Kegbelly, Penarth fried chicken pop-up review

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 

Web - https://www.instagram.com/kegbellypenarth/

Tom's Smashed Burgers, Penarth review

Mrs G and I supposed to be training for a long hike later this year.

However, what with the shit weather and our mild laziness, we’ve only managed to achieve one 12 mile yomp so far in the last few months.

So, on the second day of sunshine since January, Mrs G and I set off to Penarth with our eyes on a lunchtime pitstop halfway on our walking route.

Our destination of choice was Tom’s Smashed Burger in Penarth, which has been on my radar for many a year and is often in the mix when south Wales’s best burger is discussed. 

It’s located in Crafty Devil Cellar, the taproom for a very good Cardiff craft brewery – I’m always a fan of their Mikey Rayer session pale ale and Lush hazy pale ale. 

But, as we had another seven miles still to walk, we stuck to Born Free (£4.80), Craft Devil’s alcohol-free beer. Brewed with citra and mosaic hops, it was a deliciously juicy yet refreshing drop.

 

Tom’s Smashed Burgers menu comprises of ten different burgers (including chicken, veggie and vegan options) that are available with single, double or triple patties as well as loaded fries and sides like halloumi fries and corn ribs.

Having placed our order at the bar and plonked ourselves in in Crafty Devil’s sunny courtyard area, there wasn’t long to wait for our food to arrive.

I kept it simple with the double Tom’s Classic (£12) and it was a handsome burger indeed. A pair of deeply beefy smashed patties with compellingly crisp lacy edges spilled over from the edges of the bun.

Topped with a good ooze of American cheese, a thick and tangy burger sauce, and cleansing zingy pickles, it was a big-flavoured bit of junk food and you could taste the quality of the dry-aged beef which had been used. 

The only thing I wasn’t fully sold on was a sweet brioche bun which was fine but reminded me a bit of the kind of you can pick up at the supermarket.

Mrs G had called dibs on the double bacon burger (£14) and as suspected, it was even better than my classic burger. Topped with herb-flecked umami-charged bacon mayo, crisp streaky bacon, pickles and crispy onions, it was a belter of a burger.

Just as tasty as the burgers was a whopping portion of buffalo chicken dirty fries. We ordered the small (£8), so I’d love to see what their large portion (£12) is like.

A basket of golden fries was topped with a bevy of potently flavoured toppings – crisp crumbed chicken pieces, nuggets of pokey stilton, fiery jalapenos and a saucy trio of nacho cheese, tangy blue cheese mayo and vinegar-twanged buffalo sauce. It was an absolute mess of a dish, and I was fully on board with it.

We really enjoyed the burgers and fries from Tom’s Smashed Burgers. All their flavours are on point and it’s exactly the kind of food which pairs well with a few craft beers. Next time we’re back in Penarth on another training hike, we’ll be sure to get stuck into Crafty Devil’s tasty beer selection as well as Tom's burgers.

The Details:

Address - Tom's Smashed Burgers, Crafty Devil Cellar, 17 Windsor Rd, Penarth CF64 1JB

Web - https://instagram.com/toms_smashed_burgers

Kegbelly, Whitchurch, Cardiff craft beer and street food review

As a fully-fledged fried chicken fiend and a card-carrying Carhartt-clothed craft beer nerd, Whitchurch's Kegbelly is a new Cardiff opening that I’ve been very excited about.

It seems like I'm not the only one. Because by all accounts, they’ve been rushed off their feet since they opened in the middle of August. On social media, there are regular photos of the venue being standing room only with people spilling out onto the street. And soon after opening they sold out of their own Yawn house pale ale, such was the demand for the stuff.

Kegbelly is co-owned by Mr Croquewich, local street food veterans, and Flowerhorn Brewery, an Ely-based set-up with psychedelic branding. I’ve had a number of their beers since they first opened in 2019 and they’ve got better and better every time I’ve tried them.

