Longa, Cardiff, Turkish restaurant review

Over the last six months, a clutch of closures on Cardiff’s Whitchurch Road has dealt a blow to the street’s independent food and drink scene.

The departures of Wildflower Café, The Brass Beetle, Society Standard and Tukka Tuk Canteen are a stark example of the precarious nature of the hospitality industry.

So, the well-worn cliché, ‘use it or lose it’, feels as pertinent as ever.

If you haven’t yet had craft beers at Pop ‘n’ Hops, a sticky beef roti from Brother Thai, loaded focaccia from Alex Gooch, Amritsari fish tacos from Vivo Amigo, or a sunshine salad from Waterloo Tea, then it’s probably as good a time as any.

Which brings me to Longa, whose generous hospitality and beautiful Turkish brunches draw crowds to Whitchurch Road from across the city.

In 2021, when I interviewed Longa’s sibling owners Simge and Gizem, they talked about their ambition to open in the evenings to show off a more creative side to their cooking.

A few years have passed and now Longa is open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with an eclectic menu that barely has a kebab in sight.

On offer is a selection of spice and herb-layered Turkish cooking that feels different to anything else in the city. Small plates include muhammara with simit croutons and Circassian chicken pate, whilst for mains, there’s dishes like beef manti dumplings and mackerel sandwiches.

Much like their brunch menu, Longa also serve sharing boards (£22 per person) which give you the chance to try a selection of dishes. Most of the tables around us seemed to have plumped for this option.

Not wanting to miss out on some of the dishes on the a la carte, we ordered a selection of small plates and a single main.

Malty Efes Draft lager (£6.20) and a zingy, sweet-sour, mint-fragranced Pomegranate Delight mocktail (£5) both hit the spot to accompany our selection of mezze.

Vegetarian chee kofte (£8), given its name because its typically served in the shape of a kofte kebab, was instead served sushi roll style. It was as pretty as a picture and more than delivered on flavour too.

Mince-like Urfa chilli spiced bulgar wheat was rolled in a soft tortilla and topped with blobs of cream cheese and the crunch of crispy onions. The tangy acidity of pomegranate molasses brought the whole dish together.

Sweet and juicy warm roasted cherry tomatoes (£7.50) sat on a pillow of whipped creamy labneh. The crunch of pine nuts, fragrance of lemon and a bouquet of mixed herbs all brought texture and fragrance whilst crisp, yet soft simit croutons were a delicious tool for dipping.

My pick of the starters was a sucuk stew (£9) that was laden with thick hunks of the pokey spiced beef sausage. Combined with a chilli-spiced tomato sauce studded with delicately bitter soft green peppers and topped with an oozy layer of melted cheddar, it made for compelling eating.

Who would have guessed that hot hummus (£9.50) would be so tasty? Served hot, it transformed the thick and creamy dip into a hearty bit of comfort food. It’s probably fair to say that the topping of melted cheese, warming isot chilli butter, and wafer-thin slices of fried pastrami also helped too.

A dip of thick, creamy and tangy whipped feta (£7) was cleverly fragranced with basil and topped with the vivid green of crushed pistachio. It was delicious but by this point we realised that we’d inadvertently ordered most of the richest sounding dishes on the menu.

With a name like Sultan’s Delight (£16) it was no surprise that our choice of main course was as decadent as it gets too. A stew of ridiculously tender slow-cooked beef was coated in a thick and meaty sauce and sat on a pool of the creamiest aubergine purees. It was a lovely bit of rib-sticking cooking.

On the side, a bowl of beautifully fluffy, chickpea-flecked pilav rice (£5) was zhushed up with a liberal addition of butter.

Absolutely stuffed, we somehow managed to find room for a plate of pistachio baklava (£6). Whilst the pastry treat had a lovely crispness, its filling might perhaps have benefited from a bigger crunch and aroma of pistachio. But, I was fully on board with the garnish of a generous dollop of thick clotted cream and a Nutella-esque pistachio cream drizzle.

We had a delicious dinner at Longa but I’m not sure whether all the rich dip-like dishes we chose was the best plan of action. Maybe everyone else around us had it right and a sharing platter is the way to go - we’ll just have to find out the next time we visit.

