Asador 44, Cardiff set lunch review 2025

Whilst Asador 44 is still always close to the top of my list of Cardiff’s best restaurants, it’s been over five years since it last appeared on the blog.

So, whilst this isn’t an ‘AD | exclusive first look’ or a ‘sneak peak [sic]’ of a new restaurant to visit, it’s a reminder about one of the city’s best hospitality businesses.

Whenever I’ve ever visited a Grupo 44 restaurant over the last 13 years, I’ve always found that the food, service, booze, and atmosphere have all hit the mark. An impressive feat of consistency.

With Mrs G’s mother’s birthday falling on a Monday, a notoriously tricky day of the week for finding a good restaurant that’s open, Asador 44 was the obvious candidate for the festivities.

As the name suggests, Asador 44 is inspired by Spanish asadors, where steak, fish, vegetables and various cuts of meat are lovingly grilled over charcoal. Standout sharing dishes on Asador 44's menu include the likes of Spanish ex-dairy sirloins, slow-cooked Welsh lamb shoulder, and whole turbot.

But, their Monday to Friday £35 three course set lunch menu, which we all plumped for, takes some beating when it comes to bang for your buck.

Wines by the glass all hit the mark, from Deutz Champagne (£14) and Vilarnau Cava (£6.50) to a house UVA 44 Albarino and Godello white blend (£6.50) and Barahonda Monastrell red (£6.30).

To keep the wolf from the door we snaffled fat slabs of smoky chargrilled sourdough (£4.50) that were served with porky, paprika-twanged sobrasada butter and top notch gordal olives (£4.90) that were elevated with a scattering of lemon and parsley.

To start, crisp-skinned, lightly charred oily mackerel was accompanied by a creamy ajo blanco, cleansing grapes and salty sea herbs. It was a first-rate bit of fish cookery. Mrs G’s mum also very much enjoyed a vegetarian dish of wild mushroom and aubergine with root vegetable pisto.

The first main was an absolute belter of a meaty hake fillet served with broccoli and capers scattered with a chorizo crumb. It says a lot that Mrs G didn’t allow me more than a single mouthful.

My main was as good any rice dish that I’ve eaten lately, and we’ve just got back from Alicante. A belter of a crusty edged Welsh short rib nudged off the bone with ease and was sat on a bed of seriously savoury and meaty arroz dressed with vibrantly herby salsa verde. The cast iron pan in which the rice was cooked and served enabled the formation of an addictively crusty soccarat at its base.

Crisp and salty olive oil fries were one of the two included side options. They were of course my pick and alongside the rice formed an unnecessarily indulgent Spanish take on half and half. I wonder if they call it mitad y mitad over there… or perhaps it’s just a Welsh thing?

A heritage tomato salad was made with sweet ripe toms with bags of flavour that were drizzled with quality olive oil, moscatel vinegar and savoury dried black olives. It was certainly the more sensible option out of the two side dishes.

For dessert, a dollop of dark chocolate mousse had a thick almost ganache like texture. Sprinkled with salt and accompanied by a fudge-like brown butter ganache, and a dinky shortbread round, it was a rich yet very tasty dessert. I think perhaps it would have been even better if the main component had a lighter texture as it was all a little heavy.

A crème Catalan choux bun (£9) was a very clever riff on a classic Spanish pud. A light and crisp pastry bun was filled with citrus twanged egg rich custard and topped with cleansing segments of blood orange and candied pistachios.

As you can already probably guess, we had a cracker of a lunch at Asador 44 and once again everything hit the mark. Whether it’s a weekday set lunch, a Sunday roast or dinnertime blowout, it’s undoubtedly one of Cardiff’s best restaurant options.

The Details:

Address - Asador 44, Quay Street, Cardiff CF10 1EA
Web - https://asador44.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2002 0039

Shiraz Grill, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff Persian restaurant review

When is a kebab shop not a kebab shop? When it’s a Persian grill house hiding in plain sight.

To the casual passerby, Shiraz Grill on Whitchurch Road gives off the same impression as any other kebab shop.

With its plastic signage, bright lighting, functional decor and a layout dominated by a takeaway counter with just a trio of tables for dining in, this seems like the kind of place to come for a mixed doner and chips.