As Kegbelly is walk-ins only and I'm always keen to avoid the crowds, we visited on a weekday lunchtime. 

Kegbelly has a very good selection of beers on draft with hoppy beers, stouts and sours from Flowerhorn as well as a permanent guest lines from Caerphilly’s Dark Element (arguably Wales’ hottest new brewery) and house lager from Munich’s Hofbräu. In the unlikely event that there isn’t something to your taste on the 13 taps then there’s a fridge full of beers from the likes of Verdant, Vault City, and 3Fonteinen.

We started off with Flowerhorn’s super crushable Yawn pale ale (£5.70 a pint) and their thicker and danker Limbzilla NEIPA (£7.50 a pint) before moving onto an excellent pale ale from Dark Element (£6.30 a pint). 

Mr Croquewich is a local street food legend and over the years I’ve enjoyed many of their grilled cheese sandwiches and fried chicken burgers. So, it’s understandable that they're the focus of Kegbelly's menu as well as chicken wings and foot long hotdogs. It’s the ideal kind of food to soak up a few beers. 

A Crocker’s club (£15) was top drawer. A golden crumbed and juicy brined chicken thigh was dusted with savoury parmesan cheese and filthed up significantly with the addition of crispy prosciuitto, funky truffle mayo, sweet and spicy chilli jam, and some token iceberg lettuce. It was all stuffed into a sturdy yet soft crumbed Pettigrew bakery croissant scrap roll and on the side was a pile of very good crisp fries.

I’m a big fan of the Cubano sandwich and I think Mr Croquewich’s version (£12) might now be the definitive one in Cardiff. Gorgeously cheese crusted toasted sourdough cosseted a big ooooze of melted smoky jack, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses that were layered with shreds of pulled spiced mojo pork, slices of tender ham, and a sweet and warming honey mustard sauce. Pickles and sunblushed tomatoes went an inch towards balancing the richness of the excellent toasted sandwich.

We had excellent lunch at Kegbelly. Their combination of craft beer and indulgent street food is very much my vibe and it's clear to see why the people of Whitchurch are flocking through their doors.

The Details: 

Address - Kegbelly, 12 Park Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 7BQ

Web - https://www.instagram.com/kegbellycardiff/

The Broad Chare and six of the best pubs in Newcastle and Gateshead

I’m not sure how many times I’ve told you I’m a proud Geordie, but here we go again.

On a recent visit to the promised land, I was struck by the quality of Newcastle’s pub scene.

It feels like around every corner there’s a characterful freehold pub serving an interesting selection of craft beers and real ales. A fair few of them serve top notch food too.

In fact, judging by other recent visits to Brighton, Bath, and Manchester, it feels like Cardiff is missing out.

Whilst we have a few excellent pubs, including the Lansdowne, Heathcock, Grange and Four Elms, and craft beer bars like Pop ‘n’ Hops and Scaredy Cats, most other places serve the same beers from the same brewery and an identikit menu of underwhelming food.

It really would be great to see more places with kitchen residencies like Hench Burger at the Royal Oak on Newport Road, and more venues stocking craft beers from the UK’s best breweries like Beak and Deya.

Which brings me on to the Broad Chare on Newcastle’s Quayside. Owned by Terry Laybourne’s acclaimed 21 Hospitality Group, it’s a regular fixture of UK’s Top 50 Gastropubs list and currently sits at number 44.

Downstairs there’s a dedicated pub area with guest beers on draught from the likes of Verdant, Burnt Mill and Siren, whilst upstairs in the restaurant there’s a menu of high-end pub cooking to bring out anyone’s inner trencherman. Dishes include liver and bacon, megrim sole with spiced mussel butter, and glazed bacon chop with prune and mustard sauce.

As well as the draught beer, the Broad Chare also stocks an interesting selection of bottles including smoky rauchbiers and vinegary Flanders red ales. We shared a superb bottle of Nøgne Ø Banyan By the Sea (£20), a wild rhubarb ale with plenty of fragrant fruit, a little funk and a good balance of sweetness and acidity.

