Hadramowt, Wedal Road, Cardiff Yemeni restaurant review

City Road's excellent Hadramowt was the restaurant which first brought Yemeni cuisine and their signature lamb mandi to my attention. Combining slow cooked meat and fragrant rice with a bevy of accompaniments, it's one of the best lamb dishes I've eaten in Wales.

Having since read more about the long history of Wales' Yemeni population, it seems rather fitting that both nations' cuisines heavily feature lamb. 

Cardiff's Yemeni population is considered to be one of the oldest Arab and Muslim communities in the UK. With Yemen's port of Aden coming under British control in 1839, the city was used a strategic coal refuelling station for British ships en route to India. 

Yemenis worked as stokers and sailors on the ships, transporting resources to and from Britain, and they arrived in Cardiff as early as 1862, with many settling in Butetown to work in the docks, coal mines and on the railways. Nowadays, there are Yemeni families of five generations who have settled in Cardiff. 

I'm clearly not the only fan of Hadramowt as they expanded in the middle of 2024 by taking over the vast former Grape & Olive site on Wedal Road. 

Gleaming turquoise paint and ornate signage was swiftly erected on the building's exterior but it then appeared to sit dormant for months and I questioned whether it would ever open its doors (I've recently posted about tricky restaurant spaces in Cardiff and I've always considered this to be one of them). 

Just as I did so, Hadramowt's Wedal Road branch finally opened at the backend of 2024. 

Hadramowt’s whopping interior is divided into a number of dining spaces, some with traditional floor seating, and a massive looking function room downstairs. Despite there being a couple of other groups there when we visited on a weeknight early evening, the place felt very quiet. 

With just one starter and three desserts, the focus of Hadramowt’s concise menu is slow cooked lamb and chicken dishes. It’s clear that lamb mandi is their showcase as you can pre-order a whole lamb’s worth for £220… I really need to assemble a team to demolish one.

As soon as we sat down, we were bought steaming hot bowls of lamb broth with beads of fat glistening on its surface. Deeply meaty and earthy spiced with a nice punch of chilli, it was a soothing balm on an icy cold night. 

A glass of sweet mango juice (£2) was tasty but unfortunately served at room temperature. 

Mrs G and I were only ever going to both order the lamb mandi (£12). Whilst this makes my review rather limited, I’d probably recommend you do the same thing.

A whopping plateful was even better than the version I've had from Hadramowt's City Road restaurant. Beautifully fluffy rice fragranced with clove and cardamom was topped with a generous portion of lamb on the bone. Crusty spice edged with spoonably tender flesh and soft fat and skin - it's as good a lamb dish as you'll come across in Cardiff. Toasty caramelised fried onions and sweet sultanas completed the immense dish.

On the side, individual pots of fresh and tangy tomato, chilli and coriander sauce and minted yoghurt were brought without prompting. They were an excellent contrast to the bass notes of the lamb and rice.

There was also a thick, sweet and comfortingly spiced potato stew. 

I was stuffed and Mrs G bagged up a box of half of her food to take home for my dinner the next day.

We had a feast for two from Hadramowt for £24. It doesn't get much tastier or better value than that. If you're yet to try Yemeni cuisine in Cardiff then I can't recommend a visit to Hadramowt to try their lamb mandi highly enough. 

The Details:

Address - Hadramowt, 39 Wedal Road, Cardiff CF14 3QX
Telephone - 07367 070660

Brother Thai, Cardiff restaurant review

Whenever we’ve walk past Brother Thai after a session on the craft beers at Pop ‘n’ Hops, it’s always been packed to the rafters. And on the couple of times we’ve tried to get a walk-in table, it’s been a fruitless endeavour.

But, on a sunny Friday night, and with Brother Thai’s compact back garden open for business, we were in luck.

One of the OGs of south Wales’s street food scene, Brother Thai’s non-traditional Thai cooking has built up a legion of fans over the last decade. It’s clear they’ve been just as popular since they made the transition to bricks and mortar in 2021.

Understandably, Brother Thai’s restaurant menu is more expansive than their festival offering. As well as their signature filled rotis, on offer there are rice bowls, a clutch of small plates and even a couple of desserts.

A pair of cocktails were both summery gluggers – a Rum Aroi (£9.50) combined spiced rum, sweet amaretto and a zip of citrus, whilst a Watermelon Wat (£4.60) saw ginger ale spiked with watermelon and lemon.

