Cardiff . Cheap Eats . Uncategorized

Where To Eat in Cardiff Market: the Complete Guide

On April 30, 2023 by The Plate Licked Clean

Cardiff Market and food have always been inseparable. The late-Victorian building, built on the former site of Cardiff gaol- the gallows were near the St Mary St entrance- opened in 1891, and for some it has been their home for the duration. Others, like butchers JT Morgan, predate even that, trading on the site when it was a farmers’ market and maintaining an unbroken succession of family owned and run trade since 1861: iconic fishmongers Ashtons joined them here five years later and have never left.

The Ashtons pot of cockles is one of the definitive Cardiffian snacks, of course, best eaten while standing at that little shelf, and with Sarsons and white pepper: you’re not a barbarian, are you now? (If you want to take it up a level, combine it with a slab of corned beef pie from The Market Deli, here since 1906, for ‘Market Surf and Turf’.)

It’s places like these which make the Market an unmatched resource for the home cook. Come to Ashtons for samphire, for crevettes and hulking whole crab; for plump, glistening scallops with their coral roes intact, for whole turbot. Get your fruit and veg at Yeates’ or Sullivans and your daily bread from, yes, The Bread Stall: pick up your spices at Clancy’s (their chilli portfolio is prodigious, from Trinidad Douglah and Guajillo to Arbol and Cascabel, and from Wiri Wiri to Kashmiri and Fatalii to Pequin and Red Savina: Ericka Duffy, who knows a thing or ten about this stuff, tells me this range is unmatched in most British cities. Mediterranean Foods stock more olives than you can shake one of their baklava at, along with Turkish Delight in jewel colours.

What is never in doubt, though, is that the Market remains proudly, essentially, the Market: where stalls will sell you phone chargers and tin openers and Afro hair products and hangover smoothies and knitting yarn and secondhand books.

But this isn’t a shopping guide.

This is where to eat while you’re here.

While other ‘street food’ venues in the city have run stale, struggling to match highpoints they set years ago- Sticky Fingers shut its doors recently- Cardiff Market has become home to a clutch of impressive operators, and established itself as the strongest collection if street food traders in South Wales.

Some are experienced restaurateurs diversifying into more casual menus: others are street food specialists who have done the hard yards shuttling from pop up to festival and back again until the Market brought them home. All bring something distinctive: there are levels of quality and choice here unimaginable even a couple of years ago. I’m old enough to remember when the Market was where you went for a £1 hotdog and a cuppa at the corner caff: now you’ve got seasonal menus, gluten free choices and vegan selections.

Underpinning this businesses which have sustained Cardiffians in their droves: The Bullterrier (‘Salad. Breakfast. Pie’) upstairs will sort you out with everything from a fry up to a roast dinner, while Shan’s, Celtic Corner, Sage (try the Cubano) and more sit on the ground floor.

Sweet tooth? Join the queue at Cardiff Bakestone (popular for Wrlsh cakes, but their cherry and rhubarb slice, is according to BBC Cymru’s Elliw Mai, ‘Crack in cake form’).

Let’s crack on, then.

GROUND FLOOR

The Bearded Taco

Come here for bright Mexican flavours.. Wash them down with one of their imported Jarritos sodas (lime, mandarin, pineapple, grapefruit and cola). These are punchy little portions: the vegan ‘Let’s Avo Cwtch’ crispy avocado is well known locally, but try the fish: that batter is exemplary.

My pick The crispy fish taco. That gin and tonic tempura? Impeccable. (And gluten free, as are all the tacos).

Good to know If you like cooking Mexican at home, Bearded Taco can help: they display and sell a range of tortilla presses, Mexican hot sauces and salsas, blue or white harina de maíz, Mexican dried chilies…you get the picture. Some very limited seating is available at the stall.

The Bearded Taco on Instagram

Bao Selecta

Come here for… filled hirata buns. The menu here is exclusively vegan, filling lightly steamed hirata buns with ‘beef’ and ‘pork’ and always popular. Currently, there are no GF options.The ‘beef’ and ‘pork belly’ are crispy seitan and textured vegetable protein (TVP) respectively.

My pick It’s a small menu- bowl or bao- and all vegan, so you’ll work your way through it quickly enough. And then go back to start all over again.

Bao Selecta on Instagram

Dirty Gnocchi

Come here for… Italian-influenced street food. This is proudly unauthentic but satisfying stuff. Italian-accented, paying affectionate homage to the spirit of favourites, but really- it’s carbs, isn’t it? Loads and loads of lovely, buttery, cheesy carbs.

My pick try their crisp little butter-golden (and GF) gnocchi, slathered with mushroom or beef ragú. Have the special: crisp, breaded chicken and hot sauce over beef ragu tagliatelle. Authentic? No. Tasty? Oooof yes.

They make the effort to import vegetarian Grana Padano cheese wheels for their trademark dish. Try the gnocchi with their mushroom ragú, which is also available in a vegan version.

Dirty Gnocchi’s pasta with beef can justifiably claim to be Cardiff’s single most internationally-renowned plate of food. A popular listing on Chinese photo-sharing app Xiaohongshu, or ‘Little Red Book’, brings a stream of overseas visitors to the stall.

Dirty Gnocchi on Instagram

Ya! Souvlaki

Come here for… Greek street food. Souvlaki, gyros (‘yeeros’), psomaki.
The Merida platter (£11) is a substantial thing. You won’t see ‘Yeeros’ on vertical spits, but chicken or pork shoulder sliced thinly and griddled to order, finished with lemon and their spice blend. Their distinctive pita, at its best soaked with grilled pork juices, is imported from Mani in Greece: details count.