But, Shiraz Grill is an entirely different beast.

This Persian grill house’s plasma screen menu features exciting sounding starters like mast moosir (shallots mixed with yoghurt) and panir sabzi (mint, tarragon, basil, radish, feta and walnuts). In the grill section, options include lamb liver, chenjeh (marinated lamb neck fillet), and sea bass.

The friendly chef saw us gawping at the menu for an age and talked us through the different cuts of meat on offer. We settled on one lamb and one chicken dish.

Whilst waiting for our starter, we were brought generous baskets of fresh herb salad. The potent mix of basil, coriander and mint was delicious dressed with a squeeze of orange juice (I’m not sure if that was the correct protocol or not). It certainly made a nice change to the usual kebab shop offering of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, tomato and onion.

To start, a whopping bowl of kashk bademjan (£4) was one hell of a dip. A thick mix of aubergine pulp, garlic, whey and walnuts topped with crispy onions made for an addictively earthy, smoky and herby flavour combination.

We dolloped it liberally over a pair of pleasingly soft and stretchy complimentary warm naan.

Both our mains were presented on ornate platters, elevating our understated surroundings into a banquet fit for royalty.

Saffron chicken, aka joojeh (£10.50), saw a skewer of juicy, fragrant and char-licked meat accompanied by a gargantuan portion of impeccably fluffy rice as well as sweet and soft grilled tomatoes and lightly bitter green peppers. Perched on top of the rice was a couple of packets of butter, in case you wanted to lux things up even more.

Soltani (£15) combined two different types of lamb. Kubideh, which was made with super juicy and well-seasoned minced lamb, was definitely the standout of the pair. Barg, made with lamb loin fillet had very good flavour but a fair amount of chew.

Chilli sauce was bought in but it had a really good fiery heat and punch of acidity. I think I might try and pick up a bottle for my kitchen table. 

Whilst Shiraz Grill might look understated, this is a lovely Persian restaurant. From the warm welcome to the spotless interior and prettily presented food, it’s a welcome addition to Whitchurch Road’s diverse array of restaurants.

Whilst they don’t serve alcohol, it’s handily located just a few metres over the road from Pop n Hops. So, you can also have a few halves of excellent craft beer before or after dinner.

The Details:

Address - Shiraz Grill, 200a, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 3NB

Web - https://shiraz-grill.co.uk/

Ffos Caerffili, Caerphilly street food market review

Chris “Flamebaster” Roberts’ new TV series Chris Cooks Cymru is one of the best Welsh cookery shows we’ve seen in years. It was so addictive that we binged it in two sittings on iPlayer.

Chris, a former care worker from Caernarfon, is a natural presenter who knocks up delicious looking fire food and clearly loves guzzling Welsh food and drink as much as I do.

Each episode focuses on the food scene in a different Welsh towns or city. Watching the series immediately made me want to pack my bags and set off on a gastronomic tour of Cymru.

Fortunately, Caerphilly, the focus of one the episodes, is just up the road. So, we got off our backsides and headed to Ffos Caerffili, a shipping container street food market and retail court.

Ffos Caerffili is home to a range of retail outlets including a butcher, fishmonger and off licence. But we were there to nosh our way around their compact selection of six street food vendors, which includes Bab Haus Mex, Acme Burgers, Estraneo Pizza, and Bao Selecta.

Whilst Ffos Caerfilli is primarily an outdoor set up, it's useful to know that there’s plenty of undercover seating. The upstairs seating area is the lightest and has the best views of the always impressive Caerphilly Castle.

Ffos Caerffili’s beer selection is better than any other street food market I’ve visited in Wales. With two beers on tap from Caerphilly-based Dark Element, arguably the most exciting new brewery in Wales, we knocked back half pints of their hoppy and easy drinking Earthbound and Nostalgia pale ales. There were also a couple of beers on tap from Cardiff’s ever reliable Crafty Devil.

 

Food ordering takes place via QR codes on tables and service was impressively speedy, even on a busy Saturday lunchtime.

