Ogof, Pontcanna, Cardiff restaurant and wine bar review

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Pontcansas anymore.

Of all the restaurants to open in Cardiff in the past few years, Ogof reminds me the most of places I’ve visited in the Big Smoke like Cafe Deco and 40 Maltby Street.  

It’s understandable really, as Ogof is the debut restaurant from Alex Vines, Zanna Clarke and Siôn Iorwerth. Alex, a big talent, who’s previously run a series of delicious pop-ups in Cardiff, has stints at 40 Maltby Street and Rochelle Canteen on his CV. Siôn, meanwhile, previously owned one of Vancouver’s first natural wine bars. 

Located in the Pontcanton hinterland, Ogof is based in the former home of Patagonia, La Cuina and latterly Poca. With its chalkboard menu of produce-led seasonal cooking, shelves laden with natural wines, modern minimalist interior and hulking retro hi-fi system, it’s a venue which radiates trendiness. 

Ogof, which means Cave in Welsh, takes its inspiration from the French “cave à manger” tradition of wine and food focused businesses. At lunchtime Ogof serves a pared back menu of sandwiches, salads and bakes. Whilst in the evening, there’s more substantial cooking on offer. 

With a lunchtime to spare on Christmas Eve, Mrs G and I took the opportunity to give their lunch menu a run for its money. 

But first, the wines. If you’re into all things funky and natural then Ogof’s selection will be very much up your street. There’s a trio of house wines on tap, a few specials by the glass and a big range of bottles to choose from. 

I really enjoyed a glass of cloudy Cerreto Malvasia di Candia (£8), which had plenty of fresh citrus. We also had glasses of Bovin Gamay d’Auvergne (£6.50) and a Domaine Einhart Pinot Blanc Chardonnay blend (£6.50) that Mrs G thought were highly quaffable. I liked them, but felt they were both a touch barnyardy for my taste.

Soft drinks really impressed. A fig leaf and lime cordial (£4) had a wonderfully coconutty and zingy thing going on. Whilst an excellent L'Antidote sparkling spiced Gamay grape juice (£5) was slightly reminiscent of chilled mulled wine. 

Onto the food, and a buttermilk fried pheasant sandwich (£12) saw a deliciously crisp and light crumbed focaccia stuffed with hunks of tender boneless bird coated in golden batter. Fresh slaw provided an excellent counterpoint. This was a corker of a sarnie.

An excellent riff on a Caesar salad (£9.50) combined a tumble of crisp radicchio and sprout tops with toasty-edged roast sprouts and sweet caramelised onions coated in a potently rich and creamy Caesar dressing. A snowdrift of savoury cheese and a scattering of crisp croutons completed the interesting and delicious salad. 

Alex Vines's veg cookery always impresses and a celeriac and apple gratin (£13.50) was no exception. Soft cubes of earthy celeriac and apple pieces were baked in a rich and savoury sauce made with cider, mushroom stock and cream that was topped with caramelised breadcrumbs. Leaves of radicchio, slices of cleansing apple and nuggets of funky Trefaldwyn blue cheese provided excellent contrast. 

Impeccably crisp, salty and fluffy fried potatoes (£5) were accompanied by a pool of golden aioli which delivered just right level of garlic honk.

Finally, a quince pie (£5), which was sat in a pool of cream, delivered festive vibes on Christmas Eve. A super short pastry case was filled with soft and fragrant pear like quince, sweet sultanas and winter spice, and topped with a buttery crumb. 

It was lovely washed down with cups of Welsh Brew tea (£2.50) and Hard Lines filter coffee (£2.50). 

We had a belter of a festive lunch at Ogof and I can't wait to return to try their dinner menu. It's great to see Alex Vines's precisely executed rustic seasonal cooking find a permanent home in Cardiff and Ogof is a great addition to the city’s restaurant scene.  

