Rockfish, Exeter fish restaurant review

 

There's nothing more dispiriting than a service station lunch. From a rogues' gallery of fridge cold Cornish pasties, price-inflated burgers, and lackluster noodle boxes, it's hard to say what the least appealing is (of course it's the pasty).

So, whenever we go on a long journey, I often try and find somewhere a bit more exciting to eat. 

On a recent trip back from Cornwall for Verdant's Little Summer Beer Bash, we made a short detour to Exeter to stop for lunch at Rockfish.

 

With nine branches in coastal locations across the south of the UK, Mitch Tonks’ Rockfish chain is one of the first names to crop up when discussing the country’s most highly regarded fish restaurants.

And their ethos of buying the best British seafood and cooking it simply is most certainly an admirable one too.

Set on Exeter’s quayside, the restaurant is located in a glass-surrounded building with boat-like wood-panelled banquettes. The shipping forecast playing in the loo also very much emphasises the nautical theme.

With vast paper menus acting as place settings, there’s a small selection of mainstays such as rockfish fillets, roast turbot and charred Brixham calamari as well as changeable daily specials which appear depending on what’s available. On our visit this included gurnard, lemon sole, lobster and whole mackerel. The menu also highlights which dishes are caught locally and which are MSC certified.

As I was nursing a *slight* hangover, I lasered in on the deep fried stuff.

A crispy can of Bru Lo’s Coba Maya (£4.25) was an excellent example of an alcohol free lager.

Slices of fairly pedestrian sourdough (£4.95), which lacked a crisp crust, were accompanied by a genius anchovy mayonnaise. With a big salty, savoury and ever so fishy hit of anchovy, it’s a condiment which I’d happily slather on anything.

Strips of salt and pepper calamari (£9.95) were pleasingly tender and well-flavoured with its headline seasoning as well as slices of spring onion and red chilli. But, I’d have liked a more assertive crunch from the slightly anaemic looking batter.

There were no such pitfalls with the main courses, which were universally delicious.

A generously proportioned regular portion of haddock and chips (£16.95) was golden and crisp with a juicy and flaky interior. Crisp chips and herby and zingy tartare sauce hit the mark too.

A pot of curried mushy peas (£2.95) was an excellent idea. The thick sweet peas and fruity and spicy curry sauce were delicious mixed together and it saved me having to order them both separately.

Dense, meaty and oily gurnard fillets (£19.95) had lovely golden edges and crisped skin. Not seen on restaurant menus very often, it’s certainly a fish that I’d like to eat a lot more regularly.

A side of salty and buttery samphire (£3.95) was a lovely accompaniment.

So too was a pot of thick, sweet, nutty and piquant romesco sauce (£2.95).

A green salad (£3.50) was well-dressed and vibrant - it’s all you can hope for from such a simple dish.

We had an delicious lunch at Rockfish. Despite having nearly ten restaurants, it’s a restaurant group which still clearly very much has its eye on quality. With Cardiff still lacking a dedicated fish restaurant, it’s exactly the type of place you could see doing well here.

The Details:

Address - Rockfish, 9 Piazza Terracina, Haven Rd, Exeter EX2 8GT

Web - https://therockfish.co.uk/pages/exeter-seafood-restaurant

Telephone - 01392 491664

Ceylon Spicy Pot, Adamsdown, Cardiff Sri Lankan restaurant review

If you’re a fan of Curry Hut, the delicious and bargainous Cathays-based Sri Lankan restaurant, then you'll be interested to know about Ceylon Spicy Pot.

This recently opened Sri Lankan restaurant is owned by the same couple who first ran Family Choice, the takeaway which was hidden at the back of a convenience store, before the business was returned to the owner and transformed into Curry Hut.

Now, they’ve struck out on their own and taken over the former site of The Broadway Cafe, just off Clifton Street in Adamsdown.

Other than changing the sign on the front door, it doesn’t look like there’s been much sign of refurbishment. But, there’s a definite charm to the lack of slick interior design flourishes, which look so good on the ’Gram.

With a menu featuring string hoppers, biryani, kottu, fries, curries and a Saturday special of lamprais, there’s a lot of tasty sounding stuff on offer. And the absence of Devil paneer meant I was forced to order something different for once.

Whilst Ceylon Spicy Pot is applying for an alcohol licence, it’s currently bring your own booze. As we lacked that nugget of information before our visit, we instead enjoyed a pair of delicious mango lassies (£2.50) with plenty of fragrant tropical fruit.