Leyli Homayoonfar’s Bab Haus are bona fide street food royalty with outlets in Newport Market and Barry Goodsheds as well as a Smoke Shop HQ just up the road in Bedwas. Leyli’s whopping flavoured Mexican, Persian and American flame food always packs in so much flavour.

On the menu at Bab Haus Mex are loaded nachos, burritos, tacos and burrito bowls. But, there’s no getting past their signature smoked beef birria tacos (£12.90) which are as good as any street food dish I’ve eaten in the UK.

A pair of meat juice-soaked corn tortillas were packed to the edges with shreds of super tender, meaty and well-spiced smoked beef birria that were coated with a golden rim of crusty melted mozzarella. Additional pops of flavour come from zingy tajin spice powder, fresh coriander, pink pickled onions, and an excellent haus hot sauce. The kicker was a pot of beef consommé, which was more reminiscent of a thick and spicy beef gravy that happened to be studded with even more chunks of beef.

Acme Burger is a sister to Cardiff stalwarts Dusty’s Pizza and their menu divides its focus between smashed burgers, buttermilk chicken sandwiches, and loaded fries.

This was the second bacon double cheeseburger (£12.50) which I’d eaten from Acme in the space of two weeks, and it was even better than the first one. It was a meaty mess that required at least three napkins. 

A golden squidgy steamed challah bun was home to a pair of smashed patties that had a really good beefiness, two types of oozy cheese, crisp smoked streaky bacon, a sweet and savoury onion relish and whipped bacon cream cheese.

It’s been a long while since I’ve eaten a bao from Bao Selecta, who also have a permanent home in Cardiff Market, but their vegan crispy beef bao (£10) were still just as good as a remember them.

A pair of soft steamed buns were loaded with crisp pieces of battered seitan coated in a sweet, sticky and spicy chilli ginger glaze as well as richness balancing pickled cucumbers and onions. The meaty chew of the seitan meant this vegan dish did a very impressive job at imitating Chinese takeaway crispy chilli beef.

On the side, a pot of kimchi slaw (£3.75) was excellent. Crisp, cleansing, delicately spicy and funky it was a lovely bit of freshness in contrast to all the other rich dishes we ate for lunch.

On our walk back to the car we popped into Fablas ice cream parlour, who also have branches in Cowbridge, Penarth and Porthcawl. Their range of creative flavours, which includes lemon curd, Ruffles, crème caramel and jaffa cake, is a refreshing change from the bog standard.

Both flavours in our double scoop tub (£4.75) were enjoyably smooth, thick, creamy – excellent rum and raisin and Dubai chocolate, which combined pistachio ice cream topped with crisp shreds of kataifi pastry and shards of white and milk chocolate.

We had a corker of a lunch at Ffos Caerffili. With its small but well-curated line-up of street food vendors and excellent selection of craft beer, it’s a lovely spot for a bite to eat. Next time we visit I’m definitely going to get the train so we can make more of a dent in the Dark Element beers.

As it is, I had to make do with a few cans to take home from the Lockup Bottle Shop downstairs in the market.

The Details:

Ffos Caerffili

Address - Cardiff Rd, Caerphilly CF83 1FN

Web - https://ffoscaerffili.co.uk/

Fablas 

Address - Unit 31, Castle Court Shopping Centre, Caerphilly CF83 1NU

Web - https://fablasicecream.com/

A few great places to eat in Alicante 2025

Nowadays, I seem to have a few simple criteria for deciding where to go on a short break:

1. There needs to be regular flights from Cardiff or Bristol airport.

2. It needs to be in Spain.

3. And Owen from Bar 44 needs to have said there’s tasty scran to eat there.

These are the reasons why, for two years in a row, we've found ourselves in Alicante on the Costa Blanca. Of course, that is in addition to a few trips to Malaga, my favourite city in Europe. 

With its buzzing city centre beach, Playa del Postiguet, that’s overlooked by the imposing hilltop fortress of Castell de la Santa Barbara, and the wave-like mosaic of the Explanada de España seafront walkway, Alicante is a charming destination.

It also happens to bill itself as the City of Rice (Ciudad del Arroz), with rice dishes forming the basis of much of the city’s cuisine. It's great fun to guzzle your way through a handful of the city’s over 300 different rice specialities, from arroz seco (dry rice) to arroz meloso (creamy rice) and the coveted crunch of the soccarat (a caramelised layer of rice at the bottom of the pan).

