Yadgar, City Road, Cardiff Afghan restaurant review

Whilst City Road gets a lot of bad press, it’s easily one of my favourite streets in Cardiff.

Where else in the city can you eat almost 20 different global cuisines within the space of a kilometre?

By my estimation you can eat Afghani, African, American, British, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, Pakistani, Syrian, Thai, Turkish or Yemeni cooking. 

Out of the above, it’s Afghan cuisine which seems to be having a moment on City Road as not one, but two restaurants have opened in the last few months.

Yadgar is the latest addition to the street, having arrived just a few weeks ago.

They’ve done a nice job on the refurb of the former La Shish site with its bright and modern interior coupled with black and white pictures of Afghanistan.

Yadgar’s whopping two-sided menu is divided up into Afghan dishes, kebabs and Asian dishes such as paneer tikka, butter chicken and nihari. There’s a lot to get your head around, so we decided to focus on the Afghan dishes as they’re the house speciality.

On the drinks front, excellent mango lassis were ice cold with just the right hit of tropical fruit and creamy yoghurt.

A complimentary salad was the first dish to arrive, and it set the standard for the meal. An impeccably crisp and fresh mix of rocket, red cabbage, carrot and onion were zingily dressed and dusted with zesty sumac.

Next to arrive were complimentary bowls of thick and peppery chicken soup. Flecked with shreds of chicken and pieces of sweetcorn and carrot, it was reminiscent of the chicken and sweetcorn soup you get in Chinese restaurants but with a little extra spice. It was good but I’m never fully sold on the slightly gelatinous texture.

When we tried to order a starter of hummus, we were advised that it would also be complimentary and so we didn’t need to order it. What arrived was a combination of cucumber and mint flecked creamy yoghurt and thick tahini laced hummus.

Both the dips were delicious and served alongside freshly made naan with a pillowy soft crumb and crisped edges. Thankfully, the dips did end up appearing on the bill for £4 - otherwise I’d worry how Yadgar is going to make any money with all those freebies.

Onto the mains, and first up were the mantu (£13). Ten thick cased yet tender steamed dumplings were filled with a mix of minced lamb, onion and carrot. They were very tasty, if a little light on filling, and were elevated hugely by the addition of a spiced tomato and lentil sauce, tangy yoghurt and a mix of fragrant dried herbs.

Kabuli pilau (£13), Afghanistan’s national dish, was unquestionably the star of the meal. Hidden amongst a pile of fluffy, fragrant rice flecked with caramelised carrot were nudgingly tender pieces of slow-cooked bone-in lamb.

It’s certainly up there with the best lamb I’ve eaten in Cardiff. However, what really made the dish sing was the occasional pop of sweet and juicy sultanas.

A bowl of lubya, a spiced kidney bean and tomato stew that was served on the side, provided ideal saucing.

Our excellent value lunch at Yagar provided a delicious introduction to Afghani cooking. It’s one more national cuisine that helps make City Road such a special street to visit.

The Details:

Address - Yadgar, 17-19 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3BJ

Web - https://www.instagram.com/yadgar.restaurant

Telephone - 07851 669762

Crown Kitchen, Roath, Cardiff Chinese restaurant review

I’m a sucker for a superlative.

In fact, one of my mates takes the piss of out of my tendency to regularly declare something to be the “best” I’ve eaten in Cardiff. The best pizza. The best kebab. The best burger. The best ham in aspic. The best turducken.

What can I say, I’m in the hype game. And people don’t want to read about the seventh best birria tacos in Caerphilly or the fourth best pulled pork bun in Cardiff.

So, when an Instagram connection who knows a lot more about Chinese food than me declared Crown Kitchen on City Road to be the best Chinese restaurant in Cardiff, I promptly dug out my elasticated eating trousers and booked a table.

Crown Kitchen has only been open for four months and is owned by a wife and husband team who hail from Shanghai and south China respectively. One half runs front of house with fabulous warmth and enthusiasm whilst the other, who previously worked as a private chef at the Four Seasons hotel in London for over twenty years, runs the kitchen.

