Quill & Quote at the Thackeray, Rumney, Cardiff Sunday roast review

When it comes to Sunday roasts there seem to be to common schools of thought.

The first is that they’re usually a mishmash of badly cooked components which have been thrown together on a plate.

The second is that it’s a smorgasbord of restorative protein and carbs. But equally importantly, it’s a way to come together with family and friends at the end of a week over a hearty meal and a few drinks.

I’m very much in the latter camp and it was for this reason I found myself at the Quill and Quote at the Thackeray, an independent gastropub located in Rumney, for Sunday lunch with my Cardiff in-laws.

Now, I don’t pay much heed to T***advisor, but if it floats your boat then Quill & Quote is currently the fourth highest rated restaurant in the city. And it was fully booked on our visit with people advised to book at least two weeks in advance to get a table.

Quill and Quote’s menu offers a well-priced three courses for £23.50. However, if you’re looking for a lighter lunch then two courses will set you back £18.50 and a single course is £13.50.

As the consensus around the table was that we’d give starters a miss (I’m never one to turn down three courses), we passed over some rather tasty sounding dishes like a classic prawn cocktail, salt and pepper squid and pork belly bites with BBQ sauce.

To drink, Mrs G tucked away a couple of very gluggable glasses of Sauvignon Blanc whilst I enjoyed a pretty good pint of Brixton Reliance Pale Ale with a nice hit of citrus hop.

There wasn’t long to wait for our mains to arrive and a tranche of tender pork belly with well-rendered fat and good crackling was my pick of the meats around the table.

Pleasingly all the roasts were served with whopping Yorkshires, which were crisp yet fluffy centred; roast potatoes with good crunch and soft buttery interiors; and individual pots of thick gravy.

Savoy cabbage and green beans had plenty of vibrancy and roast carrots and parsnips nicely soft and sweet. The only thing that was missing in my book was the indulgence of some cauliflower cheese.

Leg of lamb (£5 supplement) was my second pick of the proteins. Served well-done, it was still deliciously juicy and tender with a good flavour.

Thin slices of beef were also served well-done. Whilst it was well-flavoured and tender, it would certainly have been my preference to see some pinkness.

Moving onto dessert, and a brick of sticky toffee pudding was light and squidgy with a good note of toasty dark sugar and a thick toffee sauce. There was the option of either custard, cream or ice cream and Mrs G plumped for the latter.

Rosé wine trifle should probably have been more appropriately named rosé wine jelly and custard with cream, such was its lack of fruit or sponge. It was still a tasty dessert; the booze-licked jelly was a touch overset and topped with Birds-esque custard and whipped cream.

We had a very enjoyable and well-priced Sunday lunch with excellent service at the Quill & Quote. If you’re in the east side of Cardiff and looking for a good roast then it’s well worth a visit.

The Details:

Address - Quill & Quote at the Thackeray, 635 Newport Rd, Rumney, Cardiff CF3 4FB

Web - http://www.quillandquote.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2000 2499

Franco Panzerotteria, Roath Park Lake, Cardiff street food review

It’s surprising how little “street food” is actually served on the street.

However, the more typically appropriate name of “purpose built market hall food” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

So, when you’re out and about in the city and you want to grab a quick bite to eat, it’s always a nice change to see street food actually served where its name suggests.

One such place is Franco’s Panzerotteria, who was previously located in a tiny hut next to Cardiff Bay barrage. Since the start of this year he’s been based in a retro green van at the top of Roath Park Lake, next to the wild gardens.

I’ve always thought it would be a great place for a pop-up street food market to catch the steady footfall of people strolling around the lake on the weekend.

Originally hailing from southern Italy, Franco serves a menu of Apulian panzerotti (deep fried pizza pockets) as well as changing specials such as pasta bakes and sweet pies.

All the panzerotti are a priced at a straightforward £6 and fillings include Cotto e Funghi (ham and mushroom) and even a Vegano (vegan cheese, mushroom and spinach). There’s also an option to add a portion of fries for the sum of £7.25.

As an enthusiastic one-man band, Franco makes all his panzerotti from scratch. So, depending on how busy he is, there might be a bit of a wait. After five minutes we were armed with a pair of golden crescent moons and decamped to a lakeside bench to tuck in.

It’s worth emphasising just how ferociously hot the molten interior of a panzerotto is. Unless you want to strip the roof of your mouth off, it’s worth biting off the top and showing a little restraint whilst things cool down. I’ve previously learnt my lesson.

In the meantime, we tucked into a bag of rustlingly crisp salted fries.

The panzerotti dough was deliciously crisp yet soft – flavour-wise it almost reminded me of a savoury doughnut. Once you chomp your way through a few mouthfuls of the dough, you arrive at the main event.

A Piccante contained a creamy molten ooze of mozzarella, provolone picante and San Marzano tomato sauce that was flecked with the fiery heat of ‘nduja sausage. It was all very messy, a little bit oily and very tasty.

Even better was the Rudy Valentino. This time the molten mozzarella and tomato sauce was supplemented with tangy goats cheese and sweet caramelised onions with a nice bite. Compared to the liquid ‘nduja, the structural integrity of the goats cheese and onions made it a more substantial and successful bite to eat.

Nicely sated, we worked off a nominal number of calories on our walk back home around Roath Park.

We had a really tasty lunch from Franco’s Panzerotteria and I’d very much recommend a stroll around the lake and a bite to eat from his van. Due to challenging business conditions, Franco was on the verge of packing things in earlier this month – thankfully, as business has picked up he’s decided to give things a bit longer. I’d definitely say this is an independent business which is worth getting out there and supporting.

The Details:

Address - Wild Gardens Road, Cyncoed CF23 6DF

Opening days - Wednesday to Sunday

Website - https://www.instagram.com/francostreetfood/