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

Bar 44 Penarth, Spanish restaurant set menu review

I fully intended to review somewhere new this week, I promise.

But then Mrs G reminded me that Bar 44’s set menu was now available in Penarth on Saturday lunchtimes.

And well frankly, it would have been ridiculous to go anywhere else for lunch when there’s a deal that good on offer.

Available in Bar 44 Penarth at lunchtimes from Thursday to Saturday and dinner time on Wednesday and Thursday (serving times are more limited in Cardiff), Bar 44’s set menu offers a choice of three tapas dishes and an alcoholic or soft drink for £20.

Pound for pound, I can’t think of a better value set menu that I’ve come across in south Wales. Or the rest of the UK for that matter.

At full price I normally think Bar 44 is good value for the calibre of the cooking they serve. So, to be able to get a hefty lunch for two including booze for £40 is an absolute steal.

On the booze front, I enjoyed a glass of super smooth and crisp Estrella Galicia. It’s unquestionably a cut above the UK-brewed Madri and Cruzcampo, which are both everywhere at the moment. A chalice of ice-cold and fruity Sangria was a lovely sunshine drink.

It took a bit of negotiation with Mrs G to decide which dishes we were going to order but finally we reached a resolution.

A cooling salad of lightly zingy and earthy sherry vinegar roasted beetroot was sat in a pool of creamy garlic-twanged ajo blanco that was scattered with the crunch of crushed almonds. It was a lovely summery dish and the tiniest nod towards health before we moved onto the fried stuff.

A quartet of jamon iberico croquetas had the perfect goo factor. Studded with nuggets of salty ham and fragranced with the warmth of nutmeg, they were as good as you’d find anywhere in Spain.

 A golden edged tortilla had a beautifully soft and oozy golden interior laden with soft potatoes and sweet caramelised onions.

Whopping pieces of impeccably crisp-battered white fish (hake, I assume) fell apart into massive tender flakes. A vibrant piquillo pepper salsa and silky alioli were bang on accompaniments.

I’ve said it time and time again, but Bar 44’s duck and morcilla burger is unquestionably one of the best burgers in Cardiff.

A delicately sweet toasted bun was home to a beautifully crisp, fatty, smoky and meaty melange of confit duck and smoked morcilla. It’s the toppings of an addictively sweet and delicately spicy piquillo pepper ketchup and creamy yet richness balancing apple and fennel slaw which take it to the next level.

Finally, Arabic spiced juicy Morunos chicken thighs sat in a pool of creamy yoghurt which tempered the chilli heat of a slick of Mallorcan sobrasada. Chicken skin crisps, which perched on top, provided a lovely bit of crunch.

For dessert, the only bit of money I spent over my £20, was £4.50 for a scoop of the thickest and smoothest salted Catalan almond and caramel ice cream. I’m always a sucker for the combination of salt and sugar.

We had a brilliant lunch at Bar 44 and I can’t sing the praises of their £20 menu highly enough. I’m genuinely considering giving up this blog and just eating at Bar 44 once a week instead.

The Details:

Address - Bar 44, 14 Windsor Rd, Penarth CF64 1JH

Web - https://grupo44.co.uk/bar44/

Telephone - 0333 344 4049

Touring Club, Penarth bar and restaurant review

Primrose Hill. Colwyn Bay. Adelboden. Penarth.

You certainly can’t accuse Bryn Williams of being predictable when it comes to the choice of location for his establishments.

One of Wales’s most acclaimed chefs and food TV presenters, Bryn trained under Marco Pierre White and Michel Roux, and shot to fame in 2006 when he cooked the fish course for the Queen in the first season of Great British Menu.

Penarth’s Touring Club is his latest opening and it’s named after a famous café and hotel in Patagonia’s Trelew. Whilst Patagonia’s Touring Club looks like a historic, spacious and ramshackle kind of place, Penarth’s iteration is the opposite.

It’s a compact space which oozes high-end from every bespoke fixture and fitting. There’s a beautiful petrol blue tiled bar looking onto an open kitchen, an upstairs seating area dominated by a snaking leather banquette, and stools which appear to take inspiration from bicycle seating. They’re just as uncomfortable as there’s nowhere to rest your feet.

As we’re always hungry and Touring Club is walk-ins only, Mrs G and I pretty much had the place to ourselves at 5pm on a drizzly Wednesday. By the time we left, the place was buzzing and it was good to see Bryn overseeing proceedings.

Taking inspiration from continental bars where you can enjoy a few drinks and some simple plates to go with them, don’t expect Touring Club to serve you a fully-fledged three course meal. Their compact menu of 14 dishes is divided into snacks, shellfish, plates and pudding.