Wanting to try as much of the menu as possible, we shared a bunch of snacks and smaller and larger dishes between four of us.

A textbook scotch egg (£6.50) married a crisp crumb, well-seasoned sausage meat and a fudgy yolk.

Golden battered pieces of cauliflower (£5.50) were served with a compelling pot of Coronation-esque curried mayo.

A "small plate" of haggis on toast (£13) most certainly stretched the definition. A massive piece of crunchy toast topped with peppery haggis, a runny-yolked egg and warm HP sauce (with a lovely sweet-savoury acidity) was a dreamy combination.

Crisp-crumbed scrumpets (£9) were packed with long-cooked pieces of intense flavoured lamb. Their richness was counterbalanced by a light and crisp white cabbage slaw and dollop of tartare sauce.

Silky smoked cods roe served with peppery radishes and garlic croutons (£8) was a fine example of its type. I think Mrs G might be single-handedly keeping the UK’s cods roe industry in business, such is her passion for the stuff.

Sweet charred leeks (£16) were accompanied by creamy and cooling sheeps curd, the crunch of hazelnut and a comforting spelt risotto, which might have benefited from an extra twist of seasoning.

The best dish of the night was a massive disc of soft-textured spicy black pudding (£19). Everything about its accompaniments hit the mark - a mustardy and savoury Devilled sauce, thick buttery mash and fresh greens.

For dessert, the silkiest of delicately-spiced egg custard tarts (£7), which would have benefited from slightly crisper pastry, was served with a pile of well-soaked prunes. It’s my kind of way of getting fibre into your diet.

A soft squidgy ginger loaf (£7) was drenched in deep dark butterscotch sauce and topped with a scoop of ice cream.

So, the Broad Chare is a great example of a Newcastle pub. But there are so many more quality boozers in Newcastle and Gateshead which I hold in high regard. Here are just a few examples:

Free Trade Inn, Ouseburn

Take a short walk along the quayside from the Tyne Bridge and you’ll find yourself at the Free Trade in Ouseburn. Sit in their elevated beer garden and you’ll enjoy stunning views looking back along the Tyne whilst enjoying craft beers from the likes of the Kernel, Cantillon, Donzoko and Old Chimneys. There’s also a street food van regularly parked up outside on the weekend and samosas and pork pies on the bar.

 

Bridge Tavern, Newcastle Quayside

Located slap-bang underneath the Tyne Bridge, the Bridge Tavern has nine rotating cask lines from breweries like Wylam and Burning Sky as well as keg beers from the likes of Deya and Neon Raptor. They also do a fine selection of quality pub grub with dishes including frickles, scotch eggs and game pie. You can read my review of the Bridge Tavern here.

Crown Posada, Newcastle Quayside

The Crown Posada’s grand building dates back to 1880 and its name, which is Spanish for “inn”, comes from the many Spanish sailors who used to dock on the River Tyne. With its ornate stained-glass, coved ceilings and wood-panelled interior you’d be forgiven for thinking this would be a dusty old man’s boozer; it’s anything but. On our visit we enjoyed a Northern Monk x Other Half DIPA and a Pastore raspberry and blackberry sour.

Cumberland Arms, Ouseburn

If you were asked to draw a quintessential pub it would probably look something like the Cumberland Arms. With its regular live music, comedy, poetry and traditional music sessions, this is a pub which is very much at the heart of its local community. When we visited we enjoyed an excellent session IPA from Salopian, there was a burger van parked up outside, and live music playing from local up and coming musicians.

Axis, Gateshead

Cross the river over to Gateshead and take a stroll up the hill to the brilliant Axis. Located in a railway arch they serve an interesting selection of craft beers from the likes of Track, Burning Sky and Verdant as well as natural wine. We stumbled in on their first birthday party when they had a tap takeover from Deya.