My pick- Psomaki calamari: a lightly toasted soft white roll stuffed with fries and battered squid. As simple and as good as it sounds. Oh, and the Baklava cheesecake. Try the pork shoulder ‘yeeros’, and that grilled bread gently oozing with meat juices.

Ya! Souvlaki on Instagram

Nöglu (Monday-Saturday)

Come here for… South American-influenced street food. Don’t pigeonhole Nöglu as ‘The gluten-free place’, because this is too good for that. No gluten is used anywhere in this kitchen, though, so anyone can eat here in confidence.

My pick The Reina Pepiada (‘Polka dot queen) arepa is stuffed with chicken and avocado, and was named after Susana Duijm, the first Venezuelan to win Miss World in 1955.

Try the empanadas (‘like a cross between a crispy taco and a pastie’) served with pico de gallo. Both are available in vegan alternatives (plantain and black bean arepas and refried bean empanadas). Some limited seating at the stall.

Nöglu on Instagram

Thai Asian Delish (Monday-Saturday)

Come here for… Thai favourites. Red and green curries, massaman, pad krapow, panang, Tom Yum… I don’t know about you but in my corner of the world, anywhere you can eat Thai food at 10am is A Good Thing. A Very Good Thing.

Now in their eighth year, this tiny kitchen knocks out an extensive menu including a few vegetable stir fries (pad thai, cashew nut) and some salads. Curries are all gluten free. The most expensive items are £7.50. And as they say, ‘Everything comes with rice’.

My pick Chicken panang, grilled pork moo ping, stir-fried basil with prawns. Take it away like many do, or find a seat upstairs: if you’re lucky, perch on one of the few seats round the back and watch the kitchen at work. How they produce what they do in such a small space is remarkable: you’ll often spot of the team prepping on a little shelf outside.

Thai Asian Delish site

BALCONY LEVEL

Some downstairs stalls (eg Dirty Gnocchi) have dedicated seating, but it’s likely you’ll end up here, on the tables which run the length of the balcony.

Ffwrnes (Tuesday-Saturday)

Come here for… pizza, as that busy oven knocks out scores of Neapolitan-style pizza with its airy heat-spotted crust. A core menu of twelve pizzas, plus any specials, this is many pizza-watchers’ favourite Cardiff spot. What makes them even more remarkable is their pricing: the menu starts at just six pounds and tops out at ten pounds. How they do it is a mystery, when others charge a lot more : but let’s be very glad they do.

My pick ‘Jiawl Bach’: This ‘Little Devil’ adds spicy salami and chillies to tomato sauce, mozzarella; there’s a touch of Spain (always guaranteed to raise the tone) in the ‘Sobrasada’, which balances Mallorcan spreadable chorizo with raw Welsh honey. The Marinara is one of the city’s great cheap eats.

Eight of the regular menu are meat-free. No GF options at present.  Ffwrnes is typically one of the busiest stalls, it’ll be worth the wait for what The Good Food Guide calls a ‘local gem’. A Cardiff classic joined the menu in April 2025: ‘that’ garlic bread of 591 by Anatoni’s fame, given a new home on the balcony. You may spot local imitatons: accept no substitutes, because this one raising money for local hospital unit Velindre, 50p at a time, every time you order.

Check out their Pontcanna New York style by-the-slice joint West, reviewed here. Different style, same consistently high quality

Ffwrnes on Instagram

Pierogi (Tuesday-Saturday)

Come here for… a frequently-rotating menu of Polish dumplings handmade in front of you. There’s always plenty for vegetarians and vegans. A mix of traditional Polish and more innovative fillings – try duck with plum sauce, Polish white sausage and garlic topped with bacon, or baked sunflower seed pâté and cranberries. Ample choice for vegetarians, though no GF at present.

My pick A couple of weeks ago, I’d have said duck with plum sauce. If they have the beef brisket with peppercorn sauce, sell a kidney to get some. The menu changes seasonally (imagine reading that sentence about the Market five years ago…) and current black pudding and chicken liver variety is a firm favourite.

Pierogi on Instagram

Anand George’s Indian Kitchen (formerly known as Tukka Tuk Canteen)

Come here for…distinctive Keralan-influenced street food from Wales’ leading Indian chef. Anand George revolutionised and redefined South Wales’ understanding of what ‘Indian’ food can be. Here, in partnership with Rupali Wagh, he sets the local standard for Southern Indian street food. The menu covers everything from light snacks to substantial meals, to a maximum of £12.50.

My pick Their biggest seller, the KFC (£12.50), is one of the few truly iconic dishes to come out of the whole Cardiff Street food boom: one of the few perennially popular, instantly recognisable dishes to rank alongside Brother Thai’s sticky beef roti and Meat and Greek’s souvlaki. It is also, inarguably, one of the finest ways you can spend your lunch money in Cardiff, Market or no Market. A complex marinade and a three-flour coating gives it an unmistakable texture. While you’re here, have the biriyani, even if you’re taking it away with you: there’s almost half of pound of chicken in the thing.

Try the ‘Build Your Bowl’ with coconut mung bean dal and crisp cauliflower kempu, or the beef short rib curry topped with chilli prawns. The menu is gluten-free.

There is dedicated seating for Tukka Tuk Canteen customers only.

Tukka Tuk Canteen on Instagram

In conclusion…

These stalls represent the Market’s reinvention as a major casual dining destination.

Given the breadth and depth of experience and talent here, it’s hard to see that changing any time soon: finally, the capital has the major street food attraction it deserves.

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