Whether or not you're already a member of Longa's brunch fan club, I'd definitely recommend a visit for dinner. Their evening opening is unquestionably a welcome boost for Whitchurch Road’s independent hospitality scene.

The Details:

Address - Longa Cafe, 180 Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff CF14 3NB

Web - https://www.longacafe.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2063 2082

Tofu Vegan, Islington, Chinese restaurant review

It always amuses me when I see people ranting about vegan food as though it's a threat to their existence. Spoiler alert, eating a bit less meat, fish or dairy isn’t going to speed up human extinction…

Whilst I enjoy a steak, doner kebab or keema naan as much as the next glutton, I’m fully on board with trying to eat a bit less meat and dairy.

Which brings me to the utterly brilliant Tofu Vegan in London, which serves a menu dedicated to vegan Chinese cookery. As they explain on their menu, it all makes a lot of sense as China has a rich tradition of plant-based cooking with grains, vegetables and tofu forming the core of many people’s diets.

Regional Chinese influences, including Sichuan and Cantonese, can be found across their cooking, with compelling sounding dishes like cloud ear fungus salad with coriander and pickled chilli, Dongbei sweet potato noodle sheets in spicy sesame sauce, hot and fragrant fried cauliflower, and Peking d’ck. 

Okay, I’m not 100% sure about that last one. 

I visited the Islington branch (they also have outlets in Spitalfields and Golders Green) with my good friend Pete, who’s a regular and so could advise on some essential orders. Everything we ate was rammed with flavour and clever texture contrasts.

A bowl of delicately skinned wontons (£7.90) had a minced meat textured, mushroom funked filling. They sat in a deep flavoured and delicately fiery house special sauce.

Sprightly stir-fried water spinach (£8.80) was bathed in a light and savoury dressing with the occasional nugget of potent chilli.

In contrast, crisp battered meaty morsels of oyster mushroom (£13.80), crunchy cashews and fresh spring onions were coated in a comforting sweet and sticky gong bao sauce with a balancing delicate sourness.

Gorgeously crisp-edged and tender morsels of cumin ‘lamm’ (£13.80) were the star of the show. The uncannily meaty tofu pieces were coated in a wonderfully savoury and earthy cumin-based spice mix and flecked with crisp sweet onions and slices of chilli.

It was even better stuffed into a pair of pillowy bao (£3.80).

Finally, a plate of Sichuan stir fry noodles (£8.90) had an addictive smoky savouriness from the wok and were dotted with little pieces of tender pork-esque tofu and crisp beansprouts and onions.

I had a fabulous lunch at Tofu Vegan. If it helps me do my bit for the planet then I'd gladly eat there any day of the week. How selfless of me.

The Details:

Address - Tofu Vegan, 105 Upper St, London N1 1QN

Web - https://tofuvegan.com/

Telephone - 020 7916 3304

Gorse, Pontcanna fine dining restaurant review

Tom, Pontcanna; Thomas, Pontcanna; Tommy, Pontcanna.

It’s surely a glitch in the Matrix that three of Cardiff’s very best chefs all have a variation of the same name and own restaurants within 200m of each other.

Tom Waters and his restaurant Gorse is the newest member of this illustrious trio. Recently shortlisted as Chef to Watch at the National Restaurant Awards, Tom's impressive CV includes stints as sous chef at the now closed Michelin-starred Bonhams in Mayfair and junior sous chef at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck. 

Tom has been operating Gorse as a pop-up for the last couple of years and our visit in November 2022 was a late contender for meal of the year.

In another coup for Pontcanna, Gorse finally opened its permanent home in May on the former site of Kemi’s. 

It’s a bright, modern and intimate space with an understated element of luxury, very much in keeping with Tom’s style of cooking.

There’s a relaxed atmosphere too, in part due to the open kitchen where the team calmly work away and in part due to the friendly front of house team.

I’m already prepared to award Gorse my Cardiff restaurant of the year based on the fact they serve The Kernel’s Table Beer (£5.50), a 3% easy drinker that has bags more flavour and body than many higher ABV beers.