The Details:

Address - Ogof, 11 Kings Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9BZ
Web - https://www.ogofcardiff.co.uk/ 

Qamariyah, Adamsdown, Cardiff Yemeni restaurant review

When an old friend told me he was going to be in town to deliver a guest lecture on the history of Islam in Cardiff, we hatched a plan to go out for dinner.

Of course, there was only one type of restaurant we were going to visit – a Yemeni one.

Firstly, because Cardiff’s Yemeni population is one of the oldest Muslim communities in the UK.

Secondly, because an anecdote and a few photos from our meal would provide some additional content to pad out his lecture.

Our destination of choice was Qamariyah, a recently opened gaff that’s located on the former site of Mowlana in Adamsdown. Having enjoyed a pint at the Four Elms around the corner, we were ready to guzzle some slow cooked meat.

Named after the half-moon shaped stained-glass windows that form an important part of Yemen’s architecture, Qamariyah is a bright and modern place that mixes tables and chairs with traditional floor seating.

Whilst Qamariyah’s lamb mandi is the headliner on their menu, other dishes on offer include aqda’ah (a traditional Yemeni stew), fuul (fava beans cooked with vegetables and spices) and spiced seabass.

As Qamariyah is booze free, we both stuck to the fresh juices. Lime and mint juice (£4) was deliciously fresh and zingy whilst mango juice hit the mark too (£4).

I let my friend choose what we were going to eat for dinner and we seriously over-ordered. So much so that we were asked to move to a bigger table to accommodate all our food.

Firstly, it’s fair to say that Mowlana have handed over the mantle of Cardiff’s biggest sharing bread to Qamariyah. A ginormous mulawah bread (£2.50) took up half the table. Crisp, flaky, soft, and elastic, it reminded me of a cross between a paratha and a naan. It was seriously good.

Lamb mandi (£12.99), a dish which needs no introduction, saw pieces of yieldingly tender slow-cooked and spiced lamb sat on a bed compellingly fragrant and fluffy rice. Whilst crispy onions appeared to be bought in (unlike the homemade ones at Hadramowt), they provided welcome crunchy contrast. It was another fine example of this addictively comforting dish.

Chicken mandi (£8.99) was also excellent, the meat commendably juicy and fragrant. But, I think the lamb edged it for me.

Key to the success of both of these dishes were little bowls of fragrant salsa that delivered a richness balancing hit of fresh tomato and a little kick of chilli.

The two other dishes we tried were both excellent. In fact, we both agreed the liver (£8) was the standout of the meal.

A sizzling skillet of finely sliced pieces of earthy offal were nicely crisp around the edges whilst remaining soft and tender. They were coated in a compellingly savoury spice mix and flecked with crisp pieces of green and red peppers.

Fahsa (£11), a traditional Yemeni stew, was more meat than sauce… I’m not complaining. A flavour-packed lamb broth was loaded with tender shreds of slow-cooked lamb. A green herb sauce brought fragrance and freshness to the rich dish.

Stuffed, I had plenty of food leftover to bag up for lunch the next day. So, I was grateful for my learned colleague’s overordering.  

With its comforting cooking and good value pricing, Qamariyah is another Cardiff Yemeni restaurant that’s definitely worth visiting. My friend was mightily impressed too and I hope that he managed to find Qamariyah a few new customers by giving them a shout out in his lecture.  

The Details:

Address - Qamariyah, 2 Four Elms Road, Cardiff CF24 1LE
Web - https://qamariyah.com/
Telephone -  029 2297 0249

Spitfire Barbecue, Cardiff city centre restaurant review

Since Hang Fire Southern Kitchen closed its doors in 2021, there's been a smoke ring shaped hole in south Wales’s barbecue scene.

So, despite 2025 being another shocker of a year for the hospitality industry, it was exciting to see two brand new barbecue restaurants arriving in Cardiff within a matter of weeks of each other.

