Where to eat in Cardiff, Wales's culinary capital

When it comes to dining, the Welsh capital is on a definite upward trajectory. This is thanks, in part, to a host of well-received new openings over the past few years, from gastropubs and oyster bars to ramen restaurants and Spanish grills. The additions have given greater variety to a dining scene that was already vibrant and multi-cultural. In this spirit, we celebrate the breadth of Cardiff’s food scene, from its Yemeni and Keralan restaurants to its burgeoning pop-up scene.

Street food

Street food is a key part of Cardiff’s culinary offering, with several permanent food halls hosting a rotation of local traders alongside a calendar of seasonal events. Twenty Six at The Bone Yard in Canton, for example, combines local craft stalls with a rolling programme of vendors in a welcoming 90-cover space.

On the site of the former Dr Who Experience, Tiger Yard is a clutch of brightly coloured shipping containers repurposed as a home for street food specialists. It offers up to 1,000 visitors a chance to sample fare from a huge variety of independent operators.

The engine room of the city’s street food offer is Cardiff Market. Although still a working market, it’s also a haven for casual dining in the city centre. Built in 1891, it’s soon to undergo refurbishment: come here for everything from pad thai and pierogi to tacos and tagliatelle. Watch Polish dumplings being made by hand or choose from vegan bao, gluten-free South American arepas or Neapolitan pizza from Ffwrnes.

Meanwhile, just off City Road, Sticky Fingers is a busy bar that hosts a rolling programme of traders. Notable regulars include Keralan Karavan, which serves up burgers and tacos alongside rainbow poppadoms and masala-filled flatbreads; Kapow, which draws crowds with its impeccably tender ribs; and Fire and Flank, which offers up steak, cooked sous-vide and seared on the griddle, combined with chimichurri for a Latin American twist.

Yemeni flavours

The first Yemenis to settle in Cardiff did so in the 1860s — they were largely sailors and stokers on ships transporting resources to and from Aden, the Yemeni port that was part of the British Empire. Their legacy can be experienced in restaurants such as Grangetown’s Bab Al-Yemen, which serves diced liver stir-fried with tomatoes and onions, whole roast chickens and fish from the tandoor, with ayran (strained yoghurt) ideal for dousing spicier choices. If you’re feasting, order dabeha: a half (or whole) lamb cooked in the traditional style, scattered with cashew nuts and sultanas.

At nearby Al-Madina Mandi, the meaty menu may be supplemented with pulses, but the focus is very much on lamb and chicken, served as mandi, biryani and kabsa. It’s an even simpler choice at The South Kitchen, which is home to Cardiff’s smallest menu — just ‘chicken or lamb’, that’s it. Take off your shoes, sit cross-legged on the floor and wait for your tray. The meat, marinated in the hawaij spice blend of cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and cardamom, is aromatic and irreproachably tender.

At City Road’s Hadramowt, ignore the printed menu’s madhgoot, mathbee or aqda and simply ask for ‘the lamb’. Everyone does, and the team will know exactly what you mean. Soon you’ll be feasting on heaped plates of sumptuous steamed lamb mandi and rice, finished with a scattering of charred onion.

Spanish specials

There’s a piece of Cardiff that’s forever Iberian — a short stretch of the city centre where you’ll find two pairs of venues with a distinct Spanish flavour, their menus leaning on links with regional Spanish producers.

At Asador 44, the centrepiece is the custom-built parrilla grill, fuelled by sustainable charcoal. The beef, sourced from Spain and Wales, is arguably the main event, although there’s plenty more on offer, from hake and whole sea bass to Segovian suckling pig and numerous meat-free choices. What’s more, its ‘parador’ above the restaurant is one of the city’s most elegant places to stay.

Its sibling, Bar 44 Tapas y Copas, celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year. The menu in this former canal warehouse showcases prime Spanish produce, while offering gluten-free and vegan dishes. Staples, such as its croquetas and award-winning patatas bravas, complement inventive seasonal specials like a confit duck and smoked morcilla pringá bun with roast piquillo pepper ketchup.

At nearby Curado Bar, the atmosphere is warm, pintxos rule and the wine list roams from Castile and León to Asturias and the Basque Country. The choice is extensive: and don’t miss the take-home treats.

The perfect way to cap this peculiarly Cardiffian paseo? Nip next door to Curado’s snug bar Vermut, where sunshine-yellow walls welcome you and knowledgeable staff guide you through a large selection of wines and sherries by the glass. Snack on imported seafood conservas as you enjoy your hora del vermut.

Kerala in Cardiff

Cardiff’s wealth of Southern Indian food is largely down to the efforts of chef Anand George, who brought the cooking of his native Kerala to the city in 2007. While Indian food in Cardiff was once the domain of ‘curry houses’, George introduced the subtler flavours of curry leaf, coconut and mustard seed with a wealth of fish and seafood. His Tukka Tuk Canteen is where the neighbouring traditions of Southern India and Sri Lanka meet. Expect plenty of meat-free options, such as rice flour hoppers, as well as spiced mutton rolls and Kerala fried chicken. 

At Canton’s Purple Poppadom, he serves more elegantly plated dishes, such as tharavu (spiced duck with steamed rice dumplings poached in a spiced coconut sauce) and his signature sea bass on curry leaf mashed potato with raw mango, ginger and coconut sauce.

Over at Salkaara, which has two branches in the city, you’ll find a long menu, from which thoran (a stir-fry of shredded vegetables and coconut, tempered with mustard and curry leaves) and Goan ‘vindalu’ (hot and sour with garlic, wine vinegar and red chillies) are particularly popular. The tasting menus are good value, too.

Elsewhere, Ponnuswamy, on City Road, is at the ‘budget’ end of the scale, offering an extensive list of pancakes and breads, including rice and lentil batter dosai with sambar, thicker oothappam with onion, tomato and green chilli, and flaky parotta with dipping curry.

Welsh produce

While traditional Welsh dishes don’t feature too heavily on Cardiff menus, there are plenty of chefs taking Welsh produce to new heights. At Pontcanna’s Thomas by Tom Simmons, the menu revels in the country’s bounty. Whether it’s dairy from Montgomery, meat from Carmarthen or crab and lobster from the Pembrokeshire coast, here Welsh ingredients are turned into refined dishes served with poise.

The Heathcock is part local pub, part destination restaurant. Welsh produce is prized, whether from local growers, its own gardener Mike or Cardiff butcher Oriel Jones. The signature sharing dish here is shoulder of lamb from nearby Torgelly Farm — but expect coracle-caught sewin (sea trout) from Cardigan and foraged blackberries, wild garlic and elderflower, all of which are all abundant around the Vale.

At Milkwood, the eclectic menu draws influence from Spain, Mexico and India, while also including Welsh classics like bara brith as well as bacon, cockles and laverbread. Sourcing can be hyperlocal, like freshly cut leaves biked over from Cardiff Salad Garden, a not-for-profit social enterprise working with disadvantaged Cardiffians.

Ansh is co-owned by farmer and master butcher Shaun Jones, which means its beef and mutton are sourced from Jones’ Llygadenwyn Farm in Carmarthenshire. Ansh wears its Welshness proudly, with burgers named after historic Welsh figures. The ‘Betty Campbell’, for example, commemorates Wales’s first black headteacher.