Nomad, Cardiff city centre restaurant review

It’s always a punt visiting a new restaurant when you haven’t yet heard any first-hand reports from a trusted source, whether that be friends, bloggers dining on their own dollar, critics, or guides.

After all, with so many good restaurants out there, life’s too short and expensive for a duff meal out.

In these situations, it’s a case of utilising the evidence at hand before making a decision.

This was certainly the case before we pitched up at Nomad, the reincarnation of the short-lived Terra Mare, on Cardiff city centre’s High Street.

Firstly, I was sold on the news that Lali Suto had taken over the reins in the kitchen. The former head chef at the sadly departed Poca, who’s also done stints at Nook, Matsudai Ramen and Pasture, certainly knows how to knock out big flavoured and technically accomplished food.

Secondly, I’ve got a lot of time for Silures, Nomad’s sibling restaurant in Roath, with its luxury vibe, excellent service, cracking cocktails and refined comfort food. 

The team are clearly aiming for something similar at Nomad and its immediately apparent from their beautiful wood-panelled dining space and impressive selection of classic and creative cocktails. 

As we were lining our stomachs before an afternoon of drinking, we both ordered alcohol-free cocktails. Complex and not too sweet, they were bobby dazzlers that were no worse off for their lack of booze.

A Scarlet Jimador (£8) combined fragrant sweet and sour citrus with a subtle kick of chilli. Whilst a New Day (£8) popped with fruity cherry and plum that was balanced by the tang of lime and fragrance of mint.

Nomad’s menu very much lives up to its name, taking its inspiration from across the globe with dishes like pork schnitzel with fried egg and anchovies (£22), teriyaki chicken thigh (£12) and roasted cauliflower with harissa yoghurt (£18). There’s perhaps a slight bent towards Italian cuisine, with pasta and risotto as well as pizza-esque topped flatbreads all featuring.

We ordered a few small and large plates and sides to share. However, if you’d prefer to go for a more traditional starter and main set-up, then I think things would work just as well.

We kicked off with a pretty as a picture disc of smoked fish pate (£10) that was topped with plump pickled mussels, salty pearls of salmon roe and what I assume must have been faux caviar, otherwise it would have cost a hell of a lot more than a tenner. The pate itself was excellent, having a good creaminess and plentiful pieces of smoked mackerel. Accompanying toasted sourdough was slightly over-toasted, meaning that it put my creaking gnashers to the test.

Crab caesar salad (£14) was a mammoth flavour combination and an upgrade on the original in my book. Crisp leaves were well dressed with earthy brown crab, sweet white meat, a flurry of savoury Spenwood cheese, briny boquerones, umami-packed bottarga, and crisp croutons. However, considering its £14 price tag, it perhaps could have benefited from a few more leaves to bulk it out a little more.

Onto mains, and pork and fennel ragu strozzapetti (£16) was a knockout pasta dish. The generous portion of homemade pasta was beautifully al dente, and its spiral nooks and crannies were perfectly engineered to grab hold of a belter of a meat ragu that was heady with the fragrance of fennel. A liberal grating of savoury parmesan sealed the deal.

A loaded flatbread (£13) had a nice light and airy texture with a delicate chew. It was topped with a lovely mix of flavours too – a molten ooze of mozzarella, sweet sunblush tomatoes, fiery ‘nduja and salty cured ham. Despite its deliciousness, it was the least memorable dish of the meal, probably because of the inevitable comparisons it made me draw with Cardiff’s best pizzas.

A side salad of heritage tomatoes (£6) ticked all the right boxes. Sweet and savoury room temperature tomatoes, good quality olive oil and vinegar in the right balance, a clutch of capers, leaves of micro basil, and a scattering of salt demonstrated that the simple things are often the best.

Impressed by our meal so far, dessert was inevitable.

A log of soft toasted brioche (£8) was shrouded in creamy molten taleggio and the funk of truffle honey and served alongside a big blob of sweet date puree. It was a beautiful sweet-savoury hybrid course, the likes of which I’ve encountered in some of the most highly acclaimed restaurants.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a Basque cheesecake as much as the next person, but their rise in popularity seems to have led to the sad demise of the traditional biscuit base version. Nomad’s cheesecake (£8) is resolutely old skool yet refined, combining a gorgeously crisp biscuit base with a light, creamy and tangy vanilla-flecked topping. Extra interest was provided by sweet pistachio puree and cleansing macerated strawberries.

 

We had a cracking lunch at Nomad and it’s well worth a visit if you’re looking for somewhere new to try in Cardiff city centre. There’s certainly a lot more on their globetrotting menu that I’d like to explore. 

The Details:

Address - Nomad, 28 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PU

Web - https://nomad-amh.com/

Telephone - 029 2297 0921

The Heathcock, Llandaff, Cardiff bar menu review

“Use it or lose it”

It’s such a well-worn cliché that’s trotted out by sanctimonious bloggers like me that it’s lost most of its impact.

But, as I was stood at the bar at the Heathcock in Llandaff and told that their sister pub the Clifton in Bristol had closed the previous week, it really hammered home that nowhere is safe from the chill winds that are blowing through the hospitality industry.

The Clifton, much like its siblings the excellent Heathcock and Hare and Hounds, had received glowing reviews in the national press, and all are / were holders of Michelin Bib Gourmands, an award for excellent cooking at a reasonable price. Even still, it wasn’t enough for the Clifton.

