Desi Dera, Cathays, Cardiff Pakistani restaurant review

By most accounts it’s a perilous time to be running a hospitality business in the UK.

According to one recent survey, a third of hospitality businesses are now running at a loss and 60% have had to cut jobs to try and stay afloat.

And with businesses like Gary Usher’s excellent Kala bistro shuttering its doors and Bristol’s acclaimed Sonny Stores pivoting to a more financially sustainable approach, it all makes for rather depressing reading.

So, to open a new restaurant in the current climate is a very brave (or bonkers) thing to do.

Especially doing so without any web presence or social media to promote your business.

Which is exactly what Desi Dera, a new Pakistani restaurant on Crwys Road, seems to have done.

Having walked past it the other week, I googled it and all I could find was a registration on Companies House and a pending Scores on the Doors rating.

So, after a few happy hour beers at Pop n Hops, we decided to check it out.

With its gilded décor and functional furnishing, Desi Dera’s dining space is deceptively large. On the midweek night we visited there were just a couple of other occupied tables. The absence of the hum of chatter or any background music gave the place a slightly library-like atmosphere.

Desi Dera’s menu includes familiar grill favourites like seekh kebab and chicken tikka whilst an extensive range of curries includes bone-in or bone-off lamb or chicken karahi as well as specials like nihari and haleem.

With the scorching hot weather, we were both in the mood for grilled meat and so ordered the rather good value looking platter for two (£24.99).

But first complimentary poppadoms arrived as soon as we sat down. This kind of generosity always endears a place to me. Crisp and grease free, they were accompanied by solid mango chutney, mint yoghurt and chilli sauce. However, a side salad looked a little sad around the edges.

To drink, a mango lassi (£2.50) was ice cold but light on fruit flavour. Judging by the logistical challenge involved in preparing it, I’m not sure how many people have ordered one since Desi Dera has opened.

After a reassuring wait alongside the pleasing waft of chargrilling from the kitchen, our handsome platter was delivered.

Standouts were juicy and char-licked chicken wings, well-seasoned chicken seekh and meaty masala fish with a lightly spiced coating. Chicken tikka and lamb chops were both good too but I found them to be a little too salty – Mrs G, a sodium fiend, disagreed. Lamb seekh kebabs had good flavour but were a touch on the dry side.

Beneath all that grilled meat were excellent crisp fries and a mountain of buttery and fragrant lentil-flecked rice.

A pair of whopping naan breads were soft and crisp in all the right places.

Lentil dahl had a compelling meatiness and was a lovely sauce over the top of everything.

Stuffed, I doggy bagged up a meal’s worth of food to take home for my dinner the next day. With its well-priced and well-spiced cooking, we had a very tasty meal at Desi Dera. I hope they manage to find their niche in Cathays.

The Details

Address - Desi Dera, 101 Crwys Rd, Cardiff CF24 4NF

Telephone - 02922972785

Lahore Kebabish, Grangetown, Cardiff Pakistani restaurant review

Pound for pound, what’s the best snack in Cardiff?

There are few strong contenders in my book, including Pooja’s legendary paneer roll, the excellent pizza by the slice from West and RomEat, the £1 panelle from Bacareto, the spinach and cheese borek from Four Seasons on City Road, Welsh cakes served warm off the bakestone from Cardiff Market, and the deep-filled steak pie from Rees the Butchers.

However, one acclaimed snack which hadn’t passed my lips until last week is the keema naan from Lahore Kebabish in Grangetown, and now I’m rueing all those missed munching opportunities.

It’s another recommendation from the same knowledgeable Cardiffian who brought City Road’s Hadramowt to my attention. When I last raised the subject of the best bites to eat in Cardiff, I was informed in no uncertain terms: “Don't want to cause an intra-city diplomatic incident, but the best snack in Cardiff is Lahore's keema naan.”

Located on the busy thoroughfare of Penarth Road, Lahore Kebabish’s bright and basic dining room has a fridge full of curries and fried snacks as its focal point. On offer are starters of pakoras and samosas, a selection of curries, and Lahori specialities such as haleem and paya (a breakfast dish made with trotters).

