Since Mrs G and I are supposed to be training for a big hike later this year, my current favourite category of restaurant is “places we can stomp to for something tasty to eat before meandering home at a leisurely pace”.
So, anywhere in Penarth, is pretty much ideal. And our previous endeavours have taken us to Tom’s Smashed Burgers at Crafty Devil Cellar.
This time around, on a sunny Sunday, it was the turn of Kegbelly’s pop-up on Penarth seafront.
After all, on a sunny day, things don’t get much nicer than a pint of beer, a plate of fried stuff and a view out to sea.
Kegbelly, a collaboration between Cardiff craft brewery Flowerhorn and street food vendor Mr Croquewich, has a permanent home in the Cardiff suburb of Whitchurch. Their Penarth pop-opened on the Esplanade at the start of April 2026 and is scheduled to run for six months until the end of September.
Alongside outside bench seating, Kegbelly have kitted out the interior with their distinctive neon pink and anarchic cartoon artwork. Its offbeat feel is a nice contrast to the traditionalism I normally associate with Penarth.
On the booze front, there’s a range of Flowerhorn’s craft beers on tap as well as alcoholic slushies, wine and spirits. We kicked off with very gluggable pints of Flowerhorn’s Yawn mosaic pale ale (£6.30) and I then moved onto enjoyably crispy Hofbrau German lager (£6.50).
When it comes to scran, on offer is a range of Mr Croquewich’s classics including grilled cheese sandwiches, parmesan fried chicken burgers, and hot dogs.
Once we’d placed our order at the bar, there wasn’t long to wait for food.
First-up were five pieces of golden crumbed, parmesan dusted, buttermilk marinated chicken thigh (£12.50) that were commendably crisp and juicy. Whilst they weren’t the biggest pieces of meat, you still got a heck of a lot of bang for your buck.
Included in the price were two accompanying pots of sauce. We chose garlic and soy rich Korean barbecue sauce and creamy and smoky baconnaise, which were excellent accompaniments for the fried chicken.
A good-sized portion of house fries (£4.50) were well herbed and salted.
We also ordered a Glamorgan grilled cheese sandwich (£8.50), one of the OGs from Mr Croquewich’s Riverside market days. Bronzed sourdough with a crispy caramelised cheese crust oozed out the edges with a mix of sweet leeks, creamy bechamel, cheddar, mozzarella and a warming thrum of Dijon mustard.
One of our mates ordered the Italian Job (£9), and as they struggled to finish it, I snaffled half myself. I thought this was even better than the Glamorgan. This time around, the crisp cheese-skirted sourdough was laden with melted cheese, tangy nuggets of goats cheese, sweet sunblush tomatoes, and fragrant basil pesto.
In the absence of any homemade desserts, I made do with a tasty tub of Sidoli's salted caramel ice cream. At least it felt very fitting enjoying an ice cream by the seaside.
We had a great afternoon drinking craft beer and guzzling delicious street food at Kegbelly’s Penarth pop-up. If you’re looking for somewhere to spend a sunny afternoon by the seaside then I can highly recommend a visit. Whilst I understand the seasonal nature of seafront trade, I hope business booms and they stick around longer than September - it’s certainly an asset to the local area.
The details:
Address - Kegbelly, 5 The Esplanade, Penarth Seafront, CF64 3AS
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