Saturday 30 January 2016

Sen BBQ, Canton, Cardiff Turkish restaurant review


From its unassuming exterior, Sen BBQ on Cowbridge Road East looks like it’s just a takeaway.

However, walk past the rotating spits of shawarma, the fridge of fresh looking kebabs and through the door at the back and you enter into a low-fi dining space. The focus is an electric fireplace with a half-finished pine framed thingy hanging above it (I’ve no idea).


But, I’m not here for the decor.

I’m here for the tasty Turkish kebabs.

And for the BYOB policy with no corkage. 


There’s a range of hot and cold mezze available to start which includes freshly baked pide (Turkish pizza).

On the recommendation of our super-friendly waiter we ordered the mantar tarator (£3.50), a seriously addictive mix of warm mushrooms bathed in garlic-powered yoghurt. 


A basket of excellent bread with a good chew and a note of olive oil was the perfect mop for the tasty dip. 


A plate of stuffed vine leaves (£3.50) were tasty yet unremarkable. 


Then came the main event, the BBQ full mix (£23), a gargantuan selection of all of Sen’s kebabs.

Whilst the groaning sharing platter looked like a hot mess, it tasted very good.

Standouts included lamb koftes with a big whack of chilli and mint; a lamb chop with a crisp strip of fat and buttery rice topped with shavings of chicken and lamb shawarma. Lamb and chicken shish and flame licked chicken wings were good whilst halves of quail were a little light on flesh and flavour. 


Salads were run of the mill, a red cabbage variety was the pick of the bunch. 


A couple of squeezy bottles of sauce were the only genuine let-down of the meal - fiery chilli and a mayonnaise based mint sauce seemed most likely bought in. 


We finished off the meal with a couple of complimentary glasses of sweet Turkish tea and pieces of nut-flecked Turkish delight. 


Dinner at Sen was very tasty. If you’re looking for a kebab on the other side of town to City Road then Sen is a good option. And, the BYOB policy is always a big bonus.

The Details:

Address - Sen BBQ, 146 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF11 9ND
Web - https://www.facebook.com/senbbqcardiff
Telephone - 029 2023 2222

Sen BBQ Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

2 comments:

  1. Hello Gorro, I finally made it to City Road last Thursday. It was too early to eat out, but I did go mad in the International supermarket. They bake fresh nan type bread, it's a bit crisper than nan and for £1 good value for 1/3 of a surf board. Their meats are good and cheap.
    The restaurants look very enticing, so next but one trip will be when they are open for lunch.
    The next trip will be for HangFireSmokehouse in the PumpHouse Barrybados. Rumour has it they have installed a huge Argentinian wood fired grill. Sure to the place to go as from March. See you there?

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    Replies
    1. @Nick - I need to get myself some of that bread. I cannot wait for Hang Fire to open - I'm going to be a regular. See you there!

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