Picton and Co, Cardiff Bay restaurant review

Dinner and a show – it’s a great way to spend an evening.

After all, it’s basically a classier version of what we do every night anyway – guzzle some food and then slob out on the sofa for a few hours before bed.

When it comes to places to see live theatre and comedy, there aren’t many finer venues in the UK than Wales Millennium Centre. And with the new arena set to open in 2028, there’ll be no shortage of places to see a show in Cardiff Bay.

But, the area’s shortage of great independent restaurants makes the dinner part of the night a bit of a challenge. Whilst the Sultan, Yakitori #1, and Tiger Yard are all very good options, I think the Bay has been missing somewhere with a bit of style for pre-theatre dining.

Picton and Co, an all-day deli-café-restaurant, previously looked like it might have fit the bill. But, the last time we saw a show, back in 2024, they didn’t start serving dinner until 6pm. So, it would have been a bit of a rush to get our bums on seats in time for curtain up.

Thankfully, they’ve since got their act together, and now serve dinner from 5pm, meaning there’s plenty of time for a bite to eat. So, we decided to check it out before a Saturday night trip to see James Acaster.

Picton and Co is owned by veteran Cardiff hairdresser Ken Picton, and he clearly knows more about style than just wet perms and mullets. The bright and modern venue, with a big central bar as a focal point, has a great vibe.

Whilst Picton and Co’s daytime menu leans towards brunch dishes, focaccia sandwiches, and Japanese rice bowls, their evening menu offers eclectic small plates with influences drawn from across the globe. Duck leg bao, Moroccan lamb chops and smoked octopus pintxos were a few of the dishes that didn’t make it onto our final order.

Much like our last visit, we kicked off the meal with a couple of cocktails. This time around, they were made by multi award-winning mixologist Jamie Lock, who you may well recognise from Cardiff venues like Penny Royal, Heaneys and Dead Canary.

A Chutney Collins (£11) and Dirty Margarita (£13) were both seriously drinkable yet delivered layers of complexity and palate warming chilli heat. The former combined vodka, manzanilla, mango, pickled chilli and ginger whilst the latter saw a classic margarita zhushed up with olive brine and pickled chilli.

We followed them up with a boozy yet classy Manhattan (£14) and a Pear-shaped Sour (£12), with plenty of fragrant citrus and floral notes.

Picton and Co’s dishes are billed as plates rather than small plates and I can see why. We ordered five dishes between the two of us and were absolutely stuffed.

A mound of meaty AF oyster mushrooms (£14) were coated in the crispest of crumbs and drenched in a savoury and spicy gochujang sauce. Freshness came from a garnish of coriander, heat tempered pickled red chillies and spring onion.

Whilst Cardiff has its fair share of excellent carrot dishes, Picton and Co's carrot ceviche (£10) can hold its own among the best. Sweet and charred edged carrot slices had a nice bite and were lifted by the freshness of lime. The clincher was a pool of intensely umami and nutty hazelnut butter that added a wallop of flavour with every mouthful.

There was tons going on with smoked jeyuk pork belly dish (£20), but it worked. The slab of char crusted meat, which an excellent flesh to fat ratio, was accompanied by sweet and sharp apple puree, charred apple, and a background thrum of spice. Taleggio cheese sauce was perhaps one ingredient too many but I rather enjoyed the creamy and funky note it brought to the plate.

Smoked patatas bravas (£10) were an elite version of the Spanish classic. Colossal, ruggedly crisp and tender bronzed spuds had a beguiling smoky note and were served with pools of honking alioli and sweet pepper ketchup and a drizzle of sticky honey.

Finally, grilled buffalo chicken (£16) was a huge-flavoured hot mess. Despite looking like Jackson Pollock had thrown the ingredients at the plate, they were all natural bedfellows - charred yet tender chicken thighs, poky and sharp buffalo sauce, shards of crisp chicken, funky blue cheese nuggets and sweet yet cleansing charred apricot.

Despite being stuffed there was no way I was going to pass on the s’mores parfait (£9). It very much lived up to its billing. Not too sweet frozen chocolate parfait was coated in squidgy toasted meringue and topped with glossy hot chocolate sauce with a nice bitterness. Piles of buttery biscuit crumb completed the excellent riff on the American campfire classic.

