Parallel, Cardiff city centre restaurant review 2026

When Paul Bainbridge, the head chef at Parallel asked if we were happy with how our steak was cooked, I’m pretty sure he already knew the answer. His accompanying smile was the giveaway.

You see, when it comes to meat cookery, there aren’t many safer pairs of hands in Cardiff than Paul’s. Before joining Parallel in September 2025, he spent years as head chef at Asador 44, one of Cardiff’s top restaurants and a temple to chargrilled meat.

Since taking over the reins at Pasture’s smaller sibling, Paul has gradually introduced his own ideas onto their menu of flame-cooked small plates and sharing cuts of meat. Whilst the influences remain eclectic, mammoth flavours are the unifying theme.

On a Saturday night, Parallel is a vibe with its moody lighting, funky beats and engaging front of house team. We sat at the bar where it's great fun to see the kitchen team knock out a whole menu using the smallest of charcoal grills and two deep fat friers.

For booze, we stuck to Parallel’s wine by the glass. Mrs G enjoyed a couple of excellent glasses of Pommery Champagne (£13.50), whilst I overenthusiastically ordered a bucket of Louis Latour Grand Ardeche Chardonnay with a lovely hint of vanilla. Glasses of Saladini Pilastri Sangiovese blend (£10.50) had plenty of bright red fruit and a good balancing acidity.

I've had many flatbreads in my time, but Parallel's (£6) is easily one of the best. With its smoky char lines and marriage of crisp and squidgy textures, the addictive bread is generously slathered with beef fragranced butter, diced white onion and a delicate kick of biber chilli.

Alongside it, we had an excellent thick burnt aubergine dip (£7) jewelled with cleansing pomegranate pearls, leaves of crispy kale, and tangy pomegranate masses. To be honest, it was an unnecessary order as the flatbread was so good on in its own.

Pasture's short rib croquettes (£5) are undoubtedly one of the best mouthfuls in Cardiff, so it’s great to see them on Parallel’s menu too. The crisp crumbed balls of intense shredded meat are seasoned with blobs of poky gochujang mayonnaise and slivers of pink pickled onion.

Parallel's fried chicken (£9) sees impeccably juicy thigh pieces coated in a super crisp crumb. Umami charged fiery hot honey and tangy cranberry sauce both build up the layers of flavour.

Parallel’s crab toast (£11) is a belter of a dish too. A brick of soft crumbed toasted milk bread is topped with sweet white crab meat flecked with green herbs and slices of zingy grapefruit. However, it's the accompanying tom yum bisque that’s the headline act. Rich and creamy yet at the same time light and aerated, it sings with the aromatic flavours of Thailand.

After the initial flavour onslaught, it was time for the main event. A 650g T-bone steak (£48) was a lovely bit of meat with its charred crust, tender flesh with a light chew, and good beefiness. 

Whilst the steak was delicious on its own, a pair of sauces were a hit and a miss. Excellent chimichurri combined bright acidity and a hit of green herb, but a thin and underpowered peppercorn sauce was a bit of a let down.

Smoked mashed potato (£10) with lamb shoulder is listed on Parallel’s menu as a side dish but it could easily be a main by itself. Their riff on a Shepherd's pie sees a layer of comforting slow-cooked shredded lamb topped with an airy and lightly smoked potato espuma as well as rustlingly crisp caramelised potato skin shards and a balancing hit of sour cream and chive.

Parallel's carrot (£7) is a dish that needs no introduction and it had been supersized since our last visit. This whopper of a charred and tender root vegetable is glammed up with an addictively sweet and smoky maple dressing, nutty cashew cream, crunchy chickpeas and a fresh and fiery zhoug. It's as good a carrot as you'll ever eat.

If one carrot wasn't enough, we were recommended the Carrot 2.0 (£9) as the best dessert on the menu. The reworking of the ingredients from the OG carrot makes for a hell of a good combination of sweet and savoury flavours that aren’t too rich. A warm and squidgy slice of glazed and grilled spiced carrot cake is topped with creamy mascarpone, fresh carrot ice cream, and herbal zhoug granita.

We had a brilliant dinner at Parallel. It was already one of Cardiff's best restaurants and it's got even better since Paul Bainbridge has joined the team. With a new menu set to launch imminently, brunches arriving in March, and another exciting announcement on its way, it's set to be a big year for Pasture’s younger sibling.

The Details:

Address - Parallel, 11 High St, Cardiff CF10 1AW
Web - https://parallelrestaurant.com/

Telephone - 07742 885440

Yadgar, City Road, Cardiff Afghan restaurant review

Whilst City Road gets a lot of bad press, it’s easily one of my favourite streets in Cardiff.

Where else in the city can you eat almost 20 different global cuisines within the space of a kilometre?

By my estimation you can eat Afghani, African, American, British, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, Pakistani, Syrian, Thai, Turkish or Yemeni cooking. 

Out of the above, it’s Afghan cuisine which seems to be having a moment on City Road as not one, but two restaurants have opened in the last few months.

Yadgar is the latest addition to the street, having arrived just a few weeks ago.

They’ve done a nice job on the refurb of the former La Shish site with its bright and modern interior coupled with black and white pictures of Afghanistan.

Yadgar’s whopping two-sided menu is divided up into Afghan dishes, kebabs and Asian dishes such as paneer tikka, butter chicken and nihari. There’s a lot to get your head around, so we decided to focus on the Afghan dishes as they’re the house speciality.

On the drinks front, excellent mango lassis were ice cold with just the right hit of tropical fruit and creamy yoghurt.

A complimentary salad was the first dish to arrive, and it set the standard for the meal. An impeccably crisp and fresh mix of rocket, red cabbage, carrot and onion were zingily dressed and dusted with zesty sumac.

Next to arrive were complimentary bowls of thick and peppery chicken soup. Flecked with shreds of chicken and pieces of sweetcorn and carrot, it was reminiscent of the chicken and sweetcorn soup you get in Chinese restaurants but with a little extra spice. It was good but I’m never fully sold on the slightly gelatinous texture.

When we tried to order a starter of hummus, we were advised that it would also be complimentary and so we didn’t need to order it. What arrived was a combination of cucumber and mint flecked creamy yoghurt and thick tahini laced hummus.

Both the dips were delicious and served alongside freshly made naan with a pillowy soft crumb and crisped edges. Thankfully, the dips did end up appearing on the bill for £4 - otherwise I’d worry how Yadgar is going to make any money with all those freebies.

Onto the mains, and first up were the mantu (£13). Ten thick cased yet tender steamed dumplings were filled with a mix of minced lamb, onion and carrot. They were very tasty, if a little light on filling, and were elevated hugely by the addition of a spiced tomato and lentil sauce, tangy yoghurt and a mix of fragrant dried herbs.

Kabuli pilau (£13), Afghanistan’s national dish, was unquestionably the star of the meal. Hidden amongst a pile of fluffy, fragrant rice flecked with caramelised carrot were nudgingly tender pieces of slow-cooked bone-in lamb.

It’s certainly up there with the best lamb I’ve eaten in Cardiff. However, what really made the dish sing was the occasional pop of sweet and juicy sultanas.

A bowl of lubya, a spiced kidney bean and tomato stew that was served on the side, provided ideal saucing.

Our excellent value lunch at Yagar provided a delicious introduction to Afghani cooking. It’s one more national cuisine that helps make City Road such a special street to visit.

The Details:

Address - Yadgar, 17-19 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3BJ

Web - https://www.instagram.com/yadgar.restaurant

Telephone - 07851 669762