Despite there only being ourselves in the restaurant and a small takeaway order to deal with, we had a bit of a wait for food. I can imagine if the place was any fuller then things could get interesting.

Piping hot crisp mutton rolls (£1.99) were filled with tender curried meat and potato with a big blast of chilli. Somewhat ironically, a bowl of sweet chilli sauce served to temper the spice.

Runny yolked egg hoppers (£1.50) had a hyper-crisp lacy edge and were seasoned with a good twist of black pepper. It was a little bowl of katta sambol that really brought the dish alive - combining red chilli, plenty of citrus, and the salty savouriness of dried fish flakes, it was a deliciously complex condiment.

King fish fry (£6) combined seriously crisp crusted pieces of meaty fish, topped with golden fried onions and little green chillies, which I dared not to eat. Whilst the fish pieces were a little bit dry in places, there was still something very compelling about the dish.

Aubergine curry (£5) was the star of the meal. Long-cooked pieces of soft and tender aubergine and sweet tomatoes that had been added at the last minute were bathed in a copper coloured gravy with layers of warming spice and good thrum of chilli.

Egg kottu (£4.50) was a lovely example of one of my essential orders. Combining soft paratha shreds, scrambled egg, carrot shavings, soft sweet onions, it was a corking bowl of comfort food. Whilst the recipe eschewed curry leaves, it made up for it with its bold spicing.

It was also accompanied by a dinky pot of ferociously spicy mutton gravy which was lovely poured over it.

We really enjoyed Ceylon Spicy Pot - they serve great value Sri Lankan food that's cooked with a lot of love and I’m certainly looking forward to exploring more of their menu. 

The details:

Address - Ceylon Spicy Pot, 10 Broadway, Cardiff CF24 1NF
Web - https://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-ceylon-spicy-pot-cardiff
Telephone - 07455 192175

Heaneys, Pontcanna, Sunday roast review

Some dishes are more suited to different seasons than others.

It's hard to beat chicken souvlaki and Greek salad in the sunshine or a hearty bowl of chorizo and butterbean stew and some crusty bread on a crisp autumn day.

However, if Pillars on Cardiff's Queen Street deems steak and kidney pie and lasagne to be "lighter options", then I'm fully backing my unorthodox decision to visit Heaneys in Pontcanna for a Sunday roast in the middle of a heatwave.

I’d heard great things about their roast dinners for ages and their well-priced Sunday set menu offers three courses for £35 with dishes including BBQ Welsh lamb, salt baked pork belly and whole Cornish place a la Meuniere.

Their newly revamped terrace area is a lovely spot to enjoy a meal and a few glasses of wine in the shade too.

Excellent house sourdough had a dark caramelised crust that was teetering on the right side of charred. With a compelling chew and light crumb, it was served with their unmistakeable whipped marmite butter that packs a big umami punch.

Buttery golden lamb sweetbreads was a robust dish masquerading as a light summery plate. Peeping out from a light and savoury manchego foam were briny cockles, tender coco beans, al dente pieces of fennel and onion, and a sticky meat sauce.

A summery gazpacho was perfect for the heat. Packing a vibrant hit of fresh vegetables, it was zhushed up by the addition of creamy goats curd and the texture of spiralised courgette.

There are few people around who can cook a piece of fish as well as Tommy Heaney and a crisp-skinned and flaky fillet of cod was the perfect exemplar. Accompanied by a vivid green seaweed butter, beurre blanc and crisp gram flour balls that were a clever riff on scraps / scrumps / scranners (delete as regionally appropriate), it was a corker of a dish.

A rose pink slab of dry aged beef had a lovely meaty intensity and a layer of flavoursome fat running around its edge. Slow-cooked shreds of oxtail were packed into a dinky croquette and a behemoth of a Yorkshire pudding was crisp whilst retaining a soft interior.

A selection of side dishes, which covered the entirety of our table, were all on point.

Airy and buttery whipped potato was served with a tender braised carrot with a compelling sugary sweetness.

Duck fat roast potatoes were shatteringly crisp with a fluffy interior.

Buttered cabbage was punctuated by salty shards of crispy bacon.

Thick cauliflower cheese was equal parts brassica and rich burnished cheese.

An extra jug of thick meaty gravy meant that no part of the dish was spared and a pot of creamed horseradish delivered a throat tickling punch.