Having ordered at the counter, a pair of fragrant and tangy mango lassis (£3) were the first to appear.

I'll talk about the keema naan next as it really was the star of the show. For £3, it was a meal in itself; the crisp and pillowy bread filled with an equal quantity of spiced minced lamb which peered through its crust. A brush of glossy butter completed the first rate snack. 

Nihari (£10) delivered on the promise of its long cook. Exceptionally tender pieces of lamb were bathed in a well-spiced sauce that was enriched with meaty marrow and cooking juices. Batons of ginger and pieces of green chilli meanwhile brought fresh fragrance and spice to the dish.

Saag paneer (£6.50) saw soft pieces of cheese coated in spinach, onion and spice which had cooked down into one thick sauce.

Sizzling harayali chicken tikka (£5) had a vibrant green herb marinade and was pleasingly juicy and smoky of flesh. Soft and sweet charred onions accompanied each mouthful.

Accompanying side salad was a little lacklustre, the lettuce most certainly having seen better days and raw onion dominating the plate.

Tandoori pratha (£3) wasn’t anything like the flaky layered paratha I expected, but it was still excellent. The thin, crisp and soft bread was brushed with a liberal amount of fat and was a great mop for all those curry sauces. It's clear that breads are definitely one of Lahore Kebabish's strengths. 

We had a delicious lunch at Lahore Kebabish and I really enjoyed their curries and sizzling meat. But I’ll be making a special detour for that keema naan anytime I’m within a 1km radius.

The Details:

Address - Lahore Kebabish, 160 Penarth Rd, Cardiff CF11 6NJ

Web - https://lahorekebabishcardiff.com/

Telephone - 029 2022 1354

Mirchi, Roath, Cardiff Indo-Pakistani restaurant review

Mirchi, an Indo-Pakistani restaurant on City Road, polarises opinion.

On Tripadvisor, reviews swing between love letters to their mixed grills and karahi chicken and criticism of their poor service and flavourless food.

My review of a takeaway a few years ago was a mixed bag.

But, Mrs G’s work colleagues have recommended the place on countless occasions and Cardiff blogger Tummy Says Yum and Waterloo Tea’s Kasim Ali are fans.

Mrs G and I decided it was time to give Mirchi’s dining-in experience a go.

Mirchi’s interior is simple, with an almost work canteen-like vibe. A tandoor oven and charcoal grill at the restaurant’s entrance tells you that Mirchi are serious about grilling meat.

As they don’t serve alcohol it was great to see that a jug of tap water was brought to the table without prompting. Mrs G ordered a mango lassi (£2) that was full of flavour but could have been cooler. 

Mirchi’s menu comprises familiar curries as well as more interesting vegetarian dishes and specials such as karela (bitter gourd) and nehari (leg of lamb). However, most people seem to come to Mirchi for their barbecue, with a multitude of mixed grills processing out of the kitchen on our visit.

We had a hefty wait for our starters and mains but complimentary poppadoms and chutneys put us in a happy place. The standout was a tangy tamarind number with a good whack of chilli. 

 
Lamb seekh kebabs were excellent - loaded with coriander and a good hum of chilli, they were licked with char and sat on top of crisp and tender onions. And at £4.90 for four, this was a great value dish - a theme that continued throughout the meal. 

 
A chicken tikka biryani (£8) would have fed a family of four (we took half of it home). The huge mound of seriously buttery and delicately spiced rice was flecked with pieces of tender meat. We chose a creamy mint raitha as the complimentary accompaniment but there’s also a curry option. 

 
Karahi chicken (£7.50) was packed with yielding flesh and a well spiced gravy but it was a little heavy on the ghee.

 
Finally, a roghni nan (£2.50) was exemplary. Crisp, pillowy soft, scattered with toasty sesame seeds and a brush of butter, it was the perfect mop for the curry sauce. 

 
We had a very tasty meal at Mirchi and I can now see why people rate it highly as we had a feast for £25 with leftovers to take home. However, please be aware of the slow service and basic decor.

The Details:

Address - Mirchi, 90-94 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3BN
Web - mirchicardiff.com
Telephone - 02920 492344