First to arrive was excellent Thai fried chicken (£8.50). With a super crisp yet thin spiced crumb and impressively juicy flesh, the pair of deboned thighs were liberally drizzled with spicy sriracha and balancing sriracha mayo.

Brother Thai’s sticky beef roti (£9) was always an essential order at street food festivals and here it was as compelling as ever. The crisp, flaky and buttery folded paratha was packed to the edges with tender pieces of big-flavoured beef coated in a rich, sticky and savoury spiced sauce which was reminiscent of rendang. Delicately pickled cucumber and red onion provided acidity and coriander leaves delivered an extra pop of fragrance.

A pad krapao rice bowl (£12) was Mrs G’s favourite dish of the night. The deeply savoury stir fry of tender chicken, green beans and chilli was heady with the aroma of holy basil. Jasmine rice and a frilly edged fried egg were excellent accompaniments.

Last up was a plate of deep-fried mushrooms (£8.50) masquerading as a laab salad. Heaps of fragrant coriander and mint, a good kick of chilli and a citrusy zing, made this a lovely vegan take on the classic meat salad.

It’s easy to see why we’ve found walk-ins so hard to come by at Brother Thai because their huge flavoured Thai street food is a real crowd pleaser. Next time we need to visit on a Sunday when they serve a rather delicious looking khao soi special.

The details:

Address - Brother Thai, 35 Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff CF14 3JN

Web - https://www.brotherthai.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2063 4834

Chai Social, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff restaurant review

The closure of Mint & Mustard on Cardiff’s Whitchurch Road earlier this year perhaps didn’t get the attention it deserved.

Whilst the Penarth branch of the restaurant still remains, its original base on Whitchurch Road was one of Cardiff’s most influential restaurants when it opened back in 2007.

It’s where Anand George started his culinary journey in Cardiff before leaving to open his critically acclaimed Purple Poppadom. The refined Southern Indian style of cooking which he pioneered at Mint & Mustard can now be seen in myriad restaurants across Cardiff.

Whilst Mint & Mustard’s Whitchurch Road branch is no more, it’s been replaced by Chai Social, a Mint and Mustard stablemate and the sibling of Cardiff city centre’s Chai Street.

What makes Chai Social particularly interesting is its billing as an all day drinking and dining destination. It certainly looks the part, with half of the space retaining a restaurant feel and the other adopting more of a colourful and casual cafe-bar vibe.

Mrs G has already visited Chai Social for a boozy night out. With their good range of punch, cocktails, craft gins and beers, it sounds look a fun place to have a session and something to eat.

Chai Social’s whopping menu offers something for every time of day with both classic Indian and fusion dishes available depending on your persuasion.

On the brunch and lunch section of there’s a full Indlish, kati rolls, loaded naans and even a bottomless brunch option for £30.

For lunch or dinner there are small plates, including tandoori cauliflower wings and slow-braised meatballs with kashmiri chilli sauce, as well as a selection of clay pot curries and larger dishes such as Ceylon devilled beef, a Social burger and Amritsari fish and chips.

We were drawn towards Chai Social’s express lunch menu, which is available from 12pm till 4pm from Monday to Friday, and offers a range of main dishes for a very well-priced £6.95. For research purposes (sheer greediness) we ordered three to share as well as an additional small plate.

Excellent thick and ice cold mango lassis (£3.50) had bags of tropical fruit and a creamy tang of yoghurt.

An onion pakora scotch egg (£6.95) was every bit as delicious as it looked; the golden crusted and light textured pakora surrounding a fudgey-yolked scotch egg. Whilst a slightly runnier yolk would have been preferable it was still a cracking bit of comfort food. It was accompanied by a delicious sweet and tangy spiced tomato relish and tasty yet run of the mill McCain-like chips.

The other stand out of our meal was a plate of okra fries (£5.60), which reminded me more than a little bit courgette fritti, one of my favourite beer snacks. A tangle of tender okra ribbons were coated in the lightest of batters. They were delicious scooped up by the fistful and dredged through a bowl of sweet chilli sauce.

A loaded naan bread (£6.95) certainly lived up to its billing. A mountain of very tasty things were piled onto a crisp and soft naan bread - coriander and tamarind chutneys, melted cheese, chargrilled paneer, crunchy pakora and poppadom pieces and crisp peppers.