There’s a bigger selection when it comes to the wine, with 20 different varieties on offer by the glass. Mrs G started with a small glass of fruit-packed Carallan Albarino (£7.15) and enjoyed it so much she ordered a large glass (£11.05). I had a half of Estrella Damm (£2.50) before moving onto an alcohol free Asahi (£3.50).

Service was really friendly but as we were hidden away upstairs it took a good while for plates to be cleared and for the opportunity to order a second round of drinks.

Slices of crisp crusted and light crumbed sourdough (£3.50) were served in thin slices rather than the usual pair of thick chunks. That’s a good thing as it meant that I didn’t guzzle it all in 30 seconds and managed to save some for mopping up various delicious fats.

Crab on toast (£12) was super generous and super delicious. Toasted sourdough was topped with distinct layers of earthy brown meat and sweet white flesh. A pleasing peppery warmth lingered at the back of the palate.

Plump and juicy mini chorizo (£8) were served with a teeny blob of mayo which delivered a deceptively potent hit of mustard.

Welsh rarebit (£10) was singed around the edges, but it was still a very enjoyable example of its type; the rich cheesy and mustardy ooze was balanced by a delicate bitterness of ale. A little pot of Worcestershire sauce was served on the side rather than it being pre-drizzled.

Devil’s on horseback (£5) galloped up to the table unexpectedly but they were kindly left behind gratis. The retro snacks were one of the standouts of the night. Soft and sweet prunes coated in crispy bacon were elevated by a drizzle of sticky honey and a scattering of fragrant rosemary.

A hand-dived scallop had been treated with the respect it deserved, starting by not removing the roe. Tender and sweet of flesh, it was bathing in a deliciously savoury miso butter. However, I’m not sure if £14 is a bit punchy for a single bivalve or if it’s just the reality of how much things cost in the current climate.

Lamb cutlets (£17) were served with a scattering of salt and a squeeze of lemon. The gorgeously juicy meat lollipops with a crisp seam of fat demonstrated that the simple things are often best.

A bay leaf panna cotta (£6) was served in a bowl but I’m sure that if it was served on a plate, it would have had a perfect wobble. Lightly fragranced with bay leaf and vanilla, it was accompanied by macerated strawberries.

There’s no doubt that Touring Club is a chic place for a drink and a bite to eat, and it seems to have slotted in right in at home in Penarth. We’ll certainly pop in again for a few drinks and snack after a walk over the Cardiff Bay Barrage. It’s certainly a lot handier than a trip to Patagonia.

The details:

Address - Touring Club, 4 Stanwell Rd, Penarth CF64 2AA
Web - https://www.thetouring.club/

Keyif, Penarth Turkish restaurant review

Last year someone spotted a shish-shaped gap in the market in Penarth and opened Keyif, a Turkish restaurant. The Penarthians have clearly had a good time there over the last twelve months as the restaurant’s walls are adorned with countless pictures of happy customers.

The menu is full of familiar faces from Middle Eastern cuisine - cold and hot mezze, grilled meats and fish, and vegetable stews. It’s worth noting there’s a Penarth premium on the prices of at least a couple of quid per dish.

Ice cold Efes Pilsner (£3.95) was enjoyably malty and seriously gluggable. 

Warm bread was super fresh and soft of crumb. 

A hot mezze for two (£12) delivered a good bang for our buck. Panko-esque crumbed calamari were pleasingly tender; uber crisp falafel were sat on a slick of coarse hummus; golden crusted fritters (mucver) were filled with soft shreds of carrot, courgette and onion; grilled Turkish sausage was nicely fatty and spicy; salty halloumi could have been melted a bit more; and semolina-studded borek parcels were light of pastry and filled with a tangy, parsley-fragranced ooze of feta. 

For main, like the starter, I put the menu through its paces with a single dish, the Keyif mixed grill (£18.50). Lamb and chicken shish were both tender and well seasoned; patty shaped lamb and chicken kofte were nicely herbed; wings were crisp and juicy; and lamb ribs and chops were both properly rendered of fat. Orzo flecked buttery rice and a run of the mill mixed salad completed the delicious dish. 

A shout also goes to the fresh, assertively spiced chilli sauce.

I really enjoyed Keyif and it definitely adds an extra dimension to Penarth’s restaurant scene.

Whilst you can't eat in at the moment, they're offering both delivery and takeaway. You can order online or by calling 029 2070 2429.

The Details:

Address - Keyif, 21 Glebe St, Penarth CF64 1EE

Web - https://www.keyif.co.uk/order-online

Telephone - 029 2070 2429