Spitfire Barbecue was the first to open its doors in Cardiff city centre at the end of September. With a solitary sister restaurant in Bristol, Spitfire interestingly blends Texan style BBQ with South African braai influences.

The second new BBQ joint to open was Hickory’s Smokehouse in St Mellon's. Owned by Greene King and part of a nationwide chain of over 30 restaurants, their original independent roots date back to Chester back in 2010.

Despite one being an independent the other a chain, one thing that they both have in common is that a number of influencers lined up to praise both restaurants during their opening weeks… of course after having had free food.

With Mrs G away for work, it was an opportune time to guzzle some barbecue, and my friend Alex was my partner in crime. A self-confessed smoked meat strumpet, he’s even got a barbecue themed tattoo. 

On a Wednesday evening at 6.30pm, Spitfire was impressively busy both upstairs and downstairs. It certainly gave off the right smokehouse vibes with its painted brickwork, earthy tones, and wood panelling.

Spitfire’s menu comprises of starters like cornbread bites (£4.20) and pork belly rashers (£6.85) as well as things in bread such as pulled pork sandwiches (£9.95) and double cheeseburgers (£13.85). But the Texas pit barbecue section is where the most fun is to be had, allowing you to construct your own platter with items priced by weight or the slice.

On the drinks front, Spitfire’s house pale ale (£6.80), brewed by Bristol’s Arbor, very much hit the spot. Easy drinking at 4.2% ABV and with a good hit of citrusy hops, I could definitely have sunk a few pints of the stuff.

Onto the food and our barbecue tray was a handsome beast. There were some definite highs, some good and a couple of lows.

Starting with the best of the stuff, and Spitfire’s jalapeno cheese sausage (£6.95) was a thing of beauty. An absolute whopper, it was juicy and smoky with pops of spicy pepper and oozes of filthy cheese. If there was any doubting how juicy it was, a stray spurt splattered Alex’s white jumper whilst he was cutting into it.

Spitfire’s signature St. Louis rib (£23.95) was very good too. Straight out of the Flintstone’s in its proportions, the slab of bone in pork belly had a deep crusty bark, unmistakeable smoke ring, soft seam of fat and tender flesh. 

It was lovely paired with Spitfire’s house sauces, a smoky and not too sweet barbecue sauce and a well layered Louisiana hot sauce. 

Smoked chicken wings (£7.50) were delicious despite not being particularly smoky. Their commendably crisp skin, juicy flesh and a zingy Buffalo sauce coating were all plus points. 

Pulled pork (£4.65 per 100g) had good flavour and the meat was nice and tender. But I felt that it had been overly pulled in places, resulting in a slightly mushy texture. It would have nice to see a few bigger shreds and nuggets of meat. 

Brisket is the most unforgiving of meats to smoke and so unsurprisingly it’s here where the real disappointments lay. A pair of slices (£7.65 per slice) had a fairly tight texture, were lacking in smokiness and leant towards the dryer end of the spectrum. Whilst they were pleasant, they weren’t at the same level as the pork and chicken. 

Brisket burnt ends (£10.85) were even more of a let down. Whilst they had a bigger hit of smoke and more flavoursome bark than the brisket slices, they were dry instead of being the indulgently soft and mouth melting bits of meat that normally make this cut so compelling. 

Back onto the sides and I very much enjoyed Spitfire’s mac and cheese (£4.50). The pasta still had a good bite, and it was coated in a rich cheesy sauce with a caramelised crust.

Pit beans (£3.95), whilst a little too saucy, had a lovely soft texture and spicing to them and were nicely flecked with nuggets of bacon. 

Overall, I enjoyed dinner at Spitfire despite the couple of duff elements. Alex liked it too, even though Hickory’s slightly edged it for him. I guess I’ll have to go and find out for myself. 

Spitfire is a welcome addition to Cardiff city centre and if you’re looking for a barbecue fix then I think it’s well worth checking out. 

