I love watching a chef work the tandoor. It’s something about the calm, economical movements, I think: the minimal fuss. You appreciate their efficiency, especially knowing, from limited experience, how ferociously hot those ovens are; and how reaching in and slapping the dough-laden gaddi ‘pillow’ against the sides- and getting it to stick- is harder Read More
When is an Asador not an Asador? Why, when it’s a Parador! With the hotel upstairs now thriving, Asador 44 now has a double life: as one of Cardiff’s few consistently excellent restaurants, and as the residents’ breakfast room. Just as the rooms above are full of distictive little touches which elevate the experience, so Read More
Sri Lankan food is having ‘a moment’ in Cardiff right now. A sudden proliferation of pop ups and permanents means there are more chances than ever to enjoy flavours which are close cousins of Southern India but still proudly their own. Here on Splott’s Broadway, Ceylon Spicy Pot is the latest to take up the Read More
Mowgli, Honest, Pho, Rosa’s: Church St has become a hub of the better chains. And now here come Fat Hippo. Starting in Newcastle in 2010, this is not an overnight success story but a steady expansion across the North before the moves to Wales, Birmingham and London. News of their Cardiff arrival was greeted with Read More
Usually, the definitive review of a new restaurant comes some time after it has bedded in. They’ve established an identity, you’ve got a frame of reference. That’s not true of Pontcanna’s Thomas by Tom Simmons, because the first review, from The Octopus Diaries blog and written soon after it opened a little after two years Read More
If I asked you to guess where I found Cardiff’s newest Japanese café, I’d probably have time to go make a cuppa- and finish it, too- before you came up with the right answer. But here on Ely’s Cowbridge Road West, opposite and half way between the former hospital and the Fire Station, is the Read More