I didn’t expect a Cardiff pizza place to give me a lesson in urban geography. But, prior to picking up Mrs G after a visit to Dusty’s Pizza in Llanishen last year, I had no idea that the little row of shops which they call home even existed.
Tucked away in the middle of a housing estate on Llangranog Road, it’s the kind of location where you’d most certainly have a valid claim to use the well-worn cliché “hidden gem”.
Since the heyday of the Dusty’s empire when they had outlets in street food venues like Barry Goodsheds and Founders & Co. in Swansea alongside restaurants Kindle and Nook, there’s been a scaling back in the size of the business.
However, Dusty’s are one of the OG’s of Cardiff’s artisanal pizza game for good reason and so a visit to their Llanishen restaurant was long overdue.
We visited early on a weekday evening at our preferred kiddy teatime of 5.30pm. Whilst we were the first people to arrive, their woodfired pizza oven was roaring and ready to go.
Dusty’s have a great selection of craft beer with offerings from breweries like Polly’s, Verdant and Cloudwater. However, with a Polly’s 5% pale ale weighing in at £7.60 a can, I do wonder how accessible some of the pricing is. I plumped for an excellent can of Cloudwater Happy Easy Pale Ale (£6.10), which was super crushable with plenty of fresh hops.
Mrs G meanwhile, enjoyed a glass of soft and fruity Gran Cerdo white Rioja (£6.50 for a 175ml glass). It’s interesting to note that a pricing glitch means it’s cheaper to drink wines at Dusty’s by the glass in comparison to buying a whole bottle (£29).
Dusty’s menu includes a mixture of classic and creative pizzas, with examples including the Buffalo (£12) topped with gorgonzola, roasted red peppers and pickled celery, and the intriguingly titled Death of Rob (£14.50), which is adorned with blue cheese, goats cheese, ’nduja and chilli.
When we visited, the menu was more compact than usual as Phill the owner was away on holiday. So, alongside the pizzas, there were a couple of snacks and sides, fries, dips and two desserts.
Whilst we waited for our pizzas to be prepared a trough of seasoned fries (£4.50) arrived as a timely starter. They were everything you’d want from a bowl of fried spuds – crisp, golden, well-salted and plentiful in quantity.
But, the kicker was a mini cast iron pan of Russian dressing (£2), which had clearly been given a lot of condiment consideration. Dressed with fragrant dill and flecked with pieces of gherkin, the creamy and tangy dip was highly reminiscent of Big Mac sauce. I could have happily dredged fries, bits of pizza crust, or any other beige carb through it all day long.
Both of our pizzas were well-topped whoppers with thin bases and light and crisp crusts that had a delicate chew. There was also no doubting the quality of the fresh and fruity San Marzano tomato sauce and creamy mozzarella either.
A Double Pepperoni (£14) more than lived up to its billing as it was crammed to the edges with crisp discs of thinly sliced fatty sausage. But there was plenty more going too – there were nubbins of fiery green chilli, a dusting of savoury parmesan, and most interestingly, the crust was glazed with sticky and spicy hot honey. Whilst it made for a messy eat, I liked that the hot honey hadn’t been drizzled over the whole pizza as it can often make everything a bit sweet.
Mrs G’s 'Nduja (£13.50) was a lot more creative than its understated title suggested. Topped with plenty of the fiery spreadable sausage, it was accompanied by a vibrant green pesto, slices of zingy pink pickled onion and nuggets of tangy goats cheese. It was a cracking combination of flavours.
We had belting dinner at Dusty’s with their delicious creatively topped pizzas, super friendly service and delicious booze. If you haven’t had a chance to visit them in their north Cardiff home then I’d highly recommend a visit.
The Details:
Address - Dusty's Pizza, 9 Llangranog Road, Llanishen, Cardiff CF14 5BL
Telephone - I couldn't find a way to get hold of them via telephone so I assume it's walk-ins only
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