Summer Palace, Cardiff Chinese restaurant review

I’ve got a lot of respect for any hospitality business that manages to survive for more than a year in the current climate.

So, it’s remarkable that Llandaff’s Summer Palace has been in the hands of the Chim family for almost forty years.

Located in a rabbit warren of grade II listed buildings close to Llandaff Cathedral, Summer Palace was buzzing on the wintry Saturday night we visited. Every table was occupied with generations of families and friends, and a steady stream of people arrived throughout the evening to collect takeaways.

It also says a lot about the popularity of the place that we booked three weeks in advance of our meal and had to slightly adjust our preferred time to secure a table. The well-oiled front of house team was clearly used to the crowds too – we had swift and friendly service throughout the night.

Summer Palace’s menu mainly comprises of British Chinese restaurant classics but a few notable points of interest in the chef’s specials include stuffed three delicacies (£15.95), mapo tofu (£13.95) and steamed seabass with shredded ginger (£19.95)

We mostly kept it old skool with our ordering.

Crisp prawn crackers (£4.50) were accompanied by a sweet chilli sauce with a good honk of garlic and throat tickling warmth.

Ice cold bottles of Tsing Tao, of course hit the spot.   

There was no doubting the freshness of lettuce wraps (£8.95) – the iceberg lettuce leaves were as crisp as you can get.

Their filling of pork mince, crisp vermicelli, diced carrot and spring onion was a bit light on flavour, so I made good use of the spare sweet chilli sauce from the prawn crackers to pep it up a bit.

Sesame prawn toast (£6.95) was a bang on iteration of this naughty classic. Crisp fried bread, sweet minced prawns and toasted sesame seeds were all on the money.

Onto mains, and textbook crispy chilli beef (£12.95) was the standout of the meal. Crisp as you liked batter-coated beef slivers were coated in a sweet, sticky and zingy chilli flecked sauce.

Sizzling lamb satay (£18.95) saw a spitting hot skillet laden with tender nuggets of meat and crisp vegetables coated in a spice-thwacked thick and nutty sauce.

If it wasn’t for the high seasoning, then Singapore vermicelli (£9.50) would have been an unmitigated success. The mountain of comforting curry spiced noodles was flecked with sweet prawns, roast pork, fresh vegetables and omelette pieces.

So there we have it, we had a very tasty meal at Summer Palace with fair prices and excellent service. Is it reinventing the wheel? No, but with nearly 40 years of history, it’s more likely that Summer Palace invented the wheel.

The Details:

Address - Summer Palace, 2-4 High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2DZ

Web - https://www.summerpalace.co.uk/

Telephone - 02922 973055 / 07368 231281

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