Ember, Pontcanna, Cardiff set menu review

In an alternate timeline, I’m a man who lunches.

During the working week, I’d go for a spot of bird spotting before enjoying a set lunch at one of Cardiff’s best restaurants with a glass or two of wine. Of course, I’d then head home for an afternoon nap.

In this parallel universe, one of my regular haunts would be Pontcanna’s Ember. 

With a daily changing set lunch and early evening menu offering three courses of Dave Killick’s cooking for £30, including bread, there aren’t many better deals on offer in the city. 

And with its cream and contemporary art bedecked dining space, it’s a stylish yet informal place to lunch. 

Whilst Ember’s main menu offers sharing plates like braised Welsh lamb shoulder with green sauce (£48) or British seafood stew with fermented chilli (£32) as well as a selection of fresh pasta dishes, their set menu is more focused on the latter. It makes sense, with pasta being cheaper to make compared to more expensive meat and fish. 

To drink, glasses of grassy Sentidiño Albariño (£8) and appley Vinho Verde Loureiro (£6.50) were both delicious.

Piping hot focaccia had an excellent crisp crust and airy structure, and it was delicious dredged through a silky smooth, hummus-like, white bean and roasted garlic dip. But it was perhaps slightly too drenched in olive oil and its crumb a tad dry compared to the last time around.

Both starters were belters. A gorgeously juicy and light crumbed piece of boneless buttermilk quail was cooked with care when it’s so easy to dry out. It was accompanied by a coarse and zesty salsa verde and char-licked baby gem. 

A mountain of shatteringly crisp light-battered courgette batons sat on a terracotta pool of smoky, nutty and savoury romesco sauce. It was an understated yet whopping flavoured dish.

Both our pasta dishes were big hitters on the flavour front too. 

Linguini was bathed in a sweet white and earthy brown crab laden sauce with a big wallop of chilli and garlic, savoury hit of anchovy and fragrance of parsley. A dusting of pangritata provided welcome crunch.

An even bigger portion of fettucine was bathed in a creamy sauce flecked with wild mushrooms and courgettes and dressed with slithers of salty air-dried ham, more crunchy breadcrumbs and a flurry of savoury cheese. 

Our desserts were both befitting of one of the last hot days of the summer.  

A warm, light crumbed lemon sponge had excellent caramelised edges, a bit like a madeleine. Combined with sweet macerated strawberries and thick coconutty fig leaf custard, the pudding had a luxury trifle vibe. Mrs G was planning on giving me most of it, but it was so delicious that I barely got half… 

Across the table, the lightest and crispest of meringues was topped with thick vanilla-scented whipped cream and crowned with finely diced sweet peaches and raspberries. Slivers of fresh mint add a compelling freshness to the dish. 

We had an excellent lunch at Ember. Their technically accomplished yet understated cooking, warm service, and stylish setting make it one of Cardiff’s best openings in recent years.

In an alternate timeline, I’d be going back next week for lunch to see what’s new on their set menu. 

The Details:

Ember’s set lunch and early evening menu is available from Wednesday to Friday 12.00-2.30pm and 5.30-6.30pm.

Address - Ember, 5 Romilly Crescent, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9NP

Web - https://www.embercardiff.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2297 2274

The Shed, Swansea Marina restaurant review 2025

Considering the ridiculous number of restaurants on my “to visit” list, the chances of us ever revisiting anywhere outside of Cardiff are very slim.

So, it says a lot about how much I enjoy a restaurant if I’ve visited it multiple times.

The Broad Chare. Upstairs at Landrace. Osip. Le Champignon Sauvage. Noble Rot. These are the obvious ones that spring to mind, but there really aren’t very many.

The Shed in Swansea is the latest restaurant to be added to this elite group.

Since visiting shortly after it opened in February last year, The Shed has garnered a clutch of glowing reviews in the national papers.

The reason why it was probably so quick to grab national attention is because it’s owned by Gorseinon native Jonathan Woolway, the former long serving chef-director at St John in London, arguably the UK’s most influential restaurant of the past 30 years.

Located in a former grain warehouse in Swansea Marina, The Shed’s unembellished industrial aesthetic very much belongs in the St John mould. So too does their understated yet flavour-focused seasonal cooking.

A rich seam of Welshness runs through the Shed’s menu, from the produce to the dishes. As expected, I wanted to eat everything on it from black pudding with fried egg (£13) to braised Gower lamb with mint sauce (£29). And its priced fairly enough so that regular visits could be a possibility, especially considering they serve a set lunch menu offering three courses for £28. 

On the night we visited Jonathan wasn't there, but the team calmly worked away in the open kitchen.

