Touring Club, Penarth bar and restaurant review

Primrose Hill. Colwyn Bay. Adelboden. Penarth.

You certainly can’t accuse Bryn Williams of being predictable when it comes to the choice of location for his establishments.

One of Wales’s most acclaimed chefs and food TV presenters, Bryn trained under Marco Pierre White and Michel Roux, and shot to fame in 2006 when he cooked the fish course for the Queen in the first season of Great British Menu.

Penarth’s Touring Club is his latest opening and it’s named after a famous café and hotel in Patagonia’s Trelew. Whilst Patagonia’s Touring Club looks like a historic, spacious and ramshackle kind of place, Penarth’s iteration is the opposite.

It’s a compact space which oozes high-end from every bespoke fixture and fitting. There’s a beautiful petrol blue tiled bar looking onto an open kitchen, an upstairs seating area dominated by a snaking leather banquette, and stools which appear to take inspiration from bicycle seating. They’re just as uncomfortable as there’s nowhere to rest your feet.

As we’re always hungry and Touring Club is walk-ins only, Mrs G and I pretty much had the place to ourselves at 5pm on a drizzly Wednesday. By the time we left, the place was buzzing and it was good to see Bryn overseeing proceedings.

Taking inspiration from continental bars where you can enjoy a few drinks and some simple plates to go with them, don’t expect Touring Club to serve you a fully-fledged three course meal. Their compact menu of 14 dishes is divided into snacks, shellfish, plates and pudding.

There’s a bigger selection when it comes to the wine, with 20 different varieties on offer by the glass. Mrs G started with a small glass of fruit-packed Carallan Albarino (£7.15) and enjoyed it so much she ordered a large glass (£11.05). I had a half of Estrella Damm (£2.50) before moving onto an alcohol free Asahi (£3.50).

Service was really friendly but as we were hidden away upstairs it took a good while for plates to be cleared and for the opportunity to order a second round of drinks.

Slices of crisp crusted and light crumbed sourdough (£3.50) were served in thin slices rather than the usual pair of thick chunks. That’s a good thing as it meant that I didn’t guzzle it all in 30 seconds and managed to save some for mopping up various delicious fats.

Crab on toast (£12) was super generous and super delicious. Toasted sourdough was topped with distinct layers of earthy brown meat and sweet white flesh. A pleasing peppery warmth lingered at the back of the palate.

Plump and juicy mini chorizo (£8) were served with a teeny blob of mayo which delivered a deceptively potent hit of mustard.

Welsh rarebit (£10) was singed around the edges, but it was still a very enjoyable example of its type; the rich cheesy and mustardy ooze was balanced by a delicate bitterness of ale. A little pot of Worcestershire sauce was served on the side rather than it being pre-drizzled.

Devil’s on horseback (£5) galloped up to the table unexpectedly but they were kindly left behind gratis. The retro snacks were one of the standouts of the night. Soft and sweet prunes coated in crispy bacon were elevated by a drizzle of sticky honey and a scattering of fragrant rosemary.

A hand-dived scallop had been treated with the respect it deserved, starting by not removing the roe. Tender and sweet of flesh, it was bathing in a deliciously savoury miso butter. However, I’m not sure if £14 is a bit punchy for a single bivalve or if it’s just the reality of how much things cost in the current climate.

Lamb cutlets (£17) were served with a scattering of salt and a squeeze of lemon. The gorgeously juicy meat lollipops with a crisp seam of fat demonstrated that the simple things are often best.

A bay leaf panna cotta (£6) was served in a bowl but I’m sure that if it was served on a plate, it would have had a perfect wobble. Lightly fragranced with bay leaf and vanilla, it was accompanied by macerated strawberries.

There’s no doubt that Touring Club is a chic place for a drink and a bite to eat, and it seems to have slotted in right in at home in Penarth. We’ll certainly pop in again for a few drinks and snack after a walk over the Cardiff Bay Barrage. It’s certainly a lot handier than a trip to Patagonia.

The details:

Address - Touring Club, 4 Stanwell Rd, Penarth CF64 2AA
Web - https://www.thetouring.club/