It would have been rude not to put a curry through its paces and a chicken makhani’s (£6.95) spicing was bob on; the thick and creamy tomato sauce was fragrant with fenugreek and a good chilli heat. Plentiful chicken pieces could certainly have been a touch more tender but it was still a lovely curry accompanied by a mound of fluffy rice and poppadoms.

We had a very good lunch at Chai Social and it’s the kind of place I could genuinely see myself visiting any time of day. Whilst Mint and Mustard’s original home may be gone, it’s exciting to see the place start its next chapter as Chai Social.

The Details:

Address - Chai Social, 134 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF14 3LZ

Web - https://chaisocial.co.uk/

Telephone - 029 2062 0333

Grano, Birchgrove, Cardiff, Italian cafe and bakery review

From the moment you walk through the door at Grano and are met with fridges of Italian cheese and charcuterie, a hulking bread oven with racks of freshly baked focaccia, and an impressive display of cakes and tarts, it’s clear that it’s a place which puts quality produce front and centre.

This Italian cafe, deli and bakery, which has recently opened in Cardiff’s Birchgrove on the former site of Organicafe, serves a compact menu of salads, focaccia sandwiches and cheese and charcuterie boards.

From the outside, there’s little indication of the modern and roomy seating area which opens up once you get past all that produce.

To drink, a bottle of assertively herbal Galvanina Chinotto (£3.95) was reminiscent of sweetened cough syrup - I always love it but I'm not sure why. Mrs G enjoyed an oat milk latte (£3.60) - the fruity Sumatran coffee not too roasty and bitter as I often find in Italian gaffs.

My sandwich (£7.45) was a simple combination of three components, but what a trio they were. Two pieces of freshly baked focaccia with a lovely crisp exterior and soft, airy crumb, were stuffed with soft and seriously creamy burrata and garlic-twanged mortadella, the best mystery meat known to man.

A runny-centred burrata (£10.95) was the star of another simple yet very effective dish combining peppery rocket, wafer thin slices of Parma ham, a sticky balsamic glaze, extra virgin olive and hyper-crisp toasted house sourdough.

To accompany the dish, the menu suggested a choice between focaccia and sourdough bread and when Mrs G requested the former they weren't sure if there was enough available - as a nice touch a bowl of the stuff soon appeared at the table.

Finally, a whopping tuna salad (£10.95) was made with plenty of well-dressed leaves and mixed olives.

With an impressive selection of fresh bakes on offer, including a rather delicious looking ricotta and pistachio tart, we stuck to two classics.

A crisp and brittle cannolo (£3.50) was packed with smooth sweetened cream cheese dotted with dark chocolate buttons.

A brilliantly comforting tiramisu (£3.50) had a good oomph from the booze and coffee soaked sponge which was tempered by a light, silky and rich custard. It's a dish which I often find too heavy from the over-use of whipped cream; this was the antithesis.

We had a delicious lunch at Grano. It's the kind of café anyone would be glad to have in their neighbourhood and I'll certainly be back for more of their mortadella. 

Update - November 2024

On a recent visit to Grano, they’d added a selection of pinsa to their menu. The super light, thick and airy crisp crust reminded me very much of Roman style pizza by the slice. I ordered the piccante (£12.50) topped with sweet and earthy pumpkin puree, fiery and fatty 'nduja, melted smoked cheese, and crisp salami. It's easily up there among the best pizzas I've had in Cardiff.

Grano are also now open on Friday and Saturday nights when they serve a special pizza menu. If they're anything like their pinsa then they'll most definitely be worth checking out. 

The Details:

Address - Grano, 104 Caerphilly Rd, Birchgrove, Cardiff CF14 4AG

Web - https://www.instagram.com/grano.cardiff/

Telephone - 029 2233 8255

Alex Gooch Baker, Pontcanna, Cardiff vegan pizza review

When I was first told Alex Gooch’s baked goods are all vegan, my sizeable head almost exploded. Things like his delicious challah buns and rich viennoiserie including croncs (a muffin shaped croissant filled with chocolate) are all free from butter and eggs. Wowzers.

It's unsurprising they taste so good considering this Hay-on-Wye based organic artisan baker has won multiple awards including British Baker of the Year 2015 and the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Award Best Producer 2010.

So, when Alex decided to branch out into wood-fired vegan pizza from his weeny Kings Yard shop in Pontcanna, it was always going to be a dead-cert.