Wines, a much bigger selection by the glass than when we last visited, were all lovely. A summery Quinta Raza Vinho Verde (£7.20), vanilla-scented Don Placero Tinto Rioja (£7.20) and nectar-like Ginestet Sauternes (£5.20) were a few of the highlights.

Cockle croquettes (£8) were a lovely bit of nostalgic comfort food. Briny cockles and bechamel in a golden crumb were elevated by a generous dash of malt vinegar and an assertive dust of white pepper.

Patti pan (£13) was a new one on the both of us. It also now happens to be Mrs G’s new nickname. Soft sweet squash pieces were nicely charred and served on leaves dressed in a fragrant mint vinaigrette and creamy ewe's curd. It was the ideal light dish for a hot sunny day.

Sardines (£12.50) are one of my favourite fish, but I know having to fillet them puts a lot of people off. Here someone had gone to the trouble for me and I didn’t find a single bone. All the accompaniments enhanced the oily fish - a vibrantly herby and acidic mojo verde, zingy pink pickled onions with a good crunch, and sweet and fiery pickled red chillies.

Onto mains, and a very good yet smallish skate wing (£27) was uniformly caramelised all over and accompanied by toothsome French beans and a big flavoured nutty, sweet, smoky and spicy romesco sauce.

I love rare breed Mangalitza pork, so I didn't look past the roasted chop (£28) when I saw it on the menu. However, when it arrived, it was disappointingly well-done, dry and chewy. I enquired as to whether that was how it was supposed to be cooked, the manager checked with the kitchen, informed me that it wasn't, and a replacement was knocked up.

This time it was served with a blush of pink, and it was immeasurably better for it. Gorgeously caramelised with a brilliant intensity of flavour and a crisp cap of fat, it was a knockout chop.

Kaliboos cabbage was another new vegetable that I hadn’t tried before. Appearing like a cross between a hispi and a red cabbage, it was served as a lovely sweet spiced braise. Meaty cooking juices, pokey wholegrain mustard and apple sauce completed the dish.

A side of Welsh rarebit (£8) was inevitable. A textbook example with its cheesy beery mustardy topping, a nice bit of tableside theatre saw it grooved with a knife and splashed with Worcestershire sauce.

Mrs G loved the Shed’s bara brith (£9.50) so much last time that there was no decision to be made when it came to dessert. Served warm with a knob of butter melted into it, the loaf’s soft crumb and crisp edges were bang on. Accompanied by pieces of salty and funky Teifi cheese, it was a lovely sweet savoury dessert.

I was in the mood for something naughty and a bowl of baked cookie dough (£11) from the specials board very much fit the bill. The combination of rye, hazelnut and dark chocolate was just on the right side of sweetness with extra indulgence coming from a scoop of fragrant honey ice cream.

Despite the hiccup with my main course, we had another excellent meal at The Shed and a third visit is inevitable. It really is a privilege to have a chef of Jonathan Woolway’s calibre running his own restaurant in south Wales.

The Details:

Address - The Shed, Unit 1-2, J Shed Arcade, Kings Rd, Swansea SA1 8PL

Web - https://theshedsa1.com/

Telephone - 01792 712120

Genatsvale, Georgian restaurant, Cardiff city centre review

Here are three bits of pub quiz trivia that it’s handy to know as a primer to this review:

1. Genatsvale, which has recently opened on Cardiff city centre’s St Mary’s Street, is the only Georgian restaurant in Wales. I am of course referring to the country and not the US state or the period in British history. 

2. Khachapuri is a traditional cheese filled bread that’s the country’s national dish. It’s so popular that one measure of the rate of inflation in Georgia, the Khachapuri Index, is determined by the cost of the ingredients needed to make one.

3. Georgia is widely recognised as the birthplace of wine, with archaeological evidence showing that winemaking began there 8,000 years ago. 

Armed with this trivia, my sights were set on an a khachapuri and a glass of qveri wine when we rocked up at Genatsvale for a Friday night walk-in.

They’ve done a lovely job with the refurb of the old Café Jazz. Design features include a mix of folk art, ceilings adorned with artificial lemons and pomegranates, and a grand piano that wasn’t put into action on our visit.

With Georgia’s location at the intersection between Eastern Europe and Asia, the country’s cooking bears many similarities to Eastern European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Turkish cuisine.

Gentasvale’s menu is an interesting one to navigate with sections dedicated to stews & pan-fried dishes, mixed grills, khinkali (dumplings) and khachapuri (cheese-filled breads).

It would have been easy for Gentasvale to play it safe with a wine list offering Savvy B, Prosecco and Merlot as well a few Georgian wines. But, it’s good to see that they’ve gone all in with an entirely Georgian list.

