Hiraeth, Victoria Park, Cardiff restaurant review 2025

It’s fair to say that Pontcanna is Cardiff’s swanky restaurant epicentre. 

Cardiff's boujiest district is home to Gorse, Cardiff’s only Michelin starred restaurant, the two other Tom(my)’s eponymous restaurants, Heaney’s and Thomas, and a pair of the city’s most exciting recent openings, Ember and Sonder. 

So, despite Hiraeth being just a mile down the road in Victoria Park, it perhaps feels slightly out of sight and out of mind.

However, after enjoying an excellent set lunch there last December, I’ve been itching for a return ever since. 

The stars aligned when friends invited us along to use a 20% off food voucher they’d received through their letterbox to encourage locals to give Hiraeth a go. 

In addition to their set lunch, Hiraeth offers an eight (£70) and ten course tasting menu (£90) that changes monthly. We visited for dinner on the last day of the month and so our ten course menu consisted of dishes that straddled both August and September. 

Hiraeth’s cooking brings together big, comforting flavours, inspired by a diverse mix of influences, including Wales, France, India, China and Japan.

Wines were all excellent – a citrusy Vilarnau Cava (£38), aromatic Thomas Stopfer Gruner Veltliner (£38), red fruity Calusari Romanian Pinot Noir (£30) and a glass of Kopke Tawny Port (£7) to round off the meal. 

We kicked off with Hiraeth’s riff on prawn toast and it was a corker of a substitute for a Saturday night takeaway. Sweet fried brioche, a kick of togarashi shichimi and salty pearls of flying fish roe all took it up a notch.

A golden dinky doughnut was glazed with mustard, filled with a pokey Tunworth cheese custard and topped with a sweet hit of red onion jam and a flurry of savoury Old Winchester cheese. 

Hiraeth’s chicken course is a mainstay of their menu, and I can see why. Beautifully executed karaage chicken was gorgeously juicy, marinated in ginger and garlic, and topped with the punch of sriracha mayo and furikake. It was as good as any we ate in Japan.

Light, soft and sweet Japanese milk bread was excellent slathered with umami-rich and meaty chicken skin butter. Finally, a whopping flavoured chicken consommé and dashi blend was a gloriously meaty and savoury comforting bowlful.

Verdant freshness arrived with the next course. A well-judged watercress porridge was essentially a risotto made with oats instead of rice. The grains had just the right amount of bite, were flecked with sweet peas, broad beans and runner beans and topped with crisp nori and creamy frozen goats curd. 

Indulgence returned with our first fish plate. A brilliantly crisp skinned and flaky fillet of gilt head bream was sat in a bowlful of rich and buttery café de Paris sauce seasoned with a warming wallop of curry. 

A meaty fillet of monkfish was cooked precisely with a good meaty texture and a char-licked exterior from its Indian spiced yoghurt marinade. A creamy raita, the sweet spice of dried chillies and raisins, and the crunch of poppadom shards completed the delicious plate. 

Lamb part one was reminiscent of an old skool suet pudding, and I was fully on board with it. A crusty yet soft suet bun was filled with slow-cooked shredded lamb belly, coated in a sticky lamb jus and topped with the crunch of toasted breadcrumbs. The only downer was a pair of gritty cockles that detracted from rather than added to the already excellent dish.

Lamb part deux was an excellent contrast to the sticky richness of part one. Pink and super tender lamb fillet with well-crisped fat was served alongside a sweet and savoury sundried tomato emulsion that was balanced by the lightness of sauce vierge and chard, which had been grown by one of the front of house staff. 

The transition to dessert came with a scoop of light and fragrant mugwort ice cream and the crunch of feuilletine wafer and honeycomb, which were balanced by the cleansing acidity of fresh orange pieces. 

Hiraeth’s riff on tiramisu was a proper boozy boi. A dollop of dark chocolate mousse was flavoured with Kahlua and Cointreau whilst an aerated cream was laced with bourbon and marsala. Throw in the crunch of biscuit crumbs and shavings of dark chocolate and this was an excellent dessert. 

Finally, our cheese course, saw a slice of warm and sweet bara brith topped with a quenelle of perl wen cream and served alongside a blob of plum chutney and crispy onions. Whilst it was very tasty, we both felt the cheese was a little bit too delicate and that the crispy onions tipped things a little too far towards the savoury.  

We had an excellent meal at Hiraeth and I’m a big fan of their fun, huge flavoured and technically accomplished cooking in a relaxed yet slick setting. If you’re looking for a special meal in Cardiff and want a change from Pontcanna then it’s most definitely worth travelling a mile down the road to Victoria Park. 

The Details:

Address - Hiraeth, 587 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF5 1BE
Web - https://www.hiraethkitchen.com/

Asiad, Porthcawl set lunch review

The last time I visited Porthcawl's Cosy Corner Lounge, I remarked that its chain-like name didn't really reflect their menu of big flavoured pan-Asian cooking.

Fast forward a few months and they changed their name to Asiad.

Following a walk along the coast on one of the nicest days of the year, we pitched up at the restaurant formerly known as Cosy Corner Lounge (TRFKACCL) for a last-minute midday lunch. Impressively, the place swiftly filled up.

It’s understandable as Asiad’s set lunch menu is a cracking value thing, offering three small plates for £16.95. From a selection of nine, we ordered six to share.

But first, alcohol free cocktails, which I remember being excellent last time too. Yuzu shandy (£6.50) combined a big wallop of citrus with a malty hit of alcohol-free lager. A chilli and lemongrass smash (£6.50) was a more complex number, balancing the fragrance of lemongrass with apple, lime and vanilla.

With one eye on a blowout dinner, we ordered the least carb heavy of the dishes on offer. I have *no regrets* about not ordering their brilliant triple cooked chips.

First up crisp lettuce cups were home to a sticky, spicy, sweet and sour minced chicken laab topped with the fragrance of mint and crunch of nut. With their huge flavours and contrasting textures, they really demonstrated what Asiad is all about.

A pair of whopping crisp crumbed croquetas were filled with silky squid ink stained bechamel. The savoury hit of mollusc balanced well with a big hitting aioli seasoned with the umami hit of crispy chilli.

Long cooked and charred soft aubergines were a delightfully meaty vehicle to soak up a super savoury soy and sesame sauce whose spice was dialled up by the presence of crispy chilli. This was Mrs G’s pick of the meal.

Korean fried cauliflower saw al dente florets coated in a shatteringly crisp batter drenched in a sticky sauce seasoned with the savoury and spicy hit of gochujang.

A bowl of impeccably fresh and crisp whitebait were lovely dredged through a wasabi charged mayonnaise.

Lastly, gorgeously tender slices of lamb were coated in a Mongolian sauce which seemed to be hoisin and five spice based. Lighter notes were provided by the fragrance of basil and heat of red chilli slices.

We had a belting lunch of excellent value pan-Asian cooking at Asiad and there’s no doubt that their new name is a much better fit for what they’re doing. If you're visiting Porthcawl and looking for something other than fish and chips, then Asiad should be top of your list. 

The Details:

Address - Asiad, 33 Esplanade, Porthcawl CF36 3YR

Web - https://www.asiadfusion.co.uk/

Telephone - 01656 503245