Food Scene
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
Head to Heaneys in Pontcanna for a casual yet refined diningexperience in a contemporary urban space. Opened by Great British Menu finalist Tommy Heaney in October 2018, the daily- rotating menu features a selection of sharing plates using innovative, expertly combined ingredients. Standouts on our visit include a starter of Marmite butter, sourdough and duck ham slices, plus mains of cured sea bass with horseradish sorbet, crispy quail ‘nuggets’ and birch-smoked Welsh lamb. Desserts are equally inventive – in one dish, a blanket of Earl Grey custard gives way to soft apple crumble with a hidden blackberry sorbet centre. 10- course tasting menu.
22 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Heaneys Restaurant
6-10 Romilly Cres Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
Head to Heaneys in Pontcanna for a casual yet refined diningexperience in a contemporary urban space. Opened by Great British Menu finalist Tommy Heaney in October 2018, the daily- rotating menu features a selection of sharing plates using innovative, expertly combined ingredients. Standouts on our visit include a starter of Marmite butter, sourdough and duck ham slices, plus mains of cured sea bass with horseradish sorbet, crispy quail ‘nuggets’ and birch-smoked Welsh lamb. Desserts are equally inventive – in one dish, a blanket of Earl Grey custard gives way to soft apple crumble with a hidden blackberry sorbet centre. 10- course tasting menu.
Best for: Special occasions
The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in October 2016. Four miles outside Cardiff in Penarth, its glass frontage allows you to dine with a glorious view of the Severn Estuary and beyond. Sommerin’s dishes are elegant and inventive, and the impressive wine list is top-heavy with biodynamic and organic options. Starters from £8.50, mains from £18. Six-course tasting menu £75.
50 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
The Potted Pig
27 High St Best for: Special occasions
The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in October 2016. Four miles outside Cardiff in Penarth, its glass frontage allows you to dine with a glorious view of the Severn Estuary and beyond. Sommerin’s dishes are elegant and inventive, and the impressive wine list is top-heavy with biodynamic and organic options. Starters from £8.50, mains from £18. Six-course tasting menu £75.
Best for: Special occasions
The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in October 2016. Four miles outside Cardiff in Penarth, its glass frontage allows you to dine with a glorious view of the Severn Estuary and beyond. Sommerin’s dishes are elegant and inventive, and the impressive wine list is top-heavy with biodynamic and organic options. Starters from £8.50, mains from £18. Six-course tasting menu £75.
16 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Restaurant James Sommerin
Best for: Special occasions
The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in October 2016. Four miles outside Cardiff in Penarth, its glass frontage allows you to dine with a glorious view of the Severn Estuary and beyond. Sommerin’s dishes are elegant and inventive, and the impressive wine list is top-heavy with biodynamic and organic options. Starters from £8.50, mains from £18. Six-course tasting menu £75.
Best for: Kid-friendly, casual dining, cheap eats
This is the brainchild of Adam El Tagoury, formerly a
Hare Krishna monk, who successfully crowd-funded his
100% vegan enterprise into existence in 2015. Try the
speciality burgers made from seitan (wheat gluten) –
guilt-free vegan comfort food. Mains from £8.50.
17 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Anna-Loka
114 Albany RdBest for: Kid-friendly, casual dining, cheap eats
This is the brainchild of Adam El Tagoury, formerly a
Hare Krishna monk, who successfully crowd-funded his
100% vegan enterprise into existence in 2015. Try the
speciality burgers made from seitan (wheat gluten) –
guilt-free vegan comfort food. Mains from £8.50.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
After spending four years in a catering bus providing grateful festival-goers with an alternative to cheap hot dogs, Cai Pritchard honed the art of burgercraft and is now established in Cardiff’s foodie-central zone, Whitchurch Road. The Breaking Bad-saluting ‘Heisen Burger’ is the headline act (Welsh Black beefburger with blue cheese, crispy bacon and blue drunken onions) at £7.95.
17 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Got Beef
83 Whitchurch RdBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
After spending four years in a catering bus providing grateful festival-goers with an alternative to cheap hot dogs, Cai Pritchard honed the art of burgercraft and is now established in Cardiff’s foodie-central zone, Whitchurch Road. The Breaking Bad-saluting ‘Heisen Burger’ is the headline act (Welsh Black beefburger with blue cheese, crispy bacon and blue drunken onions) at £7.95.