The Beer Drop, Low Fell, Gateshead

If you've made it over to the river to Gateshead then carry on to Low Fell where the Beer Drop is located. This superb craft beer focused micropub is a friendly and inclusive place where you can knock back well-priced pints from local breweries like Wylam's Jakehead IPA or Almasty's Beer Drop pale ale. 

Nighthawks wine bar and Mad Dog brewery tap, Cardiff review

When I saw that both Nighthawks wine bar and the Mad Dog brewery taproom, located just about 50 metres apart from each other in Cardiff city centre, were both serving delicious looking toasted cheese sandwiches, the opportunity for a pun-tastic blog post theme seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

So, I present to you a tale of two toasties.

First up, is Nighthawks. Located on a glass-fronted corner entrance to the Castle Arcade, this wine bar’s name must surely take inspiration from the famous Edward Hopper painting. 

With an interesting selection of 14 wines by the glass (I won’t pretend to know what I’m talking about), each option is accompanied by an evocative description which helps a lot when choosing what to order. If wine isn’t your bag then there’s also Welsh Mountain Cider and beers from Wiper & True and Brooklyn.

Working our way through a couple of glasses each, I enjoyed a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc (£6.95) with plenty of citrus and gooseberry, and a really excellent Puglian negroamaro (£6.95) with heaps of raisins and soft tannins. Mrs G was a big fan of both a natural granacha blanca (£6.95) and a Uruguayan petit manseng (£8.95) which lived up to its apple pie crust billing.

With a menu of elevated snacks, which include posh paprika crisps with sour cream and fish roe; anchovies with garlic oil; and cheese and charcuterie boards, their toasted cheese sandwich is very much the eye-catcher. It certainly lived up to its billing.

Top drawer crisped and buttery Pettigrew sourdough (£7.50) cosseted a thick ooze of creamy mozzarella, tangy cheddar, Rutland red and lubricating white wine bechamel sauce. Pieces of spring onion provided a hit of allium whilst a pot of thick and fruity tomato chutney had just the right amount of acidity and the addition of nigella seeds provided unmistakably naan bread like seasoning.

With one excellent toastie under our belts, Mad Dog Brewery had a lot to live up to. 

Having relocated from Monmouthshire to a spot opposite the castle earlier this year, I was interested to read that one of the owners had experience of working in the kitchen of the three Michelin-starred Fat Duck.

So, the signs were more than promising and it translated into a delicious sounding menu of small plates and sandwiches, with dishes including padron peppers with sumac yoghurt, duck croquettes with mustard mayo, and buttermilk fried chicken with chilli mayo.

With beers on offer including the brewery’s own marmalade IPA and a guest amber ale from Crafty Devil, Mrs G and I both enjoyed a light, crisp and juicy Hair of the Dog American pale ale - it’s the kind of beer I could happily have a few pints of.

Once again, top drawer crisp toasted sourdough bread provided the foundation for the sandwich (£9).

This time, it was loaded with a looser creamy cheddar cheese sauce, which provided a lovely coating for a fine dice of soft and sweet leeks. It was a deliciously filthy and rich toastie but I think the Nighthawks toastie edged it due to its ooziness.

We supplemented our sandwich with a portion of mushroom fritters (£5) - a fine dice of seriously savoury mushrooms were bound together by bechamel (I think) and coated in a extremely crisp panko crumb, which was perhaps just one shade of brown too dark. An accompanying bowl of delicately sweet and savoury miso mayo completed the delicious snack.

We had excellent toasted sandwiches at both Nighthawks and Mad Dog so it’s a story with a happy ending. I'll certainly be going back to both places to explore more of the snacks and booze on their menus.

The Details:
Nighthawks

Address - 47-49, Castle Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1BW

Web - https://www.instagram.com/nighthawkscardiff/?hl=en

Mad Dog Brewery

Address - 17-19 Castle St, Cardiff CF10 1BS

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

Telephone - 07500 225616