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

Ostuni, Lakeside, Cardiff Italian cafe review

 

A stroll in the sunshine and a sandwich. Life’s simple pleasures are the best ones.

One of our favourite walks in Cardiff is along the entire length of the green corridor from Waterloo Gardens to the recently reopened Llanishen Reservoir. It’s a beautiful place where we’ve seen little grebes, whopping carp, and rare birds like the northern diver.

But, enough about ecology, you’re more likely here for the sandwichology.

On our most recent visit to the reservoir, we stopped for a quick bite to eat at Ostuni. It’s located just a ten-minute walk from the edge of the reservoir, and you might well know it from one of its previous incarnations, the iconically named Bgetti Junction.

Ostuni is a café, bakery and event catering business, which is named after the Puglian town in southern Italy where the owner’s family originally hail from. Their original branch can be found in Newport Market whilst their Cardiff site opened in August 2023.

Whilst Ostuni serves filled baguettes, panini, ice creams, milkshakes and coffee, their centrepiece is undoubtedly a fridge overflowing with custard slices, cookies, cheesecakes, éclairs and choux buns.  

We arrived just after midday and grabbed one of their outside shaded tables which take in a panoramic view of the busy roundabout.

Iced lattes (£3), one with dairy milk and the other with oat milk, were generously portioned and refreshing on a baking hot sunny day.

Both our baguettes were well-stuffed and tasted very fresh - the bread was crusty yet soft.

One sandwich (£5.95) was well filled with big hunks of chicken breast, salty streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato and a good slather of mayonnaise. It was my pick of the two.

The other (£5.95) was loaded with salami, thinly cut baked ham, mixed leaves and a good sprinkling of savoury grana padano cheese. I think it could have been improved further with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.

It was difficult to choose from Ostuni’s cake selection. I’ve previously heard good things about their slab like custard slice but it appears to be a meal in itself.

A pistachio éclair (£3.50) was a naughty old skool treat. The whopping choux pasty bun was loaded with thick and wobbly custard and topped with sweet and sticky pistachio flavoured icing studded with the crunch of a few nuts.

A cannoli (£3.50) was my pick of the bunch. Filled to order, the crisp and brittle pastry case was filled with sweetened cream cheese studded with chocolate chips. It was a great example of one of my favourite sweet treats (as an aside, I remember travelling all the way to the most famous cannoli place in Boston only to be underwhelmed).

We had a very tasty lunch at Ostuni and I’d recommend it for a pitstop if you’re ever out for a stroll near Llanishen Reservoir. With the number of people pulling up to grab a bite to eat whilst we were there, they’ve clearly already built up a loyal following during their first twelve months in Cardiff .

The Details:

Address - Ostuni, 312 Heathwood Road, Cardiff CF14 4HT
Web - https://ostuni.co.uk/
Telephone - 07853 383394

Sofia's Greek Corner, Adamsdown takeaway review

We were all set for a weekday lunch out at Sofia’s Greek Corner in Adamsdown when we stepped through their doors and realised that they don’t have any seats.

We should have known better as they’re located on the former site of Broadway Fish Bar, so magicking a seating area in such a small space was never going to be likely. Still, as we live just a five-minute walk from Sofia’s we decided to crack on.

As well as the usual selection of gyros, dips and salads, Sofia’s offers a range of pies, pastries, desserts and mains, including moussaka, stifado, and meatballs. Many of the dishes are available in family-sized portions so there’s even better value to be had than their already keen prices if you order in bulk.

 After a short wait for our order, we were back at home guzzling lunch in no time at all.

To start, Sofia’s feta (£3.80) was every bit as naughty as I hoped it would be. A brick of melted feta was sandwiched between layers of crisp filo pastry and drizzled with sweet honey and nutty sesame seeds.

Thick hummus (£3) had a really good chickpea flavour and a compelling extra dimension of spice, perhaps paprika. It was served with wedges of soft griddled pitta bread.

Dakos (£5), aka Cretan salad, was an excellent example of one our favourite Greek dishes. Crisp nuggets of nutty barley rusk were drizzled with olive oil and scattered with briny olives, white onion, tangy feta and fragrant oregano. It was a corking combination of textures and flavours.

A whopping pork and chicken gyros plate (£9.90) was the weakest dish of the line-up, but it was still very enjoyable. Golden-edged shavings of meat and standard issue chips were both well-flavoured but lacking in crispness. Fresh salad, more of that excellent griddled pitta bread, and a pot of potently garlicky tzatziki, were all lovely accompaniments.

We had a really tasty and cracking value lunch from Sofia’s Greek Corner - we were both absolutely stuffed for £21.70. If you're in the area, then it’s well worth a look.