Here's a few of the places we've enjoyed during both our trips to Alicante. I’ve ordered them roughly according to how essential I think a visit should be.

La Taverna del Racó del Pla

This traditional wood-panelled tavern is an absolute gem of a place and we've had excellent arroz and tapas there on two visits. I'd highly recommend booking a table as there were heaps of disappointed walk-ins whilst we were there. 

Tapas were all great, including filo pastry sacks filled with a rich ham flecked bechamel and drenched in a fruity oxtail sauce; dates wrapped in crisp bacon; and fried fresh cheese with salty anchovies.

Arroz seco with nuggets of crisp pork, chickpeas, broad beans and charred peppers was unquestionably one of the best rice dishes I've ever eaten. The rice was so well cooked with a lovely crisp edged soccarat, a big flavoured meat stock and an excellent fragrance of oregano.

For dessert, there was a belter of a tarta de turron with a nutty caramelised cream, syrup soaked cake base and a brùléed exterior.

Cesar Anca Restaurante

Cesar Anca, which is situated just off the Explanada de España, serves some of the most creative and delicious tapas we've found in Alicante. It's also been easy to grab seats at their bar on both visits.

Uber decadent oxtail cannelloni with a crispy jamon crumb is a huge flavoured dish. I'd recommend ordering one each. 

A millefeuille of crisp caramelised apple, sour raw apple, foie gras, goats cheese, and smoked cod sounds like it could be a bit much but it somehow balances really well.

A stupidly tender pork cheek is served on the most ridiculously buttery Joel Robuchon-esque pomme puree with a deep red wine sauce.

For dessert, an absolute corker of a millefeuille is filled with turron custard. It's majorly reminiscent of a Paris-Brest due to the nuttiness of the custard.

Nou Manolin

Ferran Adria and Juan Mari Arzak are supposedly fans of Nou Manolin, so that’s good enough for me. On both our visits we've managed to snag the last seats at the counter at their bar and there was a constant queue of people waiting for a spot.

Excellent "Swarowski" crystal breads were topped with ensalada and whopping anchovies; jamon with runny-yolked quail eggs; and cured salmon with spicy guacamole.

There was also battered bacalao with lime mayonnaise and the richest of cannelloni, one of their changing daily specials.

L'arruzz

L'arruzz looks like it could be a tourist trap from its slightly naff branding, but we've had excellent arroz focused meals at their pair of Alicante restaurants. 

Arroz made with salt cod, sweet spring onions, caramelised cauliflower and rice with a lovely fish stock intensity and texture is an absolutely killer flavour combination. A dollop of potent aioli and a squeeze of lemon completes the stonking dish.

To start were two ice cream scoops of very good ensalada (hook that stuff up to my veins).

There was also a lovely salad of tomatoes, and salty and chewy dried whiting. I try and eat fruit and veg at least once when I'm on holiday...

Restaurante Govana

This multi-award-winning family restaurant is a temple of rice. With its chintzy table-settings, dark wood furniture and marble floors, it’s got buckets of charm.

Leg of veal rice (arroz pata de ternera) is a seriously meaty affair with a golden caramelised top. Melted bits of morcilla and chorizo and chickpeas were all bang on, but I wasn't fully sold on the numerous wobbly bits of soft connective tissue (Mrs G was), which I guess must have been the leg of veal.

As well as the arroz, we've had excellent wines by the glass, toast with aioli and tomato concasse, textbook jamon croquetas and tuna belly and tomato salad.

For dessert, there's crème caramel-esque tocino de cielo (heaven’s bacon). Even better is the super custardy and cinnamon spiced French toast, which is like a lux bread and butter pudding.

Probar el Buen Bar

Tucked away down a city centre side street, Probar serves lovely twists on classic tapas dishes.

The main event is a thin oozy tortilla with caramelised onions topped with a savoury sabayon. The topping looks like it's going to be super rich, but in reality it's beautifully airy.

Crispy AF fried pork belly torreznos are accompanied by garlic charged mashed potato.

