador’s chuleton, or anything Tommy Heaney does with lamb (and oysters). Milkwood’s breakfast
Eat The Bird, St Mary St, Cardiff
On September 23, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanMoving into the former Grazing Shed on St Mary St, Cardiff’s Eat The Bird is the first opening outside Devon for a small, award-winning group. Fresh from their two silver medals at WingFest, and against notable competition too, you’d hope they have come in earnest. Reading around online though, I was prepared to write what
Al-Madina Mandi, Grangetown, Cardiff: review
On September 18, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanOpen for just over a month as I write this, Clare Road’s Al-Madina is another unadorned, uncomplicated Grangetown find. It’s not just the plastic sheet-covered tables and it-would-be-an-upgrade-to-call-it-bare- bones decor: there’s no social media, no Google listing yet, no invitation evenings with prescribed hashtags and 13 identical captions. How utterly refreshing. The bilingual menu- Arabic
Haraf East African and Mediterranean, Grangetown: review
On September 5, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanThe cutlery at Harafs doesn’t have elegant lines and reassuring weight: it’s a jumble of odds and sods in a canteen style plastic tray. There’s no written menu either, and you’ll probably end up eating with your fingers- there’s a basin by the kitchen if that bothers you- and drinking your soup straight from the
Le Mandela West African restaurant, Grangetown: review
On August 29, 2022 by The Plate Licked CleanYour starter for ten. No conferring, now. Do you know your ntaba from your nkwobi? Or your bobolo from your attiéké? If you do, you’re ahead of me. Not without a surreptitous under-table Google, anyway. And I’m still in two minds about the esi ewu. But in terms of an overdue education, a couple of
This blog is a very simple thing.
I won’t try to sell you any hand lotion, exercise programmes, coffee syrups or Patagonian nose flutes. You won’t find tips on dating, ‘wellness’ or yoga mats.
I write because I love it (and food, as indicated by my increasing girth). Greed happens to be my Deadly Sin of choice, but at least it is never shy of providing me with subject matter.
A simple thing, then: all you get is me wittering on semi-coherently about places I’ve eaten at; hence a ‘restaurant blog’ rather than a ‘food blog’, although there are a few recipes scattered throughout.
From mezze to Michelin ‘fine dining’ and all points in between.