Barry Sidings Cafe, Pontypridd cafe review

It’s easy to see why some cafes in popular parks just phone it in. 

After all, with a captive audience out for a stroll, swing or pedalo, there’s always a plentiful supply of people to whom you can flog a sad panini or a dried-out scone. 

This is certainly not what Barry Sidings Cafe have decided to do.

Located between Pontypridd and Porth in Barry Sidings Countryside Park, their menu of burgers, loaded fries, and baked goods makes a big deal of the Welsh produce they use, name checking local butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, brewers, and coffee and tea suppliers, amongst others.

There’s also a distinctly non-corporate feel to the place, with its country and western soundtrack, acoustic guitar adorned walls and pallet panelling. 

With their massive outdoor seating area, plentiful cycle parking, and bike repair shop next door, they’re also clearly catering to the multitude of mountain bikers enjoying the local area. 

Despite there being a sizeable queue when we arrived on a sunny Saturday lunchtime after a yomp up Mynydd Gelliwion, our order was served within 25 minutes. 

A black coffee, from local roastery Big Dog, was impressively smooth.

A pair of burgers were both very tasty and showcased sturdy yet soft crumbed rolls from Ivey Patisserie in Church Village and double 4oz smashed patties from The Gourmet Butcher in Whitchurch.

Both patties had a good crusty caramelisation and a juicy pink interior. Considering the burgers each cost just over £11, they delivered plenty of bang for our buck. 

I had the bacon double cheeseburger (£11.25), topped with a good ooze of American cheese, crisp streaky bacon and the freshness of sliced lettuce and tomato. It had a high end Whopper vibe but perhaps would have been even better with some burger sauce to bring it all together. 

The clear winner was Mrs G’s Oklahoma burger (£11.50), with the double patties smashed into a pile of white onions and mustard to deliver a good hit of umami sweetness, mustardy warmth, and oozy cheesiness. It was altogether a naughtier and more intensely flavoured affair. 

From the selection of loaded fries on offer, we plumped for the Teriyaki chicken version (£9). The plentiful chicken had a good tenderness and the sticky sauce a tasty sweet savoury flavour. But both the fries and batter would have benefited from more crispness. And, I’m sure the advertised garlic chives and kohlrabi microgreens that were absent would have added an extra dimension. 

We had a very tasty lunch at Barry Sidings Café, with their burgers most definitely being the standout. If you’re out for a ride, walk or twitch in the local area, then it’s well worth a pit stop. 

The Details:

Address - Barry Sidings Cafe, Porth, Pontypridd CF37 2PE
Web - https://www.barrysidings.co.uk/

Janet's, Pontypridd, Korean and Chinese restaurant review

“Joey doesn’t share food” is one of the abiding principles I’ve followed in life when dining out in a big group.

All too often I’ve been out with a load of mates and shared dinner only to end up with a single mouthful of the particular dish I wanted to order. Also, people often end up skirting around the food out of politeness so you don’t get to eat anywhere near as much as you’d like.

In contrast, by only sharing with Mrs G, we know exactly what’s ours and we can divide it up between the two of us with no fuss.

However, I’ve clearly been doing it wrong all this time. Because last week when we visited Janet’s Korean and Chinese restaurant as a group of eight, we ordered so much food and doubled up on so many dishes that there was absolutely no risk of me being left hungry.

It’s been almost five years since we’ve visited Janet’s and in that time, they’ve been named champions at the British Street Food Awards in 2021 and transformed from a market stall into a cosy restaurant located in Pontypridd town centre.

Having grown up in the Yanbian region of China that borders North Korea, chef and owner Janet Wei’s menu primarily draws influences from both countries. But, there’s also Vietnamese noodle salad, Malaysian laksa and other South East Asian dishes that feature too.

It’s good to see local Welsh influences on the booze selection and I knocked back a couple of very good bitter-sweet Dabinett ciders (£5.50) from Gwynt y Ddraig, who are located just down the road in Llantwit Fardre.

With the menu divided into dim sum, mains and sides, we ordered around 14 small plates and 10 larger dishes between the eight of us. Despite it sounding like a heck of a lot of food, we still managed to clear the lot.

Dishes were brought out in a staggered approach as and when they were ready, so there was nice pace to the meal and we were able to pile in on the dishes when they were at their freshest.

I was most impressed by the dim sum and I’d gladly devour any of them again.

A plate of pork and kimchi gyoza (£8.90) had compellingly crisp skins that were filled with a juicy mix of minced pork with a delicate spice and funk of kimchi.

A vibrant cucumber salad (£5.90) combined crunchy pieces of cleansing cucumber bathed in a savoury and spicy gochujang and garlic-based dressing that was flecked with coriander and crunchy peanuts.

Prawn and pork sui mai (£8.90) saw a quintet of delicate steamed dumplings stuffed with a tender and slightly sweet mix of minced prawn and pork. They were accompanied by a fiery hot chilli oil dip.

A crisp edged scallion pancake (£8.90) was topped with soft omelette and a hit of allium and funk of kimchi. It was a lovely bit of moreish comfort food.

Kimbap (£8.90) was a clean and light dish that well balanced the fried stuff. The super fresh Korean rice rolls were filled with crunchy raw and pickled vegetables and omelette and drizzled with the delicate chilli kick of a gochujang dipping sauce.