We had an excellent meal at Picton and Co with its whopping flavoured flame-licked food, creative cocktails and friendly service. It’s a classy Cardiff Bay indie and a belter of a venue for a pre-show meal. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we’d happily make a trip to the Bay just to eat there, even when we’re not seeing a show.

The Details:

Address - Picton and Co, Unit 9 Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay CF10 5BZ

Web - https://www.pictonandco.com/

Telephone - 029 2066 2080

The Sultan, Cardiff Bay, Turkish restaurant review

There aren’t many restaurant buildings in Cardiff with as storied a past as the Big Windsor in Cardiff Bay (except perhaps the Burger King in Cardiff city Centre).

This grand Grade 2 listed building was formerly occupied by French chef Abel Magneron, who made the Big Windsor famous after World War 2 and cooked for film stars like Richard Burton and Stanley Baker.

His renown is commemorated on a plaque outside the building, which reads:“In the difficult days following the war 1939-1945, Abel Magneron, 1890-1954, here achieved a gastronomic standard which contributed to the further glory of the Entrente Cordiale.”

After years lying empty since its most recent incarnation as the Juboraj, the Big Windsor is bustling once again.

The Sultan Turkish restaurant opened its doors in 2023 and a December trip to see Hamilton at Wales Millennium Centre presented the perfect opportunity to finally visit. Other pre-theatre diners clearly had the same idea, as the classy dining space was buzzing at 5.30pm on a Saturday evening. It’s worth noting that service was swift and friendly throughout our meal, a very important consideration when dining on a deadline.

The Sultan’s menu certainly aims to appeal to a broad audience, with mezze and classic kebabs for the traditionalists, burgers for...those who want a burger, and a selection of specials for the more adventurous. These include pistachio crusted lamb chops (£27.90) with asparagus and pomegranate molasses and a monkfish and octopus kebab (£29.90) with beetroot couscous.

Booze on offer includes cocktails and raki, but I made a beeline for the Efes Draft (£5.90). Ice cold, crisp and malty, I’m always a big fan. Mrs G knocked back a large glass of smooth and red fruit filled Chilean Merlot (£5.70).

Complimentary Turkish balloon bread lived up to its name. A gigantic, puffed flatbread deflated at the first tear. Hot, soft and crisp-edged, it was accompanied by a pot of thick and rich cream cheese.

We ordered a couple of starters to share between four of us. Mixed mezze (£19.90) would have been more accurately described as mixed dips. Martin Short’s character from Only Murders in the Building would certainly have been impressed.

Out of the five different dips on offer, smoky baba ghanoush, green herb and tangy feta cheese-packed girit, and chunky cucumber and fresh mint laden cacik, were the highlights.

Chunky hummus was pretty good, but I wasn’t particularly sold on a thick guacamole like dip that was topped with a clashingly sweet jam. With so many dips to work our way through, our balloon bread was kindly replenished swiftly.

Two hefty slabs of excellent halloumi (£7.90) had just the right ratio of golden crust to chewy cheese. They were served on a dollop of sweet and fragrant fig jam, which worked rather well to balance the cheese’s salty creaminess.

 

Onto mains, and Mrs G and I both played it safe by ordering the mixed shish kebab (£20.90). A good few quid more expensive than my usual haunts on City Road, it was well worth the extra money as this was some of the tastiest kebab meat that I’ve ever eaten in Cardiff.

Gigantic chunks of remarkably juicy chicken and medium pink lamb were both licked with smoke. They were perched on a thin piece of flatbread so there was no wasting all those delicious juices.

On the side was a simple yet very good bowl of stubby grained rice and a well-dressed mixed salad that included pomegranate seeds and\ cornichons.

Bowls of creamy garlic yoghurt and fresh chilli sauce were brought to the table without prompting.

Our friends both ordered from the specials with varying degrees of success.

The Cokertme (£23.90) comprised of tender pan-fried beef strips in a tomato sauce that was sat on a bed of smoked garlic yoghurt and covered with a mountain of crisp shoestring potatoes. Our friend loved it, but I didn’t think it was as good as the mixed shish.

Chestnut chicken (£18.90) would be best described as tasty but a bit weird. Whopping pieces of impeccably juicy chicken (they certainly know how to cook meat at the Sultan) were coated in a sweet, fragrant and zingy lemon sauce that bore more than a passing resemblance to Chinese takeaway lemon chicken. If that’s your bag, then you’ll love this dish. Added interest came in the form of a dusting of crisp fronds of kataifi pastry and soft pieces of chestnut.