There’s plenty of interest on the wine by the glass too, with highlights including a thick Rijckaert Arbois Savignan (£18) from the Jura, brioche-y Geminae Champagne (£12), and a spice-twanged Bulgarian natural Merlot (£9.50) without any barnyard funk.

On the food front, Gorse offers a set lunch (£35) as well as seven course (£75) and ten course tasting menus (£100). We went big, and then went home.

The meal kicked off with a deeply savoury Pembrokeshire seaweed broth. A light yet mammoth flavoured showcase of Welsh ingredients, it was most certainly a statement of intent.

A slice of sweet bara brith was fried to give it golden crispy edges before being topped with salty and creamy Dolwerdd sheep’s brie. It was a corker of a combination. I’d love to say that shavings of summer truffle brought something extra to the party, but they were rather recessive in their fragrance and flavour.

The final snack was a crisp tart filled with a layer of rich smoked cod’s roe and pearls of cleansing salty trout roe. It pushed its seasoning to the limit but stayed just on the right side of saltiness.

Our first dish proper saw slices of clean-flavoured raw gurnard that were balanced by a creamy horseradish sauce that delivered a good nose-tingling hit of warmth. It was an excellent plate. 

A hearty bowl of silky smooth and rich bone marrow set custard was topped with a roasted kelp sauce, and earthy morel mushrooms. It was all seriously meaty and addictive, with the occasional preserved wild garlic seed providing little pops of top note fragrance and acidity.

Beautifully sweet white spider crab meat was topped with a judicious quantity of decadent caviar. It was joined by a compellingly complex smoked butter and vermouth sauce topped with the savoury hit of kelp oil.

Apparently, most of Pembrokshire’s spider crab heads to France and Tom has used his powers of persuasion to get a fisherman to regularly send him a few. It means we can have some of the good stuff too.

Hear me out, but the next dish reminded me of a McDonald’s hamburger, in a very very good way. A creamy, rich and deeply savoury barley risotto (there was roasted yeast in there somewhere too) with a lovely bite was topped with the crunch of hazelnut and pickled spruce, which had a dill pickle kind of vibe going on. The dish’s deep savouriness and contrasting pickle fragrance transported me straight to the Golden Arches at 1am on a Saturday night.

Gorse’s bread course needs no introduction by now – fresh out the oven, a beautifully light, soft, and delicately sweet bum cheek-esque loaf was mesmerising on its own. But the addition of whipped sea-twanged laver butter took it up another gear.

A wedge of tender charred pointed cabbage was accompanied by a kick ass light-bodied yet luxurious onion bearnaise, the tarragon replaced by a clever allium hit. Mrs G had saved a bit of her bread from the previous course for mopping up some of the sauce. Fortunately, she let me have a bit too.

A flaky fillet of delicately cooked hake sat on top of a mound of sweet leeks in a pool of vivid green little gem lettuce sauce. It was a clean yet also decadent dish.

A big-flavoured piece of Huntsham beef rib had a good bit of texture yet remained tender. On the side, a glossy sauce was spiked with pickled mustard seeds, silky smooth carrot puree and roasted carrot provided sweetness, and a little pile of crispy cabbage was pleasingly reminiscent of Chinese takeaway crispy seaweed.

Onto the sweet courses, and a couple of florally fragrant apple marigold syrup steeped strawberries were hollowed out and filled with cream. We were provided with spoons, but there was only one way to eat these, with our hands.

A sweet and malty crunchy golden crumb and a scoop of silky-smooth brown butter ice cream had the uncanny likeness of eating a lux bowl of cereal. Even more so because it appeared to have been served in a retro glass cereal bowl.

Finally, a trio of treats were all corkers: a gorgeously toasty, warming spice infused, custardy canelé; a soft crumbed lemon thyme cake spiced with coriander seed; and a fragrant slice of apple and chamomile jelly.

We had a cracking meal at Gorse. With its generous, big-flavoured modern Welsh cooking, it’s a brilliant addition to the swankier end of Cardiff’s restaurant scene and I’m sure there will be plenty of accolades coming its way soon. I'd expect nothing less from a restaurant owned by someone called Tom in Pontcanna. 