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
This has the most decidedly unglamorous address – Her
Majesty’s Prison, Knox Road, Cardiff – and is staffed by
serving ‘guests’ of said establishment. It has been lauded as one of the best fine dining restaurants in Wales, with a bright, buzzy and welcoming interior. The menu offers riffs on classic dishes made with seasonally appropriate ingredients, many grown on the Prescoed prison farm.
24 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
The Clink Cymru
Knox RoadBest for: Casual dining, special occasions
This has the most decidedly unglamorous address – Her
Majesty’s Prison, Knox Road, Cardiff – and is staffed by
serving ‘guests’ of said establishment. It has been lauded as one of the best fine dining restaurants in Wales, with a bright, buzzy and welcoming interior. The menu offers riffs on classic dishes made with seasonally appropriate ingredients, many grown on the Prescoed prison farm.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
This restaurant in Cardiff Bay proves that anything – from the humble omelette to the cherry Bakewell – can become a thing of beauty in the hands of a genuine artisan, and that no big chain can compete with a family of dedicated caterers. The hog and hen (sausage, egg ans bacon baguette) followed by a chocolate & Malteser cupcake are sheer bliss.
12 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Love Peace and Cupcake
20 Harrowby StBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
This restaurant in Cardiff Bay proves that anything – from the humble omelette to the cherry Bakewell – can become a thing of beauty in the hands of a genuine artisan, and that no big chain can compete with a family of dedicated caterers. The hog and hen (sausage, egg ans bacon baguette) followed by a chocolate & Malteser cupcake are sheer bliss.
Best for: Casual dining
Ten years at the heart of Cardiff’s student hub in Roath have allowed Milgi to build up a devoted and ever-expanding client base, won over by its eclectic decoration, well-proportioned cocktails and flavour-stacked, internationally-inspired, vegetarian plant-based street food. Starters £7.50, mains £11.95.
34 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Milgi
213 City RdBest for: Casual dining
Ten years at the heart of Cardiff’s student hub in Roath have allowed Milgi to build up a devoted and ever-expanding client base, won over by its eclectic decoration, well-proportioned cocktails and flavour-stacked, internationally-inspired, vegetarian plant-based street food. Starters £7.50, mains £11.95.
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
Since opening La Cuina in 2012, Montserrat Prat and her crew of Catalan chefs have seen their marriage of ancient cooking traditions and locally sourced food take La Cuina right to the top of the Cardiff restaurant league table. Welsh ingredients are given the Catalan treatment, such as rabbit in a Moscatel vinaigrette. Mains from £13.50.
15 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
La Cuina
11 Kings RdBest for: Casual dining, special occasions
Since opening La Cuina in 2012, Montserrat Prat and her crew of Catalan chefs have seen their marriage of ancient cooking traditions and locally sourced food take La Cuina right to the top of the Cardiff restaurant league table. Welsh ingredients are given the Catalan treatment, such as rabbit in a Moscatel vinaigrette. Mains from £13.50.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
Cardiff is known for its superb Indian restaurants, a reputation that has a lot to do with Ajit Kandoran and Latheesh Kottilil, whose restaurant Mint and Mustard has been the high watermark for Asian cookery in south Wales for 10 years. Their punky offshoot in Canton is the ultimate street food destination. Mixed thalis from £11.95.
Chai Street Indian Restaurant
15 High StBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
Cardiff is known for its superb Indian restaurants, a reputation that has a lot to do with Ajit Kandoran and Latheesh Kottilil, whose restaurant Mint and Mustard has been the high watermark for Asian cookery in south Wales for 10 years. Their punky offshoot in Canton is the ultimate street food destination. Mixed thalis from £11.95.
Best for: Casual dining, kid-friendly
Twenty years ago, Russell Bullimore (no prizes for guessing
his nickname) opened a classic French-style bistro to
showcase the kind of food that he loved, and no one has
grown tired of it since. A meticulously sourced list of wines
hand-picked from appellations all over France helps to
complete the authentic Gallic mood, aided no end by a
randomly assembled, themeless art collection that calls to
mind semi-fictional Parisian brasseries where penniless
artists paid for food with their canvasses. Starters from £5,
mains from £15.