We rounded off the meal with complimentary cups of sweet Turkish tea.

We had a delicious meal at The Sultan and it’s great to see one of Cardiff’s most famous restaurant buildings back in action. Whenever a good independent arrives in the chain dominated Cardiff Bay, it’s always a cause for celebration.

The Details:

Address - The Sultan, The Big Windsor, Stuart Place, Cardiff CF10 5BU

Web - https://www.thesultancardiff.com/

Telephone - 02920 497776

Fire & Flank, Tiger Yard, Cardiff review

Steak doesn't seem like the best idea when it comes to street food.

Typically requiring ‘à la minute’ preparation, there's nowhere to hide with how precisely it’s cooked or how well rested it is. 

With orders to churn through at a rate of knots, the last thing you’d want to do is serve something overcooked and resembling a piece of shoe leather. Or something so badly rested that it exsanguinates all over the rest of the dish. 

So, it's a testament to the ingenuity of the team at Cardiff's Fire & Flank that they've adopted a technique which means that they can consistently knock out beautifully cooked steaks time and time again. 

Initially cooked sous vide in a 57˚C water bath, Fire & Flank’s flank steaks are then finished on a griddle (or with a blow torch depending on health and safety rules). The result is a steak with a beautifully pink interior and a golden, caramelised crust. 

Despite setting-up shop in 2021, I only tried Fire & Flank for the first time earlier this year. However, I've been craving their steak and mash ever since. 

Fire & Flank currently resides at Cardiff Bay’s Tiger Yard as well as Kong’s Bar in Cardiff City centre; although the latter seems so lightly publicised that I keep on forgetting it exists, much like the fact that Kong’s has one of the best craft beer selections in town. 

Both times I’ve tried Fire & Flank have been at Tiger Yard in Cardiff Bay, a rather nice street food venue with a mixed bag of vendors. Fire & Flank is undoubtedly the standout of their residents.

Winner of the best main course at the British Street Food Awards in 2021, Fire & Flank’s steak with cheesy garlic mashed potato (£12) is a corker of a dish. Thick slices of their blushing pink, deeply beefy and well-crusted steak are served on a giant mound of smooth, garlicky, butter slicked, and cheese twanged mashed potato. It’s everything you want mashed potato to be, but it so rarely is. The dish’s richness is somewhat offset by a vibrant chimichurri that’s packed with fresh herbs, a zip of acidity and hint of chilli. 

Their steak and chips (£12) are just as good. This time a plentiful portion of their steak and chimichurri is piled on top of crisp paprika dusted fries. What’s particularly compelling is the mingling of beef juices and chimichurri oil with the chips, lending them a spicy beefy note. Some how they manage to remain crisp at the same time. 

However, Fire & Flank don’t just know how to cook a steak. Their burgers are excellent as well. 

Their Flank Burger (£12) is a proper five napkin job. A pair of seriously juicy and gnarly edged smashed ex-dairy beef patties have a real rich beefiness and savoury umami hit. Topped with oozy American cheese, a smoky house burger sauce, and more slices of that excellent flank steak, it’s only held together by the grace of all the juices which soak into the glistening brioche bun. 

I don’t normally write reviews of individual street food traders, but it’s worth singling out Fire & Flank for what they’re doing. They serve one of the best steak and chips in Cardiff for £12 and one of the city’s finest burgers too. Whether it’s Tiger Yard, Kong’s or wherever they end up next, Fire & Flank are most certainly worth seeking out. 

The Details:

Address - Fire & Flank, Tiger Yard, Plot A Porth Teigr Way, Cardiff CF10 4GA
Web - https://www.fireandflank.com/
Email - hello@fire@flank.com

Yakitori #1 and Picton & Co, Cardiff Bay restaurant review

What is the meaning of life? Can we expect life after death? Does God exist? Are there any decent independent restaurants in Cardiff Bay?

These are all some of life’s biggest questions and the latter has cropped up time and time again since I've started this blog.

One place that I’m always quick to recommend in the Bay is Yakitori #1, an independent Japanese restaurant that’s been a longstanding fixture for over a decade.

