Joon Persian supper club, Insole Court, Llandaff review

Whilst Leyli Homayoonfar is best known for the epic Mexican barbecue that she serves at her Bab Haus Mex street food stalls across south Wales, my first encounter with her cooking was something entirely different. Back in 2019, at a supper club in Cardiff’s Tramshed, I devoured a vibrant Joon and Co Persian feast inspired by her family’s Iranian heritage.

Earlier this year, in response to the devastating humanitarian crisis in Iran, Leyli decided to revive her Joon supper club as a way to celebrate Persian cuisine and culture as well as to raise money for humanitarian and medical aid.

Hosted over the last few months at Insole Court’s Potting Shed café on Friday and Saturday nights, it’s been one of the hottest tickets going. We finally made it to the last of the currently scheduled dates at the end of March.

The Potting Shed is a cosy and intimate venue which is ideally suited for a supper club. Its homely feel gives off the vibe that you could be sat in Leyli’s dining room. The fact that Leyli’s family also runs the front of house only adds to the intimate atmosphere.

Whilst you’re sat at long communal tables, the food is served for couples to share. So, there’s no bickering with strangers (just with Mrs G) over who gets the last spoonful of each dish.

£65 buys you three very generous courses of Persian cooking. There’s no way you’re going home any way other than stuffed.

To drink there’s a small selection of four wines available. We shared a bottle of fresh and fruity L’Artiste pinot noir (£27) and followed it up with delicious glasses of stone fruit soaked Alvi’s Drift viognier (£7.50).

Whilst we waited for our starters to arrive, we picked at vibrant green olives coated in nutty walnut paste and dotted with cleansing pomegranate pearls.

Mazeh, the first course of the night, was the ultimate selection of picky bits.

Salty and creamy cubes of feta and crunchy walnuts were drizzled in sweet honey and were guzzled down with leaves of fresh parsley and dill. Lightly pickled cucumbers, radishes and baby carrots brought crunch and acidity to the table.

Warm barbari bread had a crackly crust and chewy crumb and was dotted with sesame and nigella seeds. It was essential for scooping up the colourful selection of dips, which were up there with the best I’ve eaten. Each packed in so many layers of flavour and texture.

Warming spiced smoked aubergine was elevated by the sweetness of charred tomato and topped with toasty fried shallots.

The thickest of creamy labneh was fragranced with preserved lemon, mint and za’tar and flecked with fresh cucumber.

Silky black garlic hummus was crowned with a stupidly good Baharat spiced, sweet and fiery date chilli crunch.

Finally, earthy and zingy beetroot borani was pooled with burnt butter and toasted hazelnuts.

Mains were delicious but I think the starters edged it for both of us.

Bronzed skinned bone-in chicken pieces were bathed in a whopper of a sauce with saffron, the sweetness and fragrance of citrus peel, plenty of butter and the tartness of barbery seeds, which were vital in balancing all that richness.

Long cooked hunks of seriously tender Welsh lamb shoulder were hidden in the depths of a big flavoured meaty broth that was seasoned with distinctively fragrant fenugreek, Persian dried lime, and fistfuls of vibrant fresh green herb.

On the side, gorgeously fluffy and buttery saffron rice was topped with compellingly crisp and caramelised rice nuggets.

Thick and tangy wild garlic yoghurt and a finely diced salad of cucumber, tomato and onion brought further balance to all that decadence.

Dessert was a collection sweet and sharp delicious things, the centrepiece of which was a gorgeously thick and smooth slab of white chocolate cremeux. It was hidden beneath piles of candied pistachios, a tangle of Persian candy floss, and thin shards of white chocolate. Crucially, a hefty hit of fresh citrus brought balance to it all – there were slices of blood orange, a cleansing sorbet, and a tart grapefruit gel.

Absolutely stuffed, Leyli had thankfully already boxed up the last bonus course of the night for people to take home. A Persian love cake, heady with rose water, cardamom and citrus, was delightful with a cup of tea the next day.

