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Cardiff is where that sensational Welsh produce you never knew about converges on dining tables in myriad innovative ways. Think Welsh lamb from the nearby hills, Cardigan lobster, Conwy mussels, samphire from South Wales’ sandy coastline and feisty cheese from Hafod, one of Wales’ original certified organic dairy farms. Cardiff also has one of Britain’s standout microbrewery scenes.
With such fertile land and sea all around, almost everywhere champions local produce. The dilemma is where to try it: a sumptuous city mansion, a former bank vault, an atmospheric Syrian restaurant, and more.
Madame Fromage
This cosy place in the Castle Arcade is a cheese shop, restaurant and deli delivering everything from chutneys to chocolates, but its strongest suit is cheese: 150-odd varieties, with Welsh, French, Italian and Spanish variations especially well represented. But true ‘gastronauts’ (as Madame Fromage calls those with a penchant for its superb produce) should indulge further: at the cheese and wine tasting events or the restaurant. At tables scattered either outside or between treat-stacked shelves, sample a menu featuring cheese and charcuterie platters, perhaps a grilled French goat cheese, or halloumi and chorizo salad; it depends what tantalising fare is in that day.
Contact: 029 2064 4888; madamefromage.co.uk
Prices: £
Reservations: No
Society Standard
Expect the antithesis of standard at this Bristol-originating mini chain, where the concept is re-imagining otherwise unwanted buildings into vibrant eateries. The look is hipster industrial chic: exposed brick, old school desks and designer graffiti. Vegans and vegetarians are as catered for as carnivores for the breakfasts, brunches, lunches and dinners. Main courses include multiple takes on mac and cheese (truffled mac with truffle oil and sautéed mushrooms is delicious) and other imaginative comfort food like smoky black bean and sweet potato chilli, or smoked cheddar and parsnip gnocchi, besides some great local craft ales.
Contact: 029 2061 1556; anythingbutstandard.co.uk
Prices: £
Reservations: Walk-ins only except for parties of six or more (Mon-Thu) and for Sunday lunch (12.30pm-3pm)
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Park House
Welsh ingredients, served with French flare, is a popular combo in Cardiff these days, but Park House set the trend: it has been the backbone of the city’s fine dining scene for 15 years. Operating out of a Gothic Grade I mansion near the National Museum of Cardiff and opposite fetching Gorsedd Gardens, the restaurant has won awards for its carefully crafted food, wine and suave basement cocktail bar. A meal might begin with something like the wood pigeon with pistachio and beetroot before segueing scrumptiously into Gower lamb with boudin noir (French blood sausage), potato galette, leeks and jus.
Contact: 029 2022 4343; parkhouserestaurant.co.uk
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
The Potted Pig
Sequestered in a former bank vault, The Potted Pig has long numbered among Cardiff’s most atmospheric – and delicious – dining venues. Menus in this snug exposed brick space metamorphose, as sourcing the latest and freshest Welsh ingredients is prized highly, but could be pan-fried cod with smoked paprika, chorizo and butter bean stew and samphire, or basil gnocchi with red pepper purée, olives, feta and pine nuts. Potted pig with sourdough and pickles, meanwhile, is the signature starter. The restaurant is also known for its wondrous gins: some 30 are available, with the highlight the small-batch Pollination gin, made by the Dyfi Distillery using botanicals foraged in Snowdonia’s foothills.
Contact: 029 2022 4817; thepottedpig.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
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Shaam Nights
Look up from your plate during a meal at Shaam Nights and you might be forgiven for thinking you were in a garish, lavish temple of intricately patterned walls and chandelier-hung ceilings. But don’t gaze around too long. This is Cardiff’s premier Syrian restaurant, and one of the best city dining experiences full stop. Fresh, flavour-rich dishes open with items such as tabbouleh, fattoush, a leaf salad with pomegranate syrup, or sambousek (filled pastries). Main courses centre around their famous shawarma dishes: large platters of spit-roasted lamb or chicken cut into shards and served with potatoes and salad.
Curado
A letter – or more accurately platter – of love inspired and personally sourced from Spain by husband-and-wife team Paul Grimwood and Shumana Palit, Curado specialises in para picar (things to pick at) and pintxos (bigger, tapas-type dishes), following the style of low-key but high-quality bars in cities like Madrid, where you might well sate your appetite whilst thirst-slaking with an Albariño (Galician white wine) or Bobal (Valencian red). Casual but elegant tiled surrounds are your stage for sampling of simple-but-scrumptious small dishes like morcilla (Spanish black pudding) with piquant peppers and goat’s cheese, Serrano ham-wrapped artichoke or octopus and tomato salad.
Contact: 029 2034 4336; curadobar.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins usually OK
Best table: Grab a pew downstairs by the counter and deli and benefit from staff tips and tales about the treats on the menu
Contact:029 2048 2024; shaamnights.com
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended but walk-ins can often be accommodated
Purple Poppadom
Even among the standout round-the-world selection of cuisines in Cardiff’s Canton neighbouthood, Purple Poppadom distinguishes itself. An interior illuminated by globe pendent lamps and with seats and bar backlighting in varying hues of lilac and violet, is where chef Anand George magics flavours of his native Kerala into Wales, presenting everything artistically. As in Kerala, seafood is important: tiffin sea bass, seared and served on curry leaf-infused mashed potato with raw mango, ginger and coconut sauce, is the must-try signature dish. And on weekday evenings the thalis (Indian café-style dishes served on platters) demand sampling.
Contact: 029 2022 0026; purplepoppadom.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended but walk-ins can often be accommodated
The Classroom
Atop the Cardiff and Vale College city centre campus, the college’s students prep for catering careers with this stern test: staffing a restaurant regarded as one of Cardiff’s best. And food is no novice nosh, masterminded as it is by a team with significant experience in Michelin star and AA rosette venues. You might start with pumpkin crème brûlée shaken up by ras al hanout, pumpkin seed granola and pickled shiitake, then indulge in a bouillabaisse of smoked haddock, red gurnard and mussels, with cavolo nero, smoked mussel beignet and pickled carrot and ginger. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer fabulous views across Cardiff.
Contact: 029 2025 0377; theclassroom.wales
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended but walk-ins can often be accommodated
Pasture
Making its classy entry onto the High Street in 2020, Pasture began in Bristol, with the Cardiff premises its second branch. This is all about the steak: chateaubriand, porterhouse and tomahawk, sourced from farms in Wales and the West Country which rear native cattle and where cows are fed on the region’s famously lush pastures. Steaks are dry-aged for at least 35 days, cut according to order and cooked over cherry wood for their exquisite flavour. The spacious industrial chic interior with its steak-aging cabinet and smart booth seating is an atmospheric place in which to dine.
Contact: 07511 217422; pasturerestaurant.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
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La Cuina
In an ever-evolving dining scene, constants can be a blessing, and La Cuina, around since 2012, is that: an intimate rustic-contemporary venue of wooden tables and dome pendant lighting where chef-owner Montserrat conjures heartfelt recipes from her native Catalunya. Seafood plays a prominent role from the off: scallops and squid ink rice with mussels, prawn sauce and parsley oil, or cod croquettes with artichoke and ibérico ham. Meanwhile prawns, monkfish, red mullet and clams combine to form one of the standout main courses, a deliciously fishy cassola. The wine list is among Cardiff’s most eclectic, with offerings originating from Catalan micro-producers.
Contact: 029 2019 0265; lacuina.co.uk
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Best table: Get a window table where, once eating, you’ll quickly become the envy of passers by