The Details:

Address - Sofia's Greek Corner, 168 Broadway, Cardiff CF24 1QJ

Telephone - 029 2280 8836

Today Shawarma and Sparrow, Adamsdown restaurant and cafe review

I’m a big fan of the multi-destination meal.

Whether it’s a tapas crawl around one of Spain’s many gastronomic destinations or simply a visit to an ice cream parlour for two scoops of rum and raisin after fish and chips by the seaside, it all serves to prolong the amount of time I get to spend eating. 

Which brings me to a lovely two part lunch on Adamsdown’s Clifton Street, featuring mains from a fairly recent addition to the area and dessert at a brand new opening. 

Today Shawarma opened in August last year and serves chicken and lamb shawarma and shish kebabs as well as more niche options including lamb heart and kidney shish, and quzi (rice with slow-cooked lamb). It's a set-up which feels very similar to City Road's excellent Shawarma Laziz. 

Today Shawarma is very well priced, with sandwiches costing £4 to £4.50, shish plates costing £6 to £10 and there’s even a five kebab sharing platter with five naan breads for a mere £18. 

Whilst there are only three booths in the front of the shop, it’s worth noting that there’s a good-sized yet basic dining area in the back. 

Almost as soon as we’d sat down we were brought a bowl of complimentary of thick spiced lentil soup with a good meaty hit. 

A chicken shawarma sandwich (£4) was made using an excellent pillowy lip-shaped samoon bread pocket. Crisp and tender shavings of meat combined well with a selection of fresh salad, including crisp red cabbage, fiery and zingy chilli sauce, and creamy garlic sauce. 

A lamb wrap (£4.50) was equally good. Made using a fresh naan bread that was baked to order in their tandoor, it was filled with plenty of lightly charred and spiced nuggets of lamb with more of that excellent salad and sauce. 

A skewer of lamb kofte was lightly-spiced with chilli whilst a tender lamb shish (£10) was generously portioned. A quartet of blistered cherry plum tomatoes was a nice addition to the plate. 

An accompanying pair of naan breads put the bread efforts of many of Cardiff’s bigger name kebab shops to shame. There was even an additional half naan sat beneath the meat to soak up all those juices.

All the food at Today Shawarma was on point from their meat and bread to their salad and sauces. Whilst their shish are delicious, I’ll be dropping by for their excellent value shawarma wraps and sandwiches whenever I’m in the area. 

After mains, we headed across the street for dessert. 

Sparrow, the newest opening on Clifton Street, was bustling with families and friends enjoying themselves on this coffee shop’s first Saturday of business.

I can see why, as it's a lovely space with its exposed brickwork and reclaimed wood panelling. 

Oat milk lattes and flat whites were both very good. Rather nicely, they're served in bespoke ceramic mugs. 

A pair of sweet treats were made by Cardiff’s Carrot Top Bakery, owned by a former long-standing team member of Pettigrew Bakery.

A soft and warming spiced swirl of a cinnamon bun and a squidgy doughnut, packed to the edges with creamy and toasty salted caramel custard, were both excellent.

Both Today Shawarma and Sparrow are great additions to Clifton Street - whilst they’re both dramatically different, they’re both the kind of places which are worth a trip.

The Details:

Today Shawarma

Address - 11 Clifton Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff, CF24 1PX

Sparrow

Address - 146 Clifton Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff, CF24 1LZ

Web - https://twitter.com/sparrowcardiff

Ceylon Spicy Pot, Adamsdown, Cardiff Sri Lankan restaurant review

If you’re a fan of Curry Hut, the delicious and bargainous Cathays-based Sri Lankan restaurant, then you'll be interested to know about Ceylon Spicy Pot.

This recently opened Sri Lankan restaurant is owned by the same couple who first ran Family Choice, the takeaway which was hidden at the back of a convenience store, before the business was returned to the owner and transformed into Curry Hut.

Now, they’ve struck out on their own and taken over the former site of The Broadway Cafe, just off Clifton Street in Adamsdown.

Other than changing the sign on the front door, it doesn’t look like there’s been much sign of refurbishment. But, there’s a definite charm to the lack of slick interior design flourishes, which look so good on the ’Gram.

With a menu featuring string hoppers, biryani, kottu, fries, curries and a Saturday special of lamprais, there’s a lot of tasty sounding stuff on offer. And the absence of Devil paneer meant I was forced to order something different for once.

Whilst Ceylon Spicy Pot is applying for an alcohol licence, it’s currently bring your own booze. As we lacked that nugget of information before our visit, we instead enjoyed a pair of delicious mango lassies (£2.50) with plenty of fragrant tropical fruit.

Despite there only being ourselves in the restaurant and a small takeaway order to deal with, we had a bit of a wait for food. I can imagine if the place was any fuller then things could get interesting.