Generous and homely, massively flavoured yet deftly balanced, I love Leyli Homayoonfar’s cooking and her Joon supper clubs have fully delivered on the aim of celebrating her Iranian heritage. Whilst this is the last date in the series for now, I’ve heard talk that there may be more dates in the offing. Keep an eye out as it’s a supper club that’s not to be missed.

The Details:

Address - The Potting Shed Cafe, Insole Court, Cardiff CF5 2LN

Web - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/joonsupperclub/2040928

Casablanca, Roath, Cardiff Moroccan restaurant review

Location, location, location.

There’s a reason why they say it three times.

Whether you’re buying a house or running a restaurant, it’s often crucial to how well things work out.

Location can impact everything from passing trade, competition, and curb appeal to parking places, spending power and transport links. 

So, it’s interesting that Casablanca’s 800 metre move from City Road to Albany Road clearly seems to have done them the world of good.

Whilst this Moroccan and Lebanese restaurant opened on City Road in 2023, I’d always considered it to be just one of the many restaurants on this jam-packed street that I’d eventually get around to visiting.

However, as soon as I saw they were relocating to a newly renovated venue a few minutes’ walk from our house, I was keen to get stuck in as soon as possible.

Plenty of other people clearly had the same idea as us because on the Saturday night we visited, just a few weeks after their move and at the start of Ramadan, they were absolutely slammed. Numerous walk-ins were turned away and a few adjacent tables had hefty waits to get their orders in. Fortunately, we avoided any of these issues and had swift service from the friendly front of house team.

It’s fair to say that Casablanca have done a cracking job with the refurb of their new home – it’s a beauty of a dining room with contemporary design features mixed with traditional tiles, wall plates and an assortment of Moroccan objets d'art.

With its focus on Moroccan cooking, Casablanca’s menu has a real point of difference. Dishes on offer include chicken pastilla, lamb tangia, and an assortment of tagines and couscous.

To drink a Casablanca Spritz (£6.50) delivered a light and refreshing combination of citrus and mint whilst a peach and mint tea (£6) had a good hit of sweet stone fruit and a cooling freshness. 

When I realised that Casablanca also serves alcohol, I followed my soft drink up with a pint of Poretti lager.

We shared a couple of starters, and both were delicious.

Chicken briwat (£7.50) saw a trio of crisp filo triangles stuffed with warming spiced diced meat. They were delicious dredged through a pot of light textured yet potent garlic toum. Salad leaves, which were buried beneath the pastries, looked a bit lacklustre and there really wasn’t much point to them. 

A generous bowl of thick and silky tahini rich hummus (£6.50) was studded with whole chickpeas and drizzled with oil.

Warm khobez bread was the ideal shovelling implement.

Having been tipped off about the lamb tagine (£17.50) by a good friend, it was the first on our list of dishes to order. We weren’t disappointed. A whopping nudgingly tender slow-cooked lamb shank was a cracker of a piece of meat. Topped with plump apricots, prunes and sultanas and the crunch of almonds, the hefty piece of meat was sat in a bowl of rich meaty broth with a compelling savoury sweetness.

Served on the side was warm, soft and tightly crumbed Moroccan batbout bread, which very much reminded me of a Geordie stottie. I was in my element.

Our other main – chicken seven vegetable couscous was delicious (£18) but not quite as good.

A mound of stock rich couscous was topped with a tender half chicken with commendably juicy and flavoursome dark meat. However, the breast was just on the verge of tipping towards dryness. The colourful vegetable garnish comprised of a nicely cooked mix of courgette, carrot and squash as well as a pile of sweet, cinnamon-spiced caramelised onions flecked with plump sultanas.

Vital saucing and additional layers of flavour came from a jug of compellingly chicken and citrusy broth.