The bright and simple dining room was quiet when we first arrived at 7pm on a Saturday evening. But, it swiftly filled up with a massive group who spread themselves over three tables and tucked into a procession of excellent looking dishes.

As often seems to be the case, Crown Kitchen serves two different menus. One offers westernised Chinese cooking for diners looking for sweet and sour pork and chicken chow mein, the other features traditional Chinese food that draws influences from across the country.

Handily, all the dishes are photographed. So, if you’re as clueless as I am then it gives you a very good idea of what to expect.

I’ve eaten a lot of potatoes in my lifetime but none like the shredded potatoes in chilli sauce (£10.80) from Crown Kitchen. Finely shredded, slippery spuds with a lovely bite and no starchiness whatsoever were served as a warm salad lightly dressed with vinegar, oil, coriander and a potent kick of dried chilli. For such a simple dish, it delivered a huge amount of flavour.

Salt and chilli squid is one of my favourite Chinese restaurant dishes and here it took the form of crunchy tentacles (£16). The pile of tender Cthulhu-esque tendrils were coated in a super crisp and light batter that was aggressively seasoned with salt, chilli and garlic. It was seriously moreish stuff and perfect with an ice-cold beer.

Beef ho fun in black bean sauce (£13) was another belter of a dish. A mound of beautifully tender beef was bathed in deeply savoury black bean sauce and piled on top of thick ho fun noodles with a compellingly savoury wok smokiness.

A lightly dressed cucumber salad that was dotted with roasted peanuts brought some freshness and lightness to the meal. However, at £10.80, it was perhaps the only dish which was questionable value for money.

Crown Kitchen’s dry fried organic cauliflower with pork (£12) transformed an all too often dour vegetable into something exciting. Florets of cauliflower had just the right amount of bite and were stir fried with nuggets of tender pork belly, peppers and onion in a savoury and spicy sauce.

Sichuan spicy boiled fish (£22) lived up to its billing. A vast cauldron of intensely flavoured, spicy, lip-tingling broth was the home to plentiful meaty pieces of white fish and a heap of beansprouts. Autumn is my soup era and this hit the spot.  

A big slab of roasted lamb ribs (£22) was one of the dishes I was most looking forward to. And they very much delivered on their promise, with their combination of crisp skin, stupidly tender flesh and a liberal dusting of just the twenty different types of spice (I bet chilli and cumin were a big part of the mix). Unfortunately, the pretty platter they were served on was stone cold, meaning that within a few minutes they were tepid and had lost their mojo. I refried some of the leftovers the next day and can confirm they were just as good as the first mouthful.

The last dish of the night was Hainanese chicken curry (£18). With its plentiful chicken off the bone in a creamy and fragrant coconut sauce, it was very reminiscent of a Thai curry. Whilst it was very tasty, it was probably the only dish which I wouldn’t be in a rush to order again.

We had a superb meal at Crown Kitchen. With its immensely friendly front of house and deliciously big-flavoured cooking from a talented chef-owner, they serve some of the best Chinese food I’ve eaten in Cardiff. Oh look, there I go dishing out another superlative.

The Details:

Address - Crown Kitchen,120 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3DQ 
Telephone - 07551 037509

Biryani Kings, Roath, Cardiff restaurant review

Burger King. Don of Doner. Meatball Monarch. Chicken Chairperson.

It’s common for hospitality businesses to anoint themselves the ruler of a foodstuff.

Whilst you could say that a name like Tortilla Titan smacks of bravado. You could also argue that if you’re not trying to be the best at a particular cuisine, you may as well not bother.

Even I quite fancy opening a Belgian-style chip shop called Fry King just so I can use the strapline “So Fry King good” (I’ll get my coat).

All this preamble brings me to City Road’s newly opened Biryani Kings, who opened just a week ago and are the self-crowned rulers of this hugely popular South Asian rice dish.

With a very basic yet bright and modern décor, Biryani Kings is the kind of place for a quick bite to eat rather than a romantic date night. Ordering happens at the counter whilst other diners noisily chat to family and friends on their video phones.

Biryani Kings specialise in Hyderabadi style biryani (according to my old friend Wikipedia it’s the most famous style around) and offer seven different types of the stuff. Three are billed as being cooked “dum” style, where all the ingredients are combined together and slow-cooked over a low heat.