Piping hot crisp mutton rolls (£1.99) were filled with tender curried meat and potato with a big blast of chilli. Somewhat ironically, a bowl of sweet chilli sauce served to temper the spice.

Runny yolked egg hoppers (£1.50) had a hyper-crisp lacy edge and were seasoned with a good twist of black pepper. It was a little bowl of katta sambol that really brought the dish alive - combining red chilli, plenty of citrus, and the salty savouriness of dried fish flakes, it was a deliciously complex condiment.

King fish fry (£6) combined seriously crisp crusted pieces of meaty fish, topped with golden fried onions and little green chillies, which I dared not to eat. Whilst the fish pieces were a little bit dry in places, there was still something very compelling about the dish.

Aubergine curry (£5) was the star of the meal. Long-cooked pieces of soft and tender aubergine and sweet tomatoes that had been added at the last minute were bathed in a copper coloured gravy with layers of warming spice and good thrum of chilli.

Egg kottu (£4.50) was a lovely example of one of my essential orders. Combining soft paratha shreds, scrambled egg, carrot shavings, soft sweet onions, it was a corking bowl of comfort food. Whilst the recipe eschewed curry leaves, it made up for it with its bold spicing.

It was also accompanied by a dinky pot of ferociously spicy mutton gravy which was lovely poured over it.

We really enjoyed Ceylon Spicy Pot - they serve great value Sri Lankan food that's cooked with a lot of love and I’m certainly looking forward to exploring more of their menu. 

The details:

Address - Ceylon Spicy Pot, 10 Broadway, Cardiff CF24 1NF
Web - https://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-ceylon-spicy-pot-cardiff
Telephone - 07455 192175

Porro, Llandaff, Cardiff Italian restaurant review

Porro is the brand new restaurant from the team behind the excellent Potted Pig.

Located in the affluent suburb of Llandaff (an area short of decent restaurants), it’s a canny destination for their second venture. And with a menu of fairly priced, modern Italian food served in a classy dining space, all of the building blocks are in place for another success. 

However, before I move onto the food, it would be remiss of me not to mention the howling service issues we experienced on our visit. I’ll put these down to teething troubles two weeks after opening.

The problems were as follows - two tables that arrived after our group had their orders taken before us and then received their starters and mains before we had eaten even a single mouthful of food. It was a 1 hour and 35 minute wait until we finally received our starters and 2 hours and 20 minutes before we finally received our mains. By the time we left the restaurant, we were in Lord of the Rings Extended Edition territory.

Thankfully, the issue was resolved by a highly apologetic manageress who deducted the starters and main courses from our bill. And I’m 100% sure she had no idea who I was and that I’d be writing a review of my meal.

Rant over, let’s look at the food.

To start a giant meatball of tender Abergavenny beef and Hereford pork (£8) was delightfully fragranced with fennel and served in a rich tomato sauce topped with melted parmesan. 

Toast was topped with a generous mound of soft buttered leeks and oozy taleggio (£7).

Finally, a very good selection of cured meats (£9) included pigs cheek, wild boar speck, fennel salami and home cured belly pork. However, the portion was a touch on the dinky side and at nine quid a couple of slices of bread wouldn’t have gone amiss. 

Mains also largely hit the mark.

A crisp-skinned and juicy fillet of sea bream (£16) sat atop a vibrant mix of tender octopus, al dente asparagus, tomatoes, fennel and peas. 

Unfeasibly tender slices of porchetta (£14) contained a citrus-twanged stuffing. Accompanying crackling crunched perfectly and a refreshing salad of orange, fennel and sweet roast carrots balanced the richness of the meat nicely. A jug of light pork jus seemed unnecessary – the meat was soft enough already and it was too thin for dipping. 

House fries (£4) dusted in rosemary were brilliant. 

Finally, pappardelle with ox cheek (£16) combined silky pasta with yielding pieces of meat and a good background note of wine. The dish however was crying out for some salt and pepper… which was requested and not received until around ten minutes later (sorry, I said I’d stop moaning about the service).

Desserts were both splendid.

Moist almond, lemon and orange sponge (£6) nicely juggled sweet and citrus whilst a large dollop of mascarpone added an element of luxury. 

A lemon tart (£6) combined shortish pastry and a sharp filling studded with blobs of tangy ricotta. It was accompanied by vanilla fragranced rhubarb compote, the pieces of fruit still holding their shape well. 

The food we ate at Porro was mostly excellent and it's a restaurant which is definitely bringing something new to the city. 

I'd just put a couple of digestive biscuits in your pocket when you visit in case your meal takes longer than expected.

The Details:

Address - Porro, 22 High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2DZ

Web - http://www.porrocardiff.com/

Telephone - (029) 2056 5502