On a separate visit, I tried out Casablanca’s daytime menu, which offers brunch dishes like shakshuka, sujuk and eggs, fatayer pastries and batbout sandwiches.

I opted for the Casablanca shakshuka (£12) which was served in a bubbling terracotta cauldron that was hotter than the earth's core. It was just as well because otherwise I would have inhaled the delicious dish within a matter of minutes.

A mix of soft peppers, potatoes, aubergines and two runny-yolked eggs were bathed in a lightly spiced 

and not too sweet chunky tomato sauce.

More of that addictively soft crumbed stottie-like batbout bread was served on the side.

A pot of light and fresh mint tea (£2.50) was the ideal accompaniment.

We both really enjoyed Casablanca’s delicious and well-priced Moroccan cooking, and it brings something different to Albany Road. I hope they do well in their new home - their location certainly stands them in good stead.

The Details:

Address - Casablanca, 112 Albany Road, Cardiff CF24 3RU

Web - https://www.facebook.com/CasablancaCardiff/

Telephone - 029 2047 2772

Nok and Roni's Kitchen, falafel and Thai cooking, Cardiff review

*Update - Nok & Roni's Kitchen has now relocated from Cardiff to Monmouth*

It feels like it’s been a very long and wet winter.

It must have felt even longer for outdoor-centric businesses like Nok and Roni’s Kitchen in Canton’s Boneyard.

Whilst they’ve got covered seating to take shelter from any inevitable downpours, this is a place where you’re acutely aware of the elements.

So, on the first sunny day in Cardiff in what seemed like months, we decided it was time for a long overdue visit to Nok and Roni’s.

For keen followers of Cardiff restaurant lore, Roni is the former owner of Crwys Road’s Falafel Kitchen, home of the best falafel that I’ve ever eaten in the city.

Having closed in 2018, Roni started a Mediterranean and Thai street food stall with his wife Nok. Hence the name Nok and Roni’s.

After stints at Roath and Riverside Markets, a short-lived cafe on Trade Street, and a spell at McCarthur Glen in Bridgend, Nok and Roni relocated to the Boneyard in early 2025.

I’ve always thought the Boneyard is a bit of a funny location. Hidden away at the end of an industrial estate alongside other shipping container creative companies, it’s the kind of place which has almost no passing trade.

So, unless you’ve planned a visit to Nok and Roni's, it’s very unlikely you’re going to stumble across them. It’s a shame because Nok and Roni’s menu of Mediterranean and Thai street food classics is the type of food that deserves to be stumbled upon.

Having ordered at the counter and following a short wait for everything to be cooked to order, we were in business.

Mrs G ordered the falafel wrap (£8) and its main component was every bit as good as I remembered. At least half a dozen golden falafel were beautifully crisp and grease free with light, soft and herb-flecked centres. They were stuffed into a whopping soft flat bread alongside thick hummus and fresh salad. On the side was a generous pile of skinny, paprika-dusted fries. For £8 this was a hell of a feed.

Despite also wanting to order falafel, I thought it would be churlish to not give Nok’s Thai cooking a go. I was very glad I did.

A tofu pad Thai (£9) was excellent. A generous portion of slippery noodles with just the right amount of bite were coated in a tangy, sweet and savoury sauce that was lifted with a good squeeze of lime. The crunch of smashed peanuts, fresh spring onions, a dusting of chilli flakes, caramelised omelette pieces and a scattering of squishy tofu puffs completed the delicious and well-priced dish.

I was worried about having FFOMO (falafel fear of missing out) so I ordered a side of falafel and hummus. Six of those brilliant chickpea fritters were sat in a bowl of thick and smooth tahini rich hummus. I was very glad I ordered them but at £6.50 I’d question their value compared to the wrap with chips that costs just £1.50 more. Next time I’ll skip breakfast and order a wrap and a pad Thai.

We had a belter of a lunch at Nok and Roni’s Kitchen and it’s great to see Cardiff’s falafel king still reigns supreme.

