The Brass Beetle, Cardiff cocktail bar and pizza restaurant review

Whitchurch Road has had a renaissance. When it comes to indie places to eat and drink it can more than hold its own against more fashionable parts of Cardiff like Roath, Canton and Pontcanna.

Here’s the evidence - killer French patisserie Cocorico, craft beer merchants Discount Supermarket and Pop ’n’ Hops, high end currymongers Mint & Mustard, French bistro The Pot, the trendy boozer Society Standard and gourmet burger bar Got Beef.

Case closed.

Bolstering this luscious line-up is Whitchurch Road’s latest arrival, The Brass Beetle, a wood-fired pizza restaurant and cocktail bar.

Whoever has done the design and branding knows their onions. The art deco logo combined with regal green, dark wood and brass detailing are super swank. And, the pizza oven that sits in the open kitchen is a beautiful beast.

The cocktail menu is concise but well-formed.

Mrs G kicked off with a Straight Up Mojito (£8.50), a refreshingly boozy twist on the classic that balanced well sour citrus, sweetness and mint fragrance. 

She followed it up with a Peach Gin & Tonic (£8.50) with loads of fresh fruit and the delicate aroma of rosemary. 

The Brass Beetle’s pizza menu features a range of interesting flavour combinations including sweet chorizo with hot honey and charred red peppers with cured egg yolk. There are also a handful of specials and sides on a blackboard. Desserts are a work in progress and should hopefully be added to the next version of the menu.

Both the pizzas we ordered were lovely; the crisp crust had a good chew, the base was thin and the toppings were generous in quantity.

Mine was topped with shreds of tender ham hock (£9.95), meaty wild mushrooms, a seriously savoury ooze of Perl Las, light tomato sauce and a scattering of parsley.

Mrs G’s was topped with soft roast cauliflower (£8.95), sweet caramelised leeks, parsley and nutty melted emmental. 

A stack of halloumi fries (£3.95) were crisp and golden with a soft and slightly chewy interior. They were accompanied by an enjoyably punchy jalapeno dip. 

A whopping side salad (£2.50) was a bit heavy on the rocket and light on dressing but was pepped up nicely by pieces of earthy beetroot, salty fronds of samphire and pink pickled onions.

I really liked The Brass Beetle; the serving team were charming, the pizzas were delicious and the cocktails kicked ass. They’re another very good addition to Whitchurch Road.

The Details:

Address - The Brass Beetle, 11-13 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF14 3JN

Web - http://www.thebrassbeetle.co.uk/

Telephone - 02920 623956

A guide to Wales's Michelin-starred restaurants

Pogs. Panini Stickers. Trolls. Stamps. Pokemon.

Gotta catch 'em all.

Humans have a natural tendency to collect things and I’m no different.

Earlier this year I finally visited all seven of Wales’s Michelin starred restaurants. Whilst this "achievement" has hammered my bank balance over the last few years, I’ve eaten some really memorable meals from Wales’s very top chefs.

So, here’s my guide to Wales’s Michelin stars. Follow the links for my full reviews:

Sosban and The Old Butchers, Menai Bridge, Anglesey

Wales’s smallest Michelin-starred restaurant has just sixteen covers and gets booked up months in advance. The menu incorporates foraged ingredients and modern interpretations of classic flavour combinations in dishes like sour cream porridge with mushroom and bacon. 

Pork cheek tart with yoghurt, liquorice and sweet cicely

The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

The Walnut Tree is the least Michelin-starry of Wales’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Shaun Hill, one of the elder statesmen of British cooking, cooks dishes with bold flavours, unglamorous ingredients and straightforward presentation in an informal setting.

Pheasant pudding with sage and bacon

Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, Denbighsire

From the floral curtains to the food, Tyddyn Llan is Wales’s most traditional Michelin-starred restaurant. Bryan Webb’s generous cooking sees classic flavour combinations cooked with French technique.

Hake with laverbread beurre blanc and samphire

Ynyshir, Machynlleth, Powys

Gareth Ward’s cooking pushes the most boundaries out of Wales’s Michelin stars with his Japanese influenced food that utilises plenty of pickles. I wasn’t fully sold on challenging flavour combinations like dark chocolate with shiitake mushroom but Ynyshir is the highest ranked restaurant in Wales in the Good Food Guide 2018.

Pork belly with black bean sauce

Restaurant James Sommerin, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan

With its pretty seafront location just outside Cardiff, Restaurant James Sommerin is the Michelin-starred restaurant I’ve visited more than any other. Sommerin’s cooking combines bold flavours with striking presentation. Highlights from a recent meal included venison tartare with cep and confit duck with artichoke. 

Venison tartare with cep and carrot

The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire

Located in rural Monmouthshire, this pretty restaurant with rooms is run by Chris Harrod, a chef that learnt his craft under the legendary Raymond Blanc. Harrod’s comforting food utilises locally foraged ingredients like mugwort, scurvy grass and lesser celandine.

Golden Cenarth dumplings with duck gizzard, salt baked turnip and sorrel puree

The Checkers, Montgomery, Montgomeryshire

Mid Wales’s Checkers is a family affair - head Chef Stéphane Borie is married to head pastry chef Sarah whilst her sister Kathryn runs front of house. This translates into a passion that radiates from every wooden beam of this renovated coaching inn. Borie’s gutsy French cooking delivers huge flavour and technique.

Pork belly with boudin noir