With wines this tasty, I can see why. All four we tried were all delicious. A light Rkatsiteli Qveri orange wine (£7.20) was clean with delicate tannins whilst a Tsinandali white (£6.20) was crisp and citrusy. Red wines were both delicious too. A chilled Pirosmani (£7.20) and a Saperavi (£5.95) both had plenty of red fruits.

 Endeavouring to try as many new dishes that we hadn’t encountered before, we kicked off with the “four starter plates” sharer (£21.95).

This monster of a platter was dominated by a quartet of vegetable pate cylinders sat on discs of crispy corn bread. Carrot, beetroot, green bean and spinach all tasted as though they were very good for you. But, they were quite heavy in texture and light on flavour. I thought the spinach was the most pleasant as it had the softest texture and tasted the most of its headline ingredient… Mrs G disagreed as it tasted the most like cold spinach.

Things were much more positive on the other side of the board. Warm dolmades were filled with well-spiced rice. Crisp fried crepes were loaded with nicely herbed minced meat. And soft aubergine rolls were filled with a nutty walnut paste and topped with pearls of pomegranate. A creamy garlicky yoghurt was a good condiment for everything.

Onto mains, and a quintet of whopping khinkali (£15.90) had a light casing and were filled with juicy and herby minced pork and beef and meaty broth. 

However, due to my Georgian dumpling inexperience almost all of the liquid ended up on the plate. Apparently, you’re supposed to pick them up by the top knot, bite a small hole in the side and slurp out the broth. This also explains why the top knot was tough and inedible. An explanation from the front of house team might be helpful as I’m sure many diners won’t have eaten them before.

I can see why Georgia’s inflation rate is determined by the price of a khachapuri. If I lived there then I’d be eating them all the time. We ordered the acharuli khachapuri (£18.95) and a gorgeously light and delicately crisp boat shaped bread was filled with a pool of creamy, tangy and salty golden molten cheese. 

If it wasn’t already rich enough then a knob of butter and a runny egg yolk ramped up the luxuriousness even more. And the crust also appeared to be stuffed with even more cheese. 

With all this rich carb and fat, a side dish of ajapsandali (£8.50) was the MVP (Most Valuable Plate). Gorgeously soft and tender slow cooked aubergines, soft spuds, peppers and onions were bathed in a super herby and well-spiced sauce. Served hot, it added layers of complexity to our two main dishes.

We had a very enjoyable evening at Genatsvale guzzling food and wine that’s unlike anywhere else in Cardiff. Whilst our starters didn’t fully hit the mark, I’d gladly go back for khachapuri, ajapsandali and a glass or two of Rkatsiteli Qveri and Saperavi, any day of the week.

The Details

Address - Genatsvale, 21 St Mary street, Cardiff CF10 1PL

Web - https://www.genatsvale.co.uk/

Escala, Clevedon, Somerset Spanish restaurant review

It wasn't planned, but there was something quite fitting about guzzling Spanish tapas whilst England were beating Spain in a penalty shootout during the final of Euro 2025.

Occasionally checking the score on my phone with a glass of Spanish wine in one hand made the agony of penalties a lot less stressful than usual.

My unusually relaxing penalty shootout experience took place at Escala, a Spanish restaurant that's been open on Clevedon’s seafront since 2021. With its beautiful views across the Severn Estuary to Cardiff, I could easily see why it was so busy on a Sunday evening.

Escala serves more than just the obvious tapas classics, although they’re there if you want them. More exciting plates include the likes of salt cod croquetas, cockles with white wine, and scallops with Coronation butter. Throw in produce sourced from the excellent Mevalco and an interesting selection of Spanish wines by the glass, and it makes for a very compelling proposition.

We started with lovely glasses of Cava, a Villa Conchi Brut (£7) for Mrs G and a Vilarnau Rose (£7.50) for me and then moved on to glasses of Verdejo from Diez Siglos (£7) and an Albarino from El Cameron (£10.50).

On the food front, pieces of densely meaty and smoky chorizo (£8.50) were bathed in a sticky, sweet and fruity cider and red wine reduction. Mrs G had to restrain me from tipping the remaining liquid straight into my gob.

Berenjenas con miel (£7.50) is one of my favourite tapas dishes and a must order whenever I see it on a menu. Tender aubergines coated in a light batter could have been a bit more assertive in their crunch, but they were deliciously drizzled with sticky and toasty molasses.

Jamon and short rib croquetas (£6.50) delivered well on the flavour front with their big meatiness coupled with a paprika-laced chorizo mayo and crisp shards of jamon. But, a huge chunk of beef, which was sat in my croqueta's core, detracted from the silky bechamel that normally makes them so enticing.

A chicken thigh (£10.50) was beautifully juicy with crisp skin and accompanied by an excellent charred leek and lovely earthy and nutty romesco sauce. A deep green mojo verde was another very nice sauce but its big punch of acidity meant it slightly dominated the other components on the plate.

