Sunday 15 December 2013

Kemi's Cafe / Pipes Brewery, Pontcanna, Cardiff food blog


Salad, it’s not really my bag.

I don’t mind lettuce… as long as it’s the background crunch for the croutons, parmesan and rich dressing of a Caesar Salad.

Tomatoes, they’re pretty good too, if served in equal measure with creamy mozzarella, a few tears of basil and a good glug of olive oil.

So, you see, unless the rabbit food is served with something as fattening as a quarter pounder with cheese, it’s not really my cup of tea. 

It’s with great admiration then that I doff my cap to Kemi’s Café in Pontcanna. They’re knocking out bloody lush salads and there’s not even the merest hint of a cube of feta or a slice of halloumi.


Despite Kemi’s menu being dominated by a range of sandwiches and jacket potatoes, it’s their salad feast for which they’re famous.

Their counter boasts a handsome display of the range of roughage on offer. 


A first-rate cappuccino and a refreshing ginger & lemongrass presse both did the job.


Mrs G and I both ordered the salad feast with Glamorgan sausages (£7.25) – a generous plate groaned with a banging selection of mixed leaves with mandarin oranges; stewed figs; home-pickled cabbage, chillies, carrots & cucumbers; tender roasted sweet potatoes; spiced boiled potatoes; chickpea & romesco salad; aromatic couscous; roast asparagus and bhelpuri. There were others too I’m sure… 

A pair of Glamorgan sausages were unctuously cheesy and crammed with herbs but, a little disappointingly, lacking in crispness. 


A friend ordered the salad feast with quiche (£7.25) - thin pastry and a balanced filling of caramelised red onion and goat’s cheese were both bob on. 


To counteract any semblance of healthy eating which had taken place, we finished lunch with cakes from a heaving baked-goods cabinet. 


A cherry tiffin (£2.50) of chocolate, crushed digestives and glace cherries was tasty yet unremarkable…


whilst a slice of coffee sponge (£2.50) was a touch on the dry-side.


I’d highly recommend Kemi’s Café for a “light” lunch – in fact their salads are worth a trip across Cardiff alone.

However, if you happen to visit Kemi’s on a Saturday, you can also pop over the road to Pipes craft brewery to pick up a few bottles of their awesome lagers. 


And, if you happen to be visiting on the first Saturday of the month, you can chillax with a pint in their charmingly ramshackle outdoor bar.


The details:

Kemi's Cafe
Address - Kemis Pontcanna, Kings Road, Cardiff, CF11 9DF
Telephone - 029 2037 2055

Pipes 
Address - 183a Kings Road, Cardiff 
Telephone - 07776382244

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