The details:

Address - Spitfire Barbecue Cardiff, 39-41 St Mary Street, Cardiff CF10 1AD
Web - https://www.spitfirebarbecue.com/
Telephone - 029 2297 0671

Zawa, Cardiff city centre, Middle Eastern street food review

If you’ve ever visited St Nick’s Market in Bristol then there’s a very good chance you’ll have come across Matina.

In case you need a primer, it’s a Middle Eastern food stall that sells delicious kebab wraps and salads; there’s always been a hefty queue outside it whenever I’ve visited; and it can be identified by the ridiculously large mountains of colourful salad that sit on its counter. If they get through that much salad every day, then they must be selling a serious number of kebabs.

Anyway, I’ll get to the point… Cardiff now has its own answer to Matina in the form of Zawa.

Located in Cardiff City Centre’s Hayes Island, Zawa is owned by cousins of the team behind Matina. They’ve clearly taken Bristol’s winning formula and transferred it over the Severn Bridge.

The first giveaway are those distinctive summits of salad, which are more Mount Snowdons compared to Bristol’s Everests.

Much like its cousin, Zawa offers a compact menu of naan wraps and salad boxes that are filled with a choice of chargrilled meat or halloumi.

With everything costing between £5.90 and £8.50, it’s the kind of thing you could eat on a regular basis without feeling too spenny.

On a Monday lunchtime, a queue formed soon after we’d placed our order at 1pm and we overheard a regular lamenting that the line will be too big if they become much more popular.

Wanting to try Zawa’s two key dishes, I ordered the mixed chicken and lamb salad box with rice (£8.50) whilst Mrs G ordered the mixed naan wrap (£8.50). As all the meat was cooked to order, there was about a ten-minute wait for it to be ready.

My hefty salad box was a riot of colour and flavour and a substantial meal for a growing man like me (I’m referring to my waistline, of course). Golden edged pieces of saffron stained chicken shish and well-herbed and juicy lamb kofte were sat on a generous pile of fluffy, cardamom fragranced rice. Fresh as you like salads included fresh mixed leaves, zingy red cabbage and lightly pickled white cabbage.

Homemade sauces showed a level of attention to detail that sets Zawa apart from the average kebab shop. There was tzatziki stacked with green herbs; hot and smoky harissa; sweet chilli that deftly avoided cloying sweetness; thick hummus; and a pomegranate jewelled salad dressing.

Mrs G ordered the mixed chicken and lamb naan, and it scored a two on the guinea pig scale i.e. it was the size of approximately two guinea pigs.

Essentially the same as my salad box but with a freshly made, soft, crisp and elastic naan instead of rice, it was an absolute belter of a kebab. Every mouthful contained a good mix of meat, salad, bread and sauce.

Lunch at Zawa was lush and cracking value for the quality and portions. It’s probably only a matter of time before they build up a cult following to rival Bristol’s Matina. The only thing going against them is the Welsh weather and the fact there’s nowhere to queue under shelter when it inevitably rains. Still, if it means the wait will be shorter, I’ll be packing my waterproofs.

The Details:

Address - Zawa, The Hayes Island, Cardiff CF10 1AH

Web - https://www.instagram.com/zawa.cardiff/

Telephone - 07472 747454

Sôs, Cardiff pop-up restaurant review

Sauces are often the underrated MVP of a plate of food. Bringing everything together whilst providing balance, acidity, levity or decadence, they’re regularly what differentiates a good dish from a great dish.

Whether it’s gravy, bearnaise, curry, hollandaise or ketchup, sauces deserve just as much of the plaudits as a slab of meat or a pile of potatoes. 

So, the fact that Sôs, Cardiff’s newest pop-up have given sauces the spotlight in their name is nice to see. 

Either that, or Sôs is a mayday call to save the UK’s hospitality scene, which seems to be constantly lurching from crisis to the next. 