The only real dud of the meal was a pan con tomate (£4.50), which we ordered to mop up all the delicious sauces and dressings on our other dishes. Seemingly shop bought ciabatta was topped with a rather one note sweet tomato concasse that lacked vibrancy, a good honk of garlic or the grassiness of olive oil.

The stars of the meal were the two salads we ordered. Both were examples of excellent produce put together with consideration.

A colourful selection of fresh and sweet heritage tomatoes (£6) was dressed with top notch olive oil, thinly sliced shallots and a scattering of sea salt.

Even better, were pieces of bitter chicory (£7), that paired beautifully with nuggets of pokey blue cheese, the crunch of hazelnut and a fresh and zesty orange dressing.

We had a good meal at Escala with lovely service in a beautiful setting. If you ever you find yourself in Clevedon looking for a meal on the seafront, then it's well worth checking out. Especially so if you’re looking to transform a penalty shootout into a relaxing experience.

The Details:

Address - Escala, 12 The Beach, Clevedon BS21 7QU

Web - https://www.escalatapas.co.uk/

Telephone -  01275 217600

The Barbican Kitchen, Plymouth Gin Distillery restaurant review

Perhaps I'm jaded, but I don't really expect celebrity chefs to ever cook at their restaurants more than a couple of times a year.

James Martin. Jamie Oliver. Marco Pierre White. I wonder how often they rustle the pans at any of their gaffs?

Granted, James and Chris Tanner aren’t quite so well known. But I remember James being a regular on Ready Steady Cook back in the day alongside legends like Ainsley Harriott and Lesley Waters.

So, I was genuinely surprised when I was told at the end of our lunch at The Barbican Kitchen in Plymouth that James and Chris both cooked our meal. Furthermore, the brothers are in the kitchen pretty much every weekend and there's normally always at least one brother behind the stove.

Located upstairs from the historic Plymouth Gin distillery, the Barbican Kitchen opened in 2006. It’s a bit noughties in décor, but its loft dining space is cosy and warm.

With its seaside location, it’s understandable that the brasserie menu leans towards fish dishes. However, if you’re more meat inclined then options include slow cooked beef short rib with bone marrow and horseradish crust (£34.95), seared calves liver with creamed potato (£25.95) and gnocchi with Wye Valley asparagus (£25.95).

At lunchtime, which is when we pitched up for a walk-in, there's a compact set menu offering three courses for a very reasonable £35.

Considering the Barbican Kitchen’s location, it would have been rude not to order a gin and tonic. A Plymouth sloe Gin (£6.55) was excellent with plenty of hedgerow fruit. Mrs G had a couple of very good glasses of Mâcon-Villages (£7.75) and Muscadet (£6.25) whilst I also knocked back a Belgian blonde-esque Salcombe Breeze (£2.80).

Keeping it fish-focused, we both ordered set menu specials to start.

Thick slices of beetroot cured salmon were accompanied by classic flavour pairings - pickled beetroot and puree, compressed cucumber and blobs of creme fraiche. It was a lovely light and summery dish.

My crab salad (£3 supplement) was a belter. Two big quenelles of mayo dressed sweet white crab meat were joined by blobs of avocado puree and cleansing grapefruit and radish pieces.

I love earthy brown crab meat and here it had been cleverly incorporated into a whipped butter that was served alongside excellent soft crumbed bread.

For main we both opted for the market fish of the day and it was a first class piece of fish cookery. Golden crisp-skinned cod flaked into beautiful pearlescent flakes. It was sat atop rich mash-adjacent crushed new potatoes and bitter balancing rainbow chard. The whole dish was brought together by a superb watercress velouté sauce that combined buttery richness with the zing of lemon and an addictive aniseed note, which I think must have come from tarragon.

My previous encounter with a sticky toffee pudding was a disappointment. The Barbican Kitchen’s is one of the best I've ever eaten. The sponge was impeccably soft yet light with a good hit of dark sugar and it was well drenched in a toasty caramel sauce. A dollop of clotted cream ice cream was so thick and rich that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made solely from its headline ingredient.

A very good cheese selection (£6 supplement) combined pokey Blue Moon and ripe and creamy Sharpham brie with an interesting selection of crackers and delightfully fragrant quince jelly. Wookey Hole cheddar had a good tanginess but a slightly homogeneous supermarket cheese texture.

We had a superb lunch at the Barbican Kitchen with excellent service and delicious booze. It certainly showed that there were a pair of celebrity chefs in the kitchen as this was one of the best fish-focused meals we’ve had in a long time.

The Details:

Address - The Barbican Kitchen, Black Friars Distillery, 60 Southside St, Plymouth PL1 2LQ

Web - https://barbicankitchen.com/

Telephone - 01752 604448