At the end of our meal, when I asked Roni how things were going in their new home, he told me that they’d struggled with the wet weather and so are potentially looking at relocating once again to a bricks and mortar space. I totally understand their dilemma. Wherever they’re based, Cardiff is very much better off with Nok and Roni’s cooking.

The Details:

Address - Nok and Roni's Kitchen, The Bone Yard, Paper Mill Road, Canton, Cardiff CF11 8DH

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

Telephone - 07400 522233

Konak, Roath, Cardiff Turkish restaurant review

There’s a good reason why many people’s favourite curry house, Chinese restaurant or fish and chip shop is just a short walk from where they live.

It’s not necessarily because they serve the best food, have the friendliest service, or the best vibes.

Of course, they’re all very important. But, it’s convenience which is the factor that many people neglect to mention when naming their favourite places. 

I can certainly relate. At the end of a busy week, I’d rather go somewhere just a small shuffle from home instead of schlepping across town for a shashlik or shish.

Which brings me to Konak, a new Turkish-ish restaurant that’s opened a short walk from where we live and that also happens to be en route to two of my favourite watering holes, Pop n Hops and State of Love and Trust.

Located on the former site of the Juboraj by Roath Park, a konak is the Turkish word for a large stately home. Whilst the building that Cardiff’s Konak occupies isn’t exactly a stylish mansion, it’s great to see the venue back in action after its inauspicious end under previous owners. They’ve done a nice job on the refurb of the interior too, with its dark wood and moody lantern lighting.

Konak’s menu is dominated by a Turkish influenced selection of mezze, grills and casseroles as well as a few European sounding dishes, like creamy garlic mushrooms and seabass with turmeric beurre blanc. 

I always enjoy a beer with a kebab, and Konak serves the highly gluggable Efes (£6.50) on draught.

A basket of complimentary bread was warm and squishy with a good glossy crust. Sweet red pepper and garlic and mint yoghurt dips were lovely accompaniments.

Our sizeable hot starter platter for four delivered a bevy of treats and was well-priced at £25. Despite arriving in what seemed like a matter of minutes, it all tasted freshly cooked to order. 

There were crisp crumbed calamari and whitebait, golden crusted halloumi that was very good dipped in sweet chilli sauce, loose textured falafel flecked with whole chickpeas, slices of addictively savoury and spicy fried sucuk, and little filo pastry cigars filled with feta and mozzarella.

Four of us ordered the mixed grill and were all impressed. It’s worth noting though that at £23, it’s a good few quid more expensive than the mixed grill at Saray and Troy.

Loose-textured lamb adana kebab had a lovely waft of smoke and was flecked with plenty of herbs. Golden chicken shish and lamb shish were both commendably tender. However, I preferred the chicken over the lamb. Zesty red cabbage, grated carrot, perky leaves and charred peppers and onions were a cut above the usual kebab house salad whilst a mound of carbs combined a buttery mix of rice and orzo with a layer of nutty bulgur wheat.

We ordered a couple of bowls of fries (£4) because you can never have enough carbs. Whilst they were most likely bought in, they hit the mark when it came to crispness and seasoning.

Mrs G was the only person to order something other than a mixed grill and her chicken shish with yoghurt (£20) was every bit as impressive. Hunks of tender chicken were bathed in thick and creamy garlic-twanged greek yoghurt, a fruity tomato sauce, and capped off with a good drizzle of rich and caramel-twanged brown butter.

On the side was more of that excellent salad, rice and bulgur.

We had a lovely dinner at Konak and the witty waiter who delivered a steady stream of puns made the experience all the more enjoyable. I hope Konak is embraced by the local community on its doorstep who will be crucial to its success. The signs are promising as it was packed on the weekday evening we visited.

The details:

Address - Konak, 2 Lake Road West , Cardiff CF23 5PG
Web - https://konakwales.co.uk/
Telephone -  02920 488999

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