In light of this bleak news, it was fitting that I was back at the Heathcock to spend some money after far too long an absence.

On a lovely summer’s eve, we basked in the sunshine of the Heathcock’s beautiful garden, and I knocked a very enjoyable pint of Arbor’s American pale ale on cask before moving onto a bottle of crisp Conde Valdemar white rioja (£39).

Whilst the Heathcock’s main restaurant now serves a saver menu (£30 for three courses), a set menu (£49 for three courses) and tasting menu (£50 for seven courses), their extensive bar menu offers a selection of small plates, snacks, mains and desserts that are ideal for grazing whilst you’re boozing. It was difficult to pass up lamb sweetbreads with smoked bacon (£11) or house sausage and ketchup (£5). But, there’s only so much food that a man can eat.

On the snack front, a quartet of crispy lamb belly pieces (£7) looked like meaty fish fingers. The soft and tender, fat-seamed pieces of meat were coated in a crisp golden crumb and accompanied by a pot of honkingly potent garlic aioli.

A textbook Welsh rarebit (£4) comprised of a doorstop of toasted sourdough topped with a super savoury golden concoction of pokey cheese and warming mustard.

Onto my main course, and a lovely hanger steak (£16) was served a pleasing rare. With a good flavour, light chew and scattering of sea salt, it was a lovely piece of meat. And all the better for its accompaniments, a thick, spicy and sweet romesco sauce, charred spring onion and the best version of the Heathcock’s confit potatoes that I’ve eaten – the pressed tender potato slices were deep fried to a ridiculous golden crunch.

For the purposes of completeness, I ordered a dessert. A beautifully wobbly buttermilk pudding (£9) was reminiscent of a panna cotta but with a richness balancing yoghurty tang. Toasty pieces of honeycomb and fragrant strawberries were bang on garnishes.

I had an excellent meal at the Heathcock and judging by the feedback from others sat with me, they did do. There’s no doubt this is one of, if not, Cardiff’s very best gastropub. If it’s been a while since you last visited then it’s most definitely worth a return trip soon. 

The Details:

Address - The Heathcock, 58-60 Bridge St, Cardiff CF5 2EN
Web - https://heathcockcardiff.com/
Telephone - 029 2115 2290

Waroeng Nona, Indonesian street food van, Cardiff city centre review

 

There weren’t many good things to come out of the pandemic, other than the rise in popularity of birdwatching, the move towards more flexible homeworking, and the demise of certain self-serving politicians.

Another positive was the arrival of exciting home delivery businesses that were run by people looking to find alternative ways of making a living whilst bricks and mortar restaurants were closed.

One such business was Waroeng Nona, an Indonesian home delivery that was founded by Nona (Sindy) Spiesz. Originally from Indonesia, Nona moved to Cardiff in 2012 and had worked as a chef in restaurants, hotels and street food stalls. As the first Indonesian food business that I’d encountered in Cardiff, it was exciting to try a different cuisine.  

Since the pandemic, Waroeng Nona has run the occasional pop-up until a few months ago when they opened a dinky street food van at the back of the Queen’s Arcade on Working Street. Open six days a week from 12pm to around 4.30pm, except when they’re doing pop-ups elsewhere, the van offers a compact menu of six dishes, including beef rendang, jackfruit gulai and vegetable crispy rolls.

I ordered two of Indonesia’s most famous dishes, beef rendang (£10) and a side of chicken satay (£8).

Rendang, which I was told means reduced in Indonesian is named after the slow cooking process rather than a specific recipe, which varies according to the country’s different islands. Nona’s recipe belongs to her mum, a street food vendor on the island of Java, and it’s a real labour of love that requires a six-hour slow cook.

It was an absolute belter of a dish and as good as any rendang I’ve ever eaten. Massive fall apart chunks of slow-cooked beef were coated in a thick reduced sauce that was heady with coconut and warming spice. I kept on coming across pieces of whole spice, which I may or may not have correctly identified as included nutmeg, cinnamon, lime leaf, and pandan leaf.

This corker of a curry was sat on top of distinctly grained turmeric and coconut scented rice and topped with crispy onions, fresh coriander, cleansing purple pickles, and colourful crunchy kroepoek crackers.

Whilst the rendang was an ample meal all by itself, I couldn’t say no to a side dish of chicken satay (£8). If you’re less greedy than me then it’s also available as a main with rice for £10.

They were superb and up there with the best satay I’ve eaten. The gloriously tender marinated meat skewers were nicely caramelised around the edges and drenched in a mildly spiced peanut sauce. Layers of additional flavour and crunch arrived from crispy onions, fresh coriander, spicy sriracha and sweet and savoury kecip manis.

Word has clearly spread quickly about the quality of Waroeng Nona’s cooking as Saturday Kitchen TV presenter Matt Tebbutt arrived halfway through my lunch to film for an episode of his new TikTok street food series.

I had a killer meal from Waroeng Nona and it’s great to see them take up a more regular spot in the city centre. It’s street food businesses like these which make Cardiff an exciting city to eat in - not the latest pan-Asian restaurant chain which has received a disproportionate amount of airtime due to the number of free meals that they’ve given out.  

The Details:

Address - Waroeng Nona, Queen's Arcade, Working Street Cardiff CF10 2GB
Web - https://waroengnona.co.uk/
Telephone - 07749 172139