Finally, soft and airy homemade steamed buns (£9.90) were filled with hot shreds of sticky hoisin duck and the crunch of peanut and spring onion.

Whilst the mains were delicious, I don’t think they quite hit the highs of the smaller plates.

Cumin lamb (£16.90) was one of the standouts. A generous portion of tender lamb pieces were bathed in an addictively earthy cumin-laden spice blend. It had more of a saucy vibe going on than the dry stir fry at Zi’s Café and I thought it made a nice change.

Beef bibimbap (£16.90) combined a big pile of rice, stir fried beef, wafer thin batons of sauteed carrot, gochujang, and a runny-yolked fried egg. It all mixed together to create a lovely combination of flavours and textures. But the stone serving bowl lacked its advertised sizzle, so the dish didn’t have the crispy caramelisation which arises from the various components sticking to its edges.

 

Tender battered pieces of Korean honey chicken thigh (£14.90) were very tasty but were slightly over-sauced so that the meat lost some of its crispness and I thought the sweet and sticky sauce could have done with a bigger kick of chilli.

 

A volcano rice bowl (£16.90) combined a big pile of fried rice topped with sweet, marinated stir fried beef and cleansing kimchi sat in a thin cheese topped omelette. Much like the bibimbap, it was another comforting rice dish.

Finally, tender pieces of pork tenderloin (£14.90) were coated in a beautifully light batter and drizzled with a sticky sweet and sour sauce. It was very tasty but perhaps lacked the excitement of some of the other dishes.

We had a great evening at Janet’s sharing a massive spread of her comforting, spicy and fresh cooking. It’s a little bit different to anything in Cardiff and handily just a 30-minute hop away on the train.

Going forward, I’ve revised my approach to dinner out in a group to, “If in doubt, over order.” I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I’ll just have a bunch of leftovers to take home and eat the next day. However, knowing my appetite, the chances of that happening are rather slim. 

The Details:

Address - Janet's, 3 Church Street, Pontypridd CF37 2TH

Web - https://www.janetspontypridd.com/

Telephone - 07825 463685 

Chain House and The Prince's, Pontypridd reviews

The Prince's Cafe, Pontypridd

The old and the new. Each has an equally important role to play in my book.

As long as your food is damn tasty, I couldn’t care less whether you're serving oysters with dill emulsion and cucumber granite or haddock and chips with mushy peas.

This brings me to Pontypridd’s Chain House and Prince’s Cafe; establishments which typify the old and the new.

The Chain House

Chain House was opened in early 2018 by two friends who used to work for Otley Brewery pubs. The cosy joint has a modern feel with its white tiles, reclaimed wood and industrial metal.

It's just a few minutes' walk from Ponty's beautifully restored Lido so we popped in after a swim.

A daytime menu consists of brunches and toasted sandwiches whilst on Friday and Saturday nights, a dinner menu includes more ambitious dishes like beef featherblade cromesqui with pickled onions and carrot puree and dark chocolate torte with maple butter icing and pistachio.

Decent Americanos (£2) helped us through a slightly long 30 minute wait for our food (despite the place being pretty quiet).

Thankfully, both our plates were very tasty.

The clear winner was toasted sourdough (£6.50) heaped with briny cockles and crisp bacon flecked with laverbread. A richness balancing squeeze of lemon and runny poached egg elevated the dish further.

A Chain House club sandwich (£8) saw toasted bloomer filled with crisp crumbed chicken goujons, melted tangy cheddar, smashed avocado, tomato and rashers of slightly flabby streaky bacon. A side of skin on french fries hit the mark.

We liked Chain House and it's bringing something new to Pontypridd's food scene. On this evidence, their evening menu would be well worth a go.

The Prince's

For dessert, Mrs G and I moved onto the charming The Prince’s cafe, a national treasure of yesteryear like Betty’s of Harrogate or Sally Lunn’s in Bath.

Opened in 1948 by the Gambarini family, it’s now run by the original owner’s grandson and the decor still has a number of its original art deco features from the cashier’s desk to the tea room signage.

The original ornate copper water boiler still sits proudly on the counter.

Groaning window displays of corned beef slices, pasties, pies, rolled fruit pancakes, strawberry tarts and iced fingers had customers queuing out the door on the Saturday lunchtime we visited.

Mrs G and I picked up a coffee choux bun and a strawberry and custard slice for a bargainous sum of £2.40.

Perched on a nearby bench we tucked into the gargantuan choux which combined light pastry stuffed with whipped cream and topped with sweet and sticky coffee icing. The custard slice was a fine example of its type too - the pastry crisp and the custard light and wobbly.

I’ve already fallen for the old fashioned charm of Prince’s Cafe and can’t wait to go back for a slap up lunch after another swim at the Lido.

The Details:

Chain House
Address - Chain House, 11A Bridge Street, Pontypridd CF37 4PE
Web - https://www.facebook.com/chainh0use11/
Telephone - 01443 856442

The Prince's
Address - The Prince's, 74 Taff St, Pontypridd CF37 4SU
Web - https://twitter.com/theprinces1948
Telephone - 01443 402376