A lovely riff on an ensaladilla rusa has smoked eel and sweet peppers in the mix, and comforting stew croquetas taste as though they're packed with chicken and ham pie filling.

Gravina 4

We always eat our bodyweight in ensaladilla rusa whenever we visit Spain and the version from Gravina 4, a dinky fish-focused tapas bar, is the best we've had in Alicante. Every component is distinct but it still adds up to a coherent mayonnaisey whole.

On offer there was also impeccably tender grilled squid with a ton of garlic and a portion of the sweetest red prawns.

Pipirrana Vermut

If you’re looking for a good selection of vermouth by the glass then Pipirrana Vermut has great vibes and is great value.

But, the main reason we visited was to try their rather bonkers sounding inverted soccarat of oxtail rice. It's as fun as it looks with a lush bronzed crisp exterior filled with meaty rice flecked with yielding pieces of oxtail.

A slice of deep-fried pork belly with mega crisp crackling is also ideal booze snacking.

La Taberna del Gourmet

One of the more chi-chi destinations we've visited, we only popped into La Taberna del Gourmet for a drink and a couple of snacks. However, there’s clearly a focus on first rate produce at this modern tapas bar.

A good riff on a gilda is made with a marinated artichoke alongside its usual components whilst an excellent ensalada with tuna, potatoes, egg, green beans and carrot is adorned with flaky biscuit sails.

Bar Manero

With two restaurants in Alicante and two in Madrid, Bar Manero is as about as bling as it gets. If you fancy some caviar washed down with a glass of Dom Perignon 2002 then you've come to the right place.

But this small group of restaurants has been recommended to me multiple times for a reason. There's clearly a focus on quality produce, with much of the olive oil, wine and other produce branded under their own name. And the cooking is excellent too.

A confit leek is as good a vegetable dish as Parallel's legendary carrot. Soft sweet charred allium was accompanied by toasted flaked almonds and blobs of garlicky creamy cheese. Their oxtail croquetas are top drawer too. 

Cerveceria El Canto

There was a bit of a queue to get into the old skool Cerveceria El Canto but when we finally sat down, we enjoyed some excellent value tapas.

A delicious plate of glistening jamon iberico was the only plate of the stuff we've eaten on both trips. I need to re-evaluate my life choices.

Griddled queso fresco with sweet tomato jam and a montadito filled with marinated pork loin and brie were the other highlights.

ToBar

ToBar, a cosy side street restaraunt, serves a cracking value €22,50 seven course set lunch. Highlights included crispy aubergines with a sticky sweet wine reduction and smouldering rosemary; sweet prawns with black salt; and crusty bread with a smoky tomato, pepper and onion dip.

The main event was super savoury arroz with monkfish and cockles, which was soupier than most of the other rice dishes we've eaten in Alicante.

Livanti Gelato Di Sicilia

During the evening there’s whopping queues for this gelato parlour. But if you visit during the daytime then chances are you’ll get straight in.

Pistachio, which tastes of pistachio, rich dark chocolate and rum and raisin-esque Malaga were all super smooth and creamy. We've also had excellent gelato from Anomaly, another city centre parlour.

Bar Guillermo

A traditional tapas bar, which is located just north of the central market, Bar Guillermo was almost empty when we visited around 10pm. I’m not sure why as we enjoyed tasty plates of delicately battered calamari and salt cod loaded croquetas.

Cervecerías Sento

There are a few branches of Cervecerías Sento dotted around Alicante. We visited Sento Barrio and it had big dive bar energy with its compact and cheek by jowl bar area.

Over 30 different montaditos are on offer as well as their signature lollipops - rather filthy yet delicious whorls of pork, ham and bechamel, and tomato jam as well as slightly dry pork meatballs with a compelling satay-like almond butter.

Oh, and take note, it’s cash only. 

Bubbles Beer Club and other craft beer bars

It's not all wine and sherry when we visit Alicante, we've also visited a few very good craft beer bars. Bubbles Beer Club had some lovely Spanish beers on offer from Madrid's Kosmonauta and Valencia's Sáez & Son. You could even have a pint of Garage TIPA for a mere €8. La Mala Buena and Malatesta are also worth checking if you're looking for other local Spanish craft beers.