The Details:

Address - Gorse, 186-188 Kings Rd, Cardiff, CF11 9DF

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

Telephone - 02920 372055

The Star Inn at Harome, Yorkshire Michelin-starred pub review

There aren't many pubs that can lay claim to having had such a broad range of VIP guests as Oliver Cromwell, JB Priestley, Dick Turpin, Sophia Loren and Mrs G.

But then again, there aren't that many Michelin-starred pubs like The Star Inn at Harome in Yorkshire, whose story dates back to the 14th Century.

Since Andrew Pern took over the joint in 1996, The Star has gained a reputation as one of the UK’s best gastropubs. More recently though, they've become well-known for a massive fire which ripped through the building in 2021. Fortunately, The Star and its distinctive thatched roof rose like a phoenix from the ashes and it reopened in 2022 following a year of closure. 

Walking across the threshold on a Saturday lunchtime, it was lovely to see the low-ceilinged bar full of people enjoying a relaxed pint. It was only when we were diverted to the dining room that things took a turn for the lux.

The Star offers both a la carte and tasting menus, with dishes on the former including potted Thirkleby Mill duck (£15), roasted loin of Texel lamb (£40), and Yorkshire rhubarb souffle (£13.50).

But, we decided the lunchtime tasting menu (£65) would give us the best opportunity to try as many different dishes as possible. It also meant Mrs G would have a rare break from me taking photos of her food.

Wand-like breadsticks were very tasty but one was jawbreakingly hard in a few parts. When I flagged it, we were immediately brought a replacement set. There were no issues at all with an accompanying pot of delicious herb oil slicked smoked cod's roe.

The next dish felt like The Star’s philosophy on a plate - hearty pub flavours prepared with precision technique. The lightest of batter lollipops was filled with tender shredded ham hock. Topped with a grating of Pitchfork cheddar and a dollop of sweet and tangy pickle-like Pedro Ximenez gel, it's the kind of bar snack which would be a blockbuster behind bars up and down the country.

An intensely meaty, pepper-twanged chicken broth had all kinds of treats lurking in its depths - briny boquerones, aged parmesan, fatty garlicky croutons and charred lettuce. On paper it was a dish which shared multiple ingredients with a chicken Caesar salad, but the end product was entirely different.

A flaky AF piece of Skrei cod was topped with a smoosh of potato with an unmistakable vinegary hit. It made for an uncannily fish and chip-esque combination. However, the addition of melty lardo and a meaty green peppercorn and caper sauce brought levels of decadence to the prettiest of plates.

It's a cunning move serving your signature dish as an optional extra for £15, because most people are going to fork out the supplement for it. With shades of a luxury fry-up, it was well worth the extra dosh.

A Lady and the Tramp-esque combination of fatty caramelised foie gras and crispy earthy black pudding was accompanied by sweet and tangy apple and vanilla chutney, a sticky scrumpy reduction and a caramelised apple slice. The sweet and zippy garnishes all worked so well with the rich and fatty meat elements.

A gamey piece of hay-aged squab pigeon was given an Asian twist thanks to the addition of a dollop of thick hoisin sauce. Everything else on the dish was rather good too: a little spiced shredded pigeon pastilla, tart pickled rhubarb, charred pak choi and a light spiced pigeon sauce.

Dessert was one of standouts of the meal. It was thanks to the presence of a couple of clever savoury elements - an earthy Jerusalem artichoke parfait (which would have benefited from a few more minutes defrosting) and a drizzle of umami-rich truffle honey (doing a similar yet different job to miso or salt). A thick and toasty blonde chocolate cremeux, a ball of charred fermented apple, white chocolate aero and nut brittle were all also first-class components.

I'm used to just a couple of petit fours at the end of the meal to accompany coffee. But at The Star, a ceramic bag was filled from the bottom to the brim with blood orange pate de fruit, fresh mint scented dark chocolate truffles and lemon thyme topped buttery fudge. Of course, I polished them all off.

We had a delicious meal at The Star. The high-end classical cooking on their tasting menu certainly feels like it has more in common with fine dining than pub grub. In fact, if I have any criticism then I think the menu would have benefited from a few more carbs, whether that’s a bread course or some spuds. Next time we visit, I’d be very keen to try their a la carte to see if it sits any further along the spectrum towards pub cooking.