Sôs is owned by business and real-life partners Rhodri Davies and Ri Meredith, who have both worked in some of Cardiff’s most high-profile kitchens, including the Heathcock and Heaney’s. Most recently, Ri was most part of the team to establish Ember as one of Cardiff’s best new recent openings whilst Rhodri has headed up the kitchen at Bodega in Lakeside. 

Having decided to strike out on their own with Sôs, Rhodri and Ri have been running pop-ups at Alex Gooch on Whitchurch Road since the end of September. 

When we saw that they were planning a collaboration weekend with the excellent State of Love and Trust in Lakeside, it gave us the impetus we needed to book a table. One of Cardiff’s best wine and beer shops, you can always rely on State to serve up delicious booze. 

£95 per person bought us a six-course menu with six tasting pours of wine - a fair price considering we've paid £75 for just a wine flight in a couple of restaurants this year.

As expected, Nat from State of Love and Trust had chosen an interesting selection of wines that each worked extremely well with their paired dish. What made the evening all the more enjoyable was Nat’s storytelling about the background to each wine and the rationale for why he had selected the pairing. 

Dinner started off strong with a posh take on chips and sauce. High end fried stuff is always the way to my heart. Super crisp and golden halves of sweet and earthy Jerusalem artichoke were dusted with savoury seaweed and accompanied by a dollop of sharp and fiery hot sôs that was tempered by thick and creamy smoked crème fraiche. The nuttiness of a glass of flor-influenced Hogan “The Lift” South African Chenin Blanc was the ideal foil. 

Next up was cuttlefish, a dish which can so easily be chewy in the wrong hands. Fortunately, a swift cook meant that it was as tender as it could possibly be with nicely caramelised edges. Soft and sweet burnt leeks and the anise hit of tarragon oil completed a light yet whopping flavoured dish. This time, a fragrant Flowergirl Albariño was another corker of a pairing. 

Onto the meat dishes, and pork belly and its paired wine were the standout of the night for me. A nudgingly tender whorl of belly with melting fat had been slow-cooked in Gwynt Y Ddraig dry cider before being scattered with nuggets of crisp crackling. Both accompanying sauces were belters - a rich and buttery sauce made using the reduced cooking liquor and a balancing sweet and sharp apple caramel puree. Domaine Sylvain Pataille Aligote, a creamy and decadent Burgundy white, held up extremely well against the rich meat. 

Venison was perhaps the most traditional looking of the dishes we ate but it was still delicious. A ruby red hunk of gamey meat was served alongside a disc of confit turnip whose flavour had been amped up by cooking it in beef fat. A glossy meat sauce, fragrant and zingy plum puree and almost Bovril-esque black garlic puree all brought something different to the dish. A raspberry-packed Peitro Caciorgna Etna Rosso was another top drawer a pairing. 

Sôs’s baked cream is most certainly part of the same branch of the family tree as a Basque cheesecake. A mound of smooth, thick and tangy vanilla-fragranced baked cream had compelling toasty and caramelised notes that worked exceptionally well with a sweet sherry poached pear, the crunch of roasted pecans and the acidity of a pear puree. Bodegas Cesar Florido Cream sherry, the same booze as which the pear was poached in, was a smooth, sweet and raisin-y accompaniment. 

Finally, the bonus course was a bonne bouche of aerated white chocolate topped with a blob of sharp blackberry puree. Tasty as it was, the booze pairing was the star of this course for me. A mixed berry mead from the acclaimed Superstition Meadery in Arizona had a brilliant fruit intensity and balancing acidity. 

We had a hell of a good meal from Sôs accompanied by some belting wines from State of Love and Trust. Rhod and Ri’s cooking combines big comforting flavours with bang-on technique, and I look forward to seeing what they’ve got planned next for Sôs. In the meantime, they're still popping up at Alex Gooch on Friday and Saturday nights until just before Christmas. 

The Details:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sos_with_a_hat/
Booking: Google Docs form