Despite having only been to Yakitori #1 a couple of times since I last reviewed it over ten years ago, I’ve continued to hear good things from people whose opinion I trust.

This time around, we visited early on a Saturday evening before a trip to Wales Millennium Centre, and it was great to see the understated dining room packed with people enjoying stir-fried noodles, sushi platers, katsu curries, and bowls of ramen. With swift and efficient service, we were in and out within an hour, making it an ideal pre-theatre option.

During dinner, I knocked back a couple of bottles of crisp and malty Sapporo lager (£4.75) whilst our friend who wasn’t drinking tucked away a few glasses of Yuzu Mitzu (£3.95), a super refreshing mix of yuzu and honey.

Vegetable tempura (£7.50) was made up of a toothsome combination of aubergine, pepper, sweet potato, and mushroom in an airy and grease-free batter. It was accompanied by a light and savoury tentsuyu dipping sauce.

A Yakitori #1 nigiri special (£20.50) hit the mark on all accounts with its well-seasoned, unclaggy and room temperature rice. Meaty salmon, tuna and yellowtail, sweet prawns, and sweet-savoury inari tofu were all delicious. We ordered another portion of the inari tofu (£4.60) as it’s always Mrs G’s favourite.

A bowl of plump and fatty salmon sashimi (£9.95) was served in thick tranches over crushed ice.

Unagi maki rolls (£13.95) were topped with barbecued teriyaki eel with its addictively sweet, savoury, fatty and smoky properties.

As expected, we had a lovely meal at Yakitori #1. Before dinner we also had excellent pre-dinner drinks at the recently opened Picton & Co, which is also located in the Bay.

Alongside their chi-chi delicatessen and restaurant, they serve a belting range of cocktails which are mixed by an alumnus of the acclaimed Lab 22.

My favourites were a glasslike take on a White Russian (£11.50), made with coffee distillate, cream soda, and vanilla. 

A pitch perfect whisky sour (£11.50) was cleverly scented with bay leaf and a spritzy take on a pina colada (£11.50) was super refreshing on a muggy evening. All the other cocktails we ordered were great too.

Picton & Co's dinner menu of small and sharing plates also sounds very good, but it's worth noting that they're not served till 6 pm, so sadly it's not viable as a pre-theatre option.

If you’re the kind of person who lies awake at night wondering whether there are any good independent hospitality businesses in Cardiff Bay, then sleep soundly because Yakitori #1 and Picton & Co are the answers to your worries.

The Details:

Yakitori #1
Address - 10 Mermaid Quay, Cardiff CF10 5BZ

Web - https://www.yakitori1.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2049 5050

Picton & Co
Address - Unit 9, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff CF10 5BZ

Web - https://www.pictonandco.com/

Telephone - 029 2066 2080

Chan's Noodle Bar, Cardiff Bay independent restaurant review

Whenever I’m asked to recommend an independent restaurant in Cardiff Bay, it’s always a bit of a head scratcher.

Whilst we’ve visited a few good places over the years, including Zaika, the Duchess of Deli and Yakitori #1 alongside more recent openings such as the Yorkshire Wrap at the Norwegian Church and Tiger Yard’s line-up of street food vendors, it’s still a part of Cardiff which is dominated by the blandest of chains.

So, Chan’s Noodle Bar in the heart of Mermaid Quay is a place which piqued my interest whilst walking past it on one of our regular bird spotting strolls around the Bay.

With its bright and functional dining space, their menu features Chinese takeaway classics, noodle soups, build your own noodle boxes, tray meals and Cantonese roast meats (sadly unavailable during our visit). On the weekday lunchtime we visited the place was full with office workers making the most of their lunch breaks.

There’s a cheap meal to be had as Chan’s meal boxes offer a choice of dishes, boiled rice and broccoli for £8.95 and their noodle boxes weigh in at a similar price point. But, it was their pricier Chan’s specials which sounded the most interesting, with dishes including salted egg yolk king prawn (£12.65), beef brisket and preserved bean curd stew (£12.65), and special pork chops with honey chilli sauce (£10.95).

We ordered a couple of smaller dishes and a pair of Chan’s specials to share and it was a heck of a big lunch.