The Details:

Address -  The Star Inn, Main Street, Harome, near Helmsley YO62 5JE

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

Telephone - 01439 770397

21 Newcastle Quayside restaurant review

If you’ve been dozing off at the number of North East restaurant reviews I’ve written over the last few months, then I’d like to reassure you that I’m not gradually becoming a Newcastle-based food blogger.

However, if I ever did, then Terry Laybourne’s Newcastle-based 21 Hospitality Group would be top of the list of places I’d be banging the drum about on a regular basis.

Their gastropub, The Broad Chare, serves exemplary takes on pub classics as well as an interesting selection of craft beer.

Whilst neighbouring St Vincent serves a corking selection of wine by the glass as well as a captivating menu which draws influences from across France and Italy.

Located just around the corner on Newcastle's Quayside is 21, the family's flagship restaurant. Oxymoronically, it bills itself as a “classic, modern bistro”. It’s certainly got the swankiest feel of the 21 Group restaurants we’ve visited, with its crisp linen tablecloths and more formal approach to service.

In keeping with its siblings, 21’s cooking is big on flavour and technique whilst at the same being free from fuss. On the a la carte, dishes include Provencal fish soup (£13.50), cheddar cheese and spinach soufflé (£14.50), and tournedos Rossini (£44.50). There’s also a £70 seasonal five course tasting menu on offer.

But, always on the look out for a bargain, we visited 21 for their £36 three course set menu, which is available lunch and dinner Tuesday to Thursday as well as lunch and early evening on a Saturday.

Pre-dinner drinks in the bar were accompanied by short and intensely cheesy dinky biscuits, which made for a compelling little snack.

Whilst 21’s wine by the glass selection isn’t quite as exciting as St Vincent’s, we both really enjoyed glasses of Akemi Rioja Blanco (£12.75) and Weinhaus Ress Riesling (£12.50).

A basket of complimentary first class crusty baguette was served with golden salty butter. Don't get me wrong, I love sourdough as much as the next hipster, but it does seem to be ubiquitous on restaurant menus.

Plump tempura oysters (£13.50 for three) were coated in the lightest and airiest of batters. They were sat on blobs of ozone twanged oyster mayo, which dialled up the shellfish intensity.

Onto starters, and a meaty tartare of fresh and smoked salmon had just the right hint of smoke. Topped with a dollop of crème fraîche, its richness was balanced by the clarity of an apple and cucumber dressing.

A quartet of golden cube-shaped croquettes were filled with tender shredded pork. Flecked with capers and accompanied by pickled shallots they both provided pops of acidity against the rich pork and fragrant wild garlic mayo.

For mains, a hunk of confit duck was a lovely marriage of crisp skin and tender flesh. Accompanied by sweet baby onions, salty lardons, duck fat potatoes, sweet peas and a meaty jus, it was a refined take on a classic dish.

A pair of crisp-skinned seabream fillets were bathed in a compelling beurre noisette. If there was any risk of a shortage of butter on the dish, our fears were assuaged by a dollop of golden butter enriched silky mashed potato. Salty brown shrimp and samphire all brought extra seasoning to the plate.

Dessert delivered the best dish of the meal. A slice of Amalfi lemon tart was filled with the silkiest of custards with just the right hit of tart and fragrant citrus. But the impeccably crisp and thin pastry case deserves a special mention as far too often it’s soft pastry that lets the side down. 

I’ve noticed that you can order a whole lemon tart from 21 to eat at home, so that’s what I’ll be doing next time I’m in Newcastle by myself.

Finally, a gorgeously creamy white chocolate panna cotta had the perfect wobble. Tart and fragrant gooseberries (I wish I saw more of one of my top three fruits on restaurant menus) bathed in elderflower syrup were great, whilst shortbread nuggets provided crunch.

An Americano was accompanied by delicious chocolates filled with squidgy salted caramel.

We had a superb lunch at 21. Much like its stablemates it offers textbook hospitality whilst at the same time bringing something unique to the party.

The Details:

Address - 21, One Trinity Gardens, Pandon, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2HH

Web - https://21newcastle.co.uk/home/the-restaurant/

Telephone - (0191) 222 0755