With a limited menu of just four pizzas (available as whole pies or by the slice), they’re available to takeaway on Fridays 4pm-8pm, Saturdays 12pm-8pm and Sundays 12pm-4pm. Coincide a visit with Pipes Brewery and Lazy Leek and you’re laughing.

 
Whilst we waited for our pizzas to be cooked, I guzzled a half pint of light and zingy Pipes champagne strawberry sour.

It’s worth flagging just how good the crusts are on Alex Gooch’s pizzas. Crisp and airy with a lovely chew and tang, they’re made from 30 hour proofed sourdough using organic rye and wheat flour, sea salt and water. 

 
A smoked margherita (£10.50) was topped with light and fresh tomato sauce, creamy and smokey melted cheese, and a good drizzle of perky herb oil. 

 

Another delicious pie (£12) was topped with punchy pickled jalapenos and briny green olives. 

The best of the bunch was a genius garlic based pizza (£12) topped with squished sweet and earthy butternut squash, melted cheese, toasty sesame seeds and creamy tahini. It’s one of the best flavour combinations I’ve had on a pizza anywhere. 

 
Six of us shared three sizeable pizzas alongside a couple of boxes of kick-ass Lazy Leek dirty fries and Buffalo cauliflower wings and it was plenty of food. They happen to be located directly opposite Alex Gooch so you can feed two birds with one scone.  

I highly recommend Alex Gooch’s vegan pizzas. If you’re looking for first rate pizza in Pontcanna, vegan or not, then this is the place to come.

The Details:

Address - Alex Gooch Baker, 183A Kings Rd, Cardiff CF11 9DF

Web - https://www.alexgoochbaker.com/

Telephone - 01497 822 708

Longa, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff Turkish cafe review

Whitchurch Road has got game.

When I moved to Cardiff ten years ago, I never would have guessed that Whitchurch Road would become one of the best places in the city to go to for craft beer, French patisserie, macaroni cheese and high end curry.

But here we are in 2019, and another exciting place to eat has just opened.

Longa is a bright and modern looking Turkish Cafe which has already created a bit of a buzz since opening a few weeks ago thanks to a glowing report from the legend Jose Pizarro.

 
With Mrs G suffering from a raging hangover, we were pleased to discover that Longa serve their breakfast menu until 2pm on a weekend alongside their lunch menu. 

Whilst their breakfast menu rotates around hearty sounding egg dishes and filled bagels, their lunch menu has interesting plates such as rice stuffed artichoke hearts cooked in orange juice with calamari and stewed beef on smoked aubergine mash. 

 
Feeling optimistically greedy (as always), Mrs G and I ordered the Anatolian breakfast for two (£17.50) and a dish off the lunch menu.

Our breakfast pretty much covered the entire table. A delightful mix of sweet and savoury bites, the bold yet comforting flavours perked us up no end after a night on the booze. 

The star of the show was a vintage Turkish pan laden with menemen, a mix of golden runny yolked baked eggs muddled together with soft green peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes, spices and chopped parsley. Discs of crisp and fatty spicy Turkish sausage provided the filth factor that all the best hangover breakfasts need. 

 
A basket of soft and light pide bread with a delicate chew was the perfect mop for the eggs. 

 
A big plate of cheese included grilled halloumi, strings of a salty and elastic cecil and soft, creamy and tangy wedges of a feta-like variety. 

Peppered salami, plump briny green olives, a deeply savoury sun-dried tomato paste with the crunch of walnut and warmth of chilli, garlic twanged hummus and more slices of spicy Turkish sausage completed the savoury breakfast line-up. 

 
A pair of sweet items were both super interesting and tasty - a fragrant pink rose petal jam and perfumed wildflower honey topped with a big dollop of cream. 

Manti (£6.95), our lunch dish, was as pretty as a picture. A plate of geometric crisp-topped and thin-skinned dumplings were filled with mildly spiced tender minced beef and sat on a bed of lightly garlic twanged yoghurt and warming chilli tomato butter. 

 
Drinks were pleasant but not an unmitigated success - Turkish tea was served black, strong and tannic whilst Turkish coffee was thick, bitter and as strong as rocket fuel. With hindsight we’ll probably go for a cup of their local Hard Lines coffee next time. 

We had a delicious brunch at Longa. It’s an exciting and different addition to Cardiff’s food scene and I can’t wait to go back and work my through the rest of their menu.

The Details:

Address - Longa, 180 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF14 3NB

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

Telephone - 029 2063 2082