But, there’s a lot more to Biryani Kings’ menu than just rice. Also on offer are tandoori grilled meats and a selection of curries, many of which are on display in a counter by the till.

It's also worth mentioning that Biryani Kings doesn't yet have their Scores on the Doors as they've only just opened... I'll be very interested to see what they get. 

On my first visit, I ordered the lamb dum biryani (£6.99) and it arrived just a few minutes after I sat down.

 

A generously heaped bowl was laden with fluffy, buttery, and fragrant rice that was layered with a pretty decent amount of tender and well-flavoured lamb on the bone coated in a big-flavoured spice paste with cardamom and a decent whack of chilli.

At £6.99 it was a delicious, hearty and cracking value lunch. But, I spent an extra £4 on upgrading to a combo meal, which also bought me a portion of chicken 65 and a soft drink (a lassi wasn’t part of the deal). With hindsight I’m not sure if it was the best deal.

A rather dinky plastic dish of chicken 65 saw tender morsels of boneless meat coated in a sticky, spicy and sweet sauce. However, other versions of this dish I’ve eaten have been deep-fried and crisp, and this wasn’t the case here. Also, it wasn’t piping hot.

On a second visit, I avoided the combo meal and had a better deal. A big bowlful of chicken dum biryani was spooned from a vast metal cauldron and even tastier than the lamb version. 

Every grain of fluffy and buttery rice was beautifully perfumed and there was a decent thrum of chilli too. Nestled in its depths was a drumstick and thigh, which both nudged off the bone with ease as a result of their long and slow cook. At £3.99 it was a bargain.

On the side, a pot of tangy yoghurt sauce dotted with carrot and coriander provided some balance to the biryani’s richness.

I also gave a curry a whirl and whilst it was good, it didn’t hit the same level as the biryani. Palak paneer (£4.99) combined cottage cheese cubes and a thick spinach sauce with earthy notes of cinnamon and cardamom and a medium chilli kick.

An exemplary naan was pillowy and crisp in all the right places and once again cracking value for a quid.

As I was leaving, a friendly member of staff asked me if I’d enjoyed my meal. I said I had, and he asked me if I’d put a review on Google. I said I would, so here it is.

Biryani Kings’ delicious bargain biryani is definitely worth checking out. Do they hold the crown for the best biryani in Cardiff? I'm not sure, but it’s certainly the best value that I’ve come across.

The Details:

Address - Biryani Kings, 130 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3DR
Web - https://biriyanikings.co.uk/
Telephone - 029 2297 0695

Syriana Grill House, Roath, Cardiff kebab house review

It’s a testament to the quantity and quality of Middle Eastern grill houses on Cardiff’s City Road that we’re often slow to visit the latest openings.

Why would we take a punt on somewhere new when we’re guaranteed a killer kebab at one of our old favourites? (Saray is our pick of the bunch in case you’re asking).

However, whilst feeling a little ropey on a Sunday lunchtime, we were drawn towards the gleaming new décor of Syriana Grill House.

One of the newest additions to the street, Syriana opened its doors three months ago on the former site of Lilo Express.

For followers of Cardiff kebab lore, Lilo was one of City Road’s OG grill houses and one of our favourite spots when it first opened over ten years ago. Unfortunately, their shameful demise bore parallels to Disney’s Ratatouille for all the wrong reasons.

Syriana has certainly given the place an overhaul as the glitzy dining room’s gold, bronze and silver flourishes give off the vibes of a luxury Las Vegas casino.

Most importantly, as soon as you cross the threshold, a healthy pair of shawarma and fridgeful of fresh kebabs are a very good omen.

Syriana’s menu sees cold and hot mezze rub shoulders with charcoal grilled meats and slow-cooked dishes like lamb mandi, okra stew and dawood basha (meatballs with tomato sauce).

It’s always great to see freshly squeezed juices and smoothies on offer, and Syriana’s fine selection includes strawberry, lemon mint and watermelon. A Story Brooke smoothie (£4.50) was an ice cold, thick and not too sweet combination of strawberry, raspberry, mango and apple.

