Cocorico Patisserie, Cardiff Review

Cocorico is a French patisserie located on Whitchurch road. They make their own bread and pastries; the person who runs it wears chef’s whites and sounds like he has a French accent. It seems amazing doesn’t it?

I wanted to love Cocorico so much but in the end I just liked it.

So what is there to love? Their counter is stocked with enticing fresh cakes, pastries, pies and meringues. There’s nowhere else in Cardiff that offers such an exciting looking range of baked treats. The sandwich menu is filled with exciting combinations which are a change from the usual BLT.  Prices are reasonable too; sandwiches hover around the £3.50 mark and pastries around £2.50. Finally the bread really is outstanding. Crisp on the outside and pillow soft on the inside the baguettes really are the star of the show.

I guess this is where my quibbles with Cocorico begin. It shouldn’t be the case that the bread is the best bit of a sandwich. However my black forest ham, avocado & sundried tomato baguette and Mrs G’s chorizo and garlic mayonnaise baguette didn’t deliver on the flavour front. The garlic mayonnaise was too subtle and the sundried tomato hid in the background.

Black forest ham, avocado and sundried tomato baguette

Similarly my incredible sounding chicken, leek, sage and chestnut pie (I was still hungry after my baguette) didn’t quite hit the mark. Although the pastry was perfectly crisp and thin, the chicken was on the dry side and the sage and chestnut had gone AWOL leaving the rather less exciting chicken and leek to keep up appearances.

For dessert I went for the lime, basil and lemongrass tart. This was a big success. It was the only thing which lived up to its billing. Perfectly cooked pastry was slathered with an intensely flavoured lime, basil and lemongrass filling and topped off with a wonderfully soft meringue.

Mrs G opted for a chestnut cheesecake. Unfortunately it was a flop. Whilst there was no doubting its visual appeal, in reality it tasted like a plain cheesecake. The texture too was a little odd. It was colder and firmer in the middle suggesting that it may have been defrosted.

I’m convinced there are some absolute gems on the menu at Cocorico but I only found one of them. I’m sure I’ll revisit sometime but I’ll need some better recommendations on what to order. The search for my dream coffee shop continues......

The details:  

Cocorico Patisserie, 55a Whitchurch Road, Cardiff, CF14 3JP

Tel: 02921 328177

Web: http://www.cocoricopatisserie.co.uk/