 

For dessert, a light and crisp choux bun was stuffed to the edges with a silky and rich dark chocolate cremeux. Topped with whipped cream and a blob of cherry puree and served with a scoop of airy ice cream with a whiff of kirsch, it was a cracking pud but I reckon it could have taken a bigger hit of cherry and booze to make it even more Blackforest gateaux-like.

Baked yoghurt had the silky texture of a posset combined with the tanginess of a cheesecake. Accompanied by crunchy honeycomb, macerated peaches, and a thick raspberry sorbet, it was very good indeed.

As if we needed any more to eat, pieces of soft fudge with the savoury twang of miso accompanied the bill.

Technically accomplished yet generous at the same time, this was one of the most memorable meals we’ve had at Heaneys. And at £35 for 3 courses, it's great value for the quality too. It's fair to say that Heaneys Sunday roast more than lived up to expectations; it's easily one of the best in Cardiff.

The Details:

Address - Heaneys, 6-10 Romilly Cres, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9NR

Web - https://www.heaneyscardiff.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2034 1264

The Gwaelod y Garth Inn, Cardiff pub review

Eating. Drinking. Walking. 

They’re three of the simplest pleasures in life. 

But, whenever I go our for a meal, the emphasis very much tends to be on the former.

All too often I visit restaurants where there’s exciting food but the booze offering doesn’t extend beyond macro lagers, a traditional ale pretending to be craft beer, and a boring wine list.

And it typically involves a pleasant yet very familiar walk through Cardiff city centre to get there.

However, there’s a place near Cardiff which combines three of my favourite things very well.

Named CAMRA pub of the year for Cardiff for two years in a row, the Gwaelod y Garth Inn is located at the foot of the Garth Mountain on the edge of the city.

It means that before you sit down for a meal you can work up an appetite with a brisk walk up the mountain and take in stunning views of Cardiff and beyond.

Then, when you’re gasping for a drink, there’s an excellent rotating tap list which includes modern craft beer, well kept real ales, and Welsh ciders.

On our most recent visit we enjoyed delicious hazy beers from Glasshouse and Crafty Devil (Cloudwater and Deya were due on soon); a corker of a cask American pale ale from Thornbridge; and a fruity and funky Hedge Kipper cider from Llanblethian Orchards near Cowbridge.

With the option of eating either downstairs in the pub or in a dedicated upstairs restaurant area, the Gwaelod’s menu combines pub classics such as beer battered cod and chips and steak and ale pie, as well as more ambitious bistro dishes such as tournedos rossini and grilled salmon with cockle and laverbread sauce.

To start, a bowl of rust coloured Provencale fish soup (£9), had a great savoury intensity. It was served with the traditional accompaniments of a salty cheese topped crouton and a pokey pot of rouille.

A quartet of hyper-crisp crumbed chicken croquettes (£8.50) were served with a creamy and tangy cheese puree, green leaves, and shavings of parmesan. The only issue with this very tasty riff on a chicken Caesar salad was that it was a little on the dinky side.

Home boiled ham egg and chips (£14) was so close to glory. Thick slices of tender ham had a lovely honey-like sweetness and were topped with a pair of fried eggs which were semi-runny and semi-fudgey.

 A trough of golden and crisp proper chips were seen off without any bother whatsoever.

Mrs G raved about a special of huge trout fillets (£19) that were wrapped with thick cut crispy bacon and oat crumb and bathed in a decadent lemon butter sauce.

It was accompanied by a bowl of buttery and tender new potatoes. 

There was a big thumbs up for a crisp-skinned fillet of roasted hake (£18) with beurre noisette and plump capers.

A chalkboard of desserts offered classics such as sticky toffee pudding, warm chocolate fudge cake and a hearty apple and blackberry crumble (£6.50) with ice cream.

But it was the retro sherry trifle (£6.50) that caught my attention.

Served in a mammoth glass chalice, it was dominated by warming booze and fruit soaked sponge and whipped cream. It was a very tasty pud but it would have been better with a more obvious balance with layers of jelly and custard.

An excellent slice of white chocolate tart (£6.50) combined crisp pastry filled with a white chocolate ganache twanged with the warmth of Penderyn whisky and flakes of white chocolate.

We had a lush evening at the Gwaelod. With its hearty pub cooking, stonking selection of beers, first rate service and beautiful setting, it’s a place I’ll be heading back to in a flash when I’m looking to enjoy life’s simplest pleasures.

The details:

Address - The Gwaelod y Garth Inn, Main Rd, Gwaelod-y-garth, Cardiff CF15 9HH

Web - https://www.gwaelodygarthinn.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2081 0408