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
Telephone - 029 2063 2082
Lovely Staff & Great Food
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