Coffee Barker, Cardiff Cafe Brunch Review

Where in Cardiff can you have a cup of coffee, a spot of brunch and then buy yourself a new pair of jeans to accommodate your recently expanded waistband? Coffee Barker, located at the rear of Barker Clothes (shifting trendy clobber since 1970) in The Castle Arcade, allows you to do just that.

It feels like I’ve become an interior design blogger such was the number of words devoted to wallpaper and light fittings in my previous review. Bizarrely, for the second time in as many posts I’m going to wax lyrical about exposed brick work, eclectic furniture and tasteful light fittings. Coffee Barker’s interior is cool. Enough.

Barker has recently received a couple of big accolades. A few weeks ago they won coffee shop of the year in the South Wales Echo Food & Drink awards against stiff competition such as Waterloo Tea Gardens and The Pot. Also for the last 6 months it’s been Mrs G’s favourite coffee shop in Cardiff. I’m not sure which is the bigger achievement?

Mrs G suggested that we try brunch as she’s already a regular for lunch when they do lovely sandwiches and jacket potatoes.  Barker’s brunch menu is brief but ticks all the major boxes; bacon, sausages, smoked salmon, eggs and toast. For those who are interested there are also a couple of healthy options like granola and porridge.

I went for the bacon, sausage and scrambled duck eggs on toast (£4.99) whist Mrs G went for the smoked salmon and scrambled duck eggs on toast (£5.99). Both very well priced. I washed this down with a delicious mixed berry smoothie and Mrs G ordered a latte.

My dish was pleasant. Whilst there was no doubting the quality of the perfectly cooked bacon and Cumberland sausage, the scrambled eggs were a little odd. A generous portion of rich, gooey, scrambled duck egg was mixed with a liberal amount of wholegrain mustard. In conjunction with a lack of seasoning it meant the dish tasted almost solely of creamy whole grain mustard. Why not just keep it simple and let the unctuous duck eggs do the talking?

Mrs G loved her dish (except for the burnt toast) and I guess this serves as a reminder of how subjective critiquing food is. In addition to the mustard, Mrs G’s eggs were flecked with a generous amount of finely diced smoked salmon.  In her opinion the mustard didn’t detract from the flavour of the scrambled egg.

Faced with such a huge selection of cake, I couldn’t help but order a slice. My coconut and jam sponge was a lovely retro treat. Moist sponge was capped with a thin smear of smooth jam and a scattering of coconut. I used to have this sponge served hot on an almost weekly basis at school with lumpy custard. One bite and the memories came flooding back.

Even though my eggs were a disappointment I’m sure we’ll be going back to Barker soon; either for coffee and cake or for another pair of jeans. If I carry on eating at this rate then I’ll need a bigger pair in a few months time.

The Details: Coffee Barker, 1-5 Castle Arcade, Cardiff, CF10 1BW

Telephone: 029 2037 1491

Arboreal Cafe-Kitchen-Bar, Cowbridge Review

Mrs G and I are in the process of doing up our home. It’s been progressing at a snail’s pace due to a lack of funds, time and motivation. After 2 years we’ve only finished the dining room. The rest of the house is a jumble of second hand furniture, soiled carpets and peeling wallpaper. Our most well used piece of furniture, the sofa, has three wooden legs and a fourth made from the hardback autobiographies of C-list celebrities.

One day, I’d like to own a Chesterfield sofa like that in the bar area of Arboreal in Cowbridge. In fact I’d happily swipe all of their furniture, wallpaper and light fittings. Arboreal is the kind of place that makes you feel vicariously cool just from being there. Its design is an inspired mix of English country, shabby chic and Scandinavian minimalism.

I’ll stop harping on about the design now. The food at Arboreal is excellent too and fits perfectly with the look and feel of the space (sorry I said I’d shut up about that). Arboreal serves light, laid back, cross-cultural and clean tasting food with a few interesting flavour combinations. They let the ingredients talk for themselves. We visited in the evening when the menu consists of sharing plates, pizzas, starters, mains and desserts. However they’re also open for breakfast when they serve dishes like baked eggs with Serano ham and Hafod cheddar or lunch when they serve flatbreads filled with curious combinations such as Caerphilly cheese and purple sprouting broccoli. Arboreal also has an extensive cocktail menu if you just want to get smashed and have a few nibbles to go with your liquid supper.

To start, the 4 of us ordered a mezze platter for 2 (£14.50) and a smokehouse platter for 2 (£14.50). Both were delicious. Standouts of the mezze included a smoky roasted aubergine with pomegranate molasses and a palette refreshing taboulleh. The winners of the smokehouse platter included a flavour packed smoked haddock, mackerel and potato terrine and a smoked salmon, cucumber and dill mayonnaise crostini.

For mains I wanted to put the woodfired pizza oven, on view in the open plan kitchen, to the test. I ordered the Pizza Fiorentina (£10.50) which arrived with a perfectly runny egg on top. I’d have liked the crust a little crisper but that’s just a minor issue.

Mrs G ordered Sumac roasted salmon with roasted Jerusalem artichokes, melted leeks and lemon beurre blanc (£15.95). The Jerusalem artichokes were a welcome change from potatoes whilst the beurre blanc was rich and buttery with a good whack of lemon. It was a success.

Our friends ordered the braised beef chilli (£15.95) and the coq au vin (£15.95). Neither dish disappointed. The chilli was packed with hunks of tender beef in a winter warming spiced sauce whist the coq au vin was served with some seriously unctuous creamy mash.

Desserts kept up the high standard of the mains. My super rich chocolate and rum tart (£5.50) was balanced by a fragrant and slightly sharp passion fruit cream. Mrs G’s smooth vanilla cheesecake (£5.50) worked well with the accompanying boozy raisins and hazelnuts whilst our friends enjoyed their apple and frangipane tart with vanilla sauce and caramel (£5.50).

My only minor gripe with Arboreal is I feel some of their prices are a little steep. Granted they’re in Cowbridge so they can add a couple of quid to typical Cardiff prices. However, £15.95 for the student classic chilli con carne is still on the pricey side. In spite of this, Arboreal is the perfect place to spend a chilled out evening with friends in a relaxed environment. If good architecture and good food make you happy then Arboreal will put a massive grin on your face.

The details:

Arboreal, 68 Eastgate, Cowbridge, CF71 7AB

Telephone: 01446 775 093

Web: http://www.arboreal.uk.com/