A bowl of thick hummus (£4.50) was generously drizzled with oil, dusted with paprika and studded with soft chickpeas.

It was a lovely dip and even better served with a pair of complimentary hot and crisp pillowy bread pockets, which were different to any other carb offering that we’ve encountered on City Road.

Whilst we were warned by the friendly waiter that there was going to be a fifteen-minute wait for our main dishes as there was only one chef in the kitchen (that seemed pretty quick to us anyway), they ended up sat on the pass and so arrived less than piping hot. 

Despite this, both of our main dishes were very good.

Impeccably tender, juicy and well-seasoned lamb and chicken shish were the stars of a mixed grill (£15.95). Minced lamb halabi kebabs were nicely flecked with parsley and pepper but were a touch on the bouncy side.

A massive mound of buttery, vermicelli flecked rice was bang on and I was a big fan of the battered onion garnish. Which savoury dishes wouldn’t be improved by a smattering of battered onions?

Pieces of shocking pink pickled turnip, charred peppers and tomatoes, and a pokey pepper paste topped flatbread were lovely extra flourishes. But, an advertised salad accompaniment was conspicuous by its absence.

Lamb shawarma was undoubtedly the highlight of a plate of mixed shawarma (£12). The shavings of spit-roasted sheep were addictively caramelised in places. In contrast, pallid pieces of chicken shawarma were commendably tender but lacked both seasoning and crispness.

Overall, we had a very tasty lunch at Syriana Grill House, and I’d gladly eat another of their kebabs anytime. Despite the strength of the competition on City Road, it's a fine grill house in its own right.

The Details:

Address - Syriana Grill House, 72 City Road, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3DD

Web - syrianagrillhouse.com

Telephone - 0292045 0089

Pasha, City Road, Cardiff shawarma bar review

Ministry of Sound. Amnesia. Fabric. Space. Pasha.

It seems unlikely that I’d write about any of these places on this blog. 

Fortunately, I’m not about to branch out into reviewing superclubs. And considering my bedtime is usually 10pm, I don’t think any of them would even be open before my head hits the pillow.

No, it turns out that Pasha is a shawarma bar on Cardiff’s City Road. 

We’ve previously visited once before when they first opened at the start of 2023 and enjoyed a very tasty lamb shawarma wrap, which currently costs a mere £4.99.

This time we were back for a sit-down meal, and it was good to see Pasha had a constant flow of people on a grey Saturday lunchtime. 

As well as a handsome pair of shawarmas and charcoal-grilled kebabs, Pasha has a delicious looking selection of dishes on offer from their hot counter, including lamb and chicken quozy, which are served with okra, beans and aubergine sauce. 

Whilst we waited for our order, we were brought complimentary bowls of lentil soup, which had a nice level of savouriness and seasoning. 

To start, a plate of silky hummus (£4) was rich with tahini and oil. 

It was lovely served with a freshly baked blistered naan, which was both crisp and soft in equal measure. 

A mixed shawarma plate (£10.50) was generous in size and I was a big fan of the tender chicken shawarma with its crisp edges and good spicing. However, this time I didn't enjoy the lamb shawarma so much as I found it a little bit chewy and slightly too intensely lamby. 

The sides were all bang on – fluffy and buttery rice; a super fresh selection of salad with richness balancing, lightly pickled red cabbage; crisp chips; and bottles of creamy garlic sauce and fresh and fruity chilli sauce.

But, the highlight of the meal was a beautifully grilled seabass (£12.99), which was clearly prepared with a lot of love and attention. The butterflied fish had a delicious mildly spiced marinade, crisped edges with a good smoky note from the grill, and gorgeously tender flesh. More of that fluffy rice and fresh salad completed the dish. 

Another pair of those excellent naans also accompanied the meal. 

We had a cracking value lunch at Pasha with really friendly service. I didn’t expect to go to a City Road shawarma bar and find one of the best bits of fish cookery I’ve had in Cardiff recently. It was certainly a more euphoric experience than any nightclub I’ve ever visited. 

The Details:

Address - Pasha, 96 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3DQ
Telephone - 029 2132 1760