I was told that crispy duck buns were unavailable after I’d ordered and paid for them and so chose chicken satay buns as an alternative. Strangely enough, the duck buns turned up at our table. A pair of soft and squidgy bao (£7.35) cosseted a classic combination of crisp and tender aromatic duck, cleansing cucumber and spring onion, and sweet and sticky hoi sin sauce. They were very tasty, if a little light on filling.

A quintet of thin-skinned dumplings (£7.35) were filled with tightly packed minced beef. They were pretty good, but slightly one note in their savoury seasoning, and so were elevated by a lovely dipping sauce with a nice balance of chilli, sweet and savoury.

Beef ho fun (£10.95) was the standout of the meal. The colossal portion of thick rice noodles, which were flecked with plentiful pieces of tender beef and crisp beansprouts, had an excellent smoky savouriness from the wok.

King prawn fried rice with XO sauce (£11.95) was just as generously proportioned but less successful on the flavour front. Whilst seven whopping sweet and tender king prawns were delicious they were let down by the fried rice, which was rather bland and almost totally lacking the compelling savoury hit of XO. It’s fortunate we had some chilli sauce leftover to pep the dish up a bit.

Overall, we had a good lunch at Chan’s Noodle Bar that wasn’t without its faults. I’d certainly go back for another bowl of their beef ho fun and would be interested to try some of their more keenly priced meal box options.

The Details:

Address - Chan's Noodle Bar, Unit 20, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, CF10 5BZ

Web - https://chansnoodle.com/
Telephone - 02920482688

The Duchess of Delhi, Cardiff Bay, Indian restaurant review

Beer then curry, is there a more logical sequence of events?

Lager followed by goat’s cheese tartlet...ale then Caesar salad...stout then trout… they just don’t have the same appeal.

However, that last one does have a certain ring to it.

So, after a clutch of post-work weekday pints down the Bay, there was only way the evening was going to go…

The Duchess of Delhi’s Head Chef, Sundaramoorthy Krishnasamy, knows how to cook a damn fine curry. I’ve previously enjoyed his Southern Indian food when he was running the kitchen at Spiceberry. And with experience behind the stoves at Purple Poppadom and Mint & Mustard, Krishnasamy has an enviable Cardiff curry CV.

Whilst The Duchess of Delhi’s a la carte menu encompasses specialities from across Southern Asian, including Nepalese momos and Indonesian Nasi-goreng alongside more familiar curry house staples, it’s reassuring to see there’s still a dominance of Southern Indian food.

However, this is a little moot as we arrived just before 7pm and so were able to take advantage of the bargainous lunch and early evening menu; a fact not lost on the clock-watching waiter who only brought us this menu on request after we were initially presented with the a la carte. 

Customary poppadoms (£2.50 per person) were exceptionally fresh whilst an average pickle selection included an under-flavoured raita and an overly-vinegary tamarind(?) chutney. 

Starters were prettily presented yet equally pedestrian. 

Onion pakoras were crisp and well seasoned - everything you can expect from the most ubiquitous of Indian starters.

Chicken tikka was Lilliputian (the set menu did warn portion sizes were "promotional") and not the most tender. 

However, that was the final mediocre mouthful to pass my lips for the rest of the meal.

Mains brought two superb Southern Indian curries. Kerala chicken curry was packed with creamy coconut, fragrant curry leaf and a pleasingly potent chilli after-burn. 

Lamb pepper roast comprised of unctuous, slow cooked meat in a richly spiced, heavily reduced gravy; a chargrilled green pepper hidden at the bottom of the bowl was an added bonus. 

This photo looks in focus after a few pints...

Saffron rice was fragrant and fluffy…

whilst garlic naan bread (£2.75) was crisp and soft.

Desserts were equally inspired.

A rose petal crème brûlée (a little familiar from the Purple Poppadom) was perfectly-scented and crisp-topped. 

Payasam, an Indian riff on rice pudding made instead with vermicelli, was comfortingly creamy and heady with cardamon.

The Duchess of Delhi’s Southern Indian curries and refined desserts are a bang tidy addition to Cardiff Bay. Whilst the starters we ate were unremarkable, the food that followed provided concrete evidence of the talent behind the stoves. 

The Details:

Address - The Duchess Of Delhi, 6 Bute Crescent, Cardiff Bay, CF10 5AN

Web - http://duchessofdelhi.com/

Telephone - 029 211 53574