23 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Bullys Restaurant
5 Romilly CresBest for: Casual dining, kid-friendly
Twenty years ago, Russell Bullimore (no prizes for guessing
his nickname) opened a classic French-style bistro to
showcase the kind of food that he loved, and no one has
grown tired of it since. A meticulously sourced list of wines
hand-picked from appellations all over France helps to
complete the authentic Gallic mood, aided no end by a
randomly assembled, themeless art collection that calls to
mind semi-fictional Parisian brasseries where penniless
artists paid for food with their canvasses. Starters from £5,
mains from £15.
Best for: Casual dining, kid-friendly
Twenty years ago, Russell Bullimore (no prizes for guessing
his nickname) opened a classic French-style bistro to
showcase the kind of food that he loved, and no one has
grown tired of it since. A meticulously sourced list of wines
hand-picked from appellations all over France helps to
complete the authentic Gallic mood, aided no end by a
randomly assembled, themeless art collection that calls to
mind semi-fictional Parisian brasseries where penniless
artists paid for food with their canvasses. Starters from £5,
mains from £15.
6 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Shaam Nights Restaurant
116 City RdBest for: Casual dining, kid-friendly
Twenty years ago, Russell Bullimore (no prizes for guessing
his nickname) opened a classic French-style bistro to
showcase the kind of food that he loved, and no one has
grown tired of it since. A meticulously sourced list of wines
hand-picked from appellations all over France helps to
complete the authentic Gallic mood, aided no end by a
randomly assembled, themeless art collection that calls to
mind semi-fictional Parisian brasseries where penniless
artists paid for food with their canvasses. Starters from £5,
mains from £15.
Best for: Special occasions
Park House has become Cardiff’s restaurant yardstick since opening in 2005, not least for its afternoon teas. A precise, contemporary establishment run under recently appointed head chef, Matt Walfron, with a modern vitality to the variety of menus found in Park House’s celebrated, oak-panelled, Bruge dining room. This antique/modish marriage is echoed in the Vanilla Rooms cocktail bar, which couldn’t be more ‘now’ if they’d hired Cara Delevingne to mix the mojitos with a Little Book of Hygge under her arm. Five-course tasting menu £55.
Park House Restaurant & Wine Bar
20 Park PlBest for: Special occasions
Park House has become Cardiff’s restaurant yardstick since opening in 2005, not least for its afternoon teas. A precise, contemporary establishment run under recently appointed head chef, Matt Walfron, with a modern vitality to the variety of menus found in Park House’s celebrated, oak-panelled, Bruge dining room. This antique/modish marriage is echoed in the Vanilla Rooms cocktail bar, which couldn’t be more ‘now’ if they’d hired Cara Delevingne to mix the mojitos with a Little Book of Hygge under her arm. Five-course tasting menu £55.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
An expansive, industrial-look interior gives this address on
increasingly gourmand Whitchurch Street the retro-fit vibe of a New York art gallery circa 1989. There’s influence too from Bristol, just across the River Severn, where the proprietors Tim Moores and Dom Wood also own Urban Standard and North Street Standard. The menu is designed to be enjoyed by friends huddled around a table, sharing pork or seafood platters washed down with a pint or two of locally brewed Pipes Beer. Extra points for the “Mactorious P.I.G.” sandwich. Starters from £4.50, sharing platters £14.90.
15 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Society Standard
79-81 Whitchurch RdBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
An expansive, industrial-look interior gives this address on
increasingly gourmand Whitchurch Street the retro-fit vibe of a New York art gallery circa 1989. There’s influence too from Bristol, just across the River Severn, where the proprietors Tim Moores and Dom Wood also own Urban Standard and North Street Standard. The menu is designed to be enjoyed by friends huddled around a table, sharing pork or seafood platters washed down with a pint or two of locally brewed Pipes Beer. Extra points for the “Mactorious P.I.G.” sandwich. Starters from £4.50, sharing platters £14.90.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
An expansive, industrial-look interior gives this address on
increasingly gourmand Whitchurch Street the retro-fit vibe of a New York art gallery circa 1989. There’s influence too from Bristol, just across the River Severn, where the proprietors Tim Moores and Dom Wood also own Urban Standard and North Street Standard. The menu is designed to be enjoyed by friends huddled around a table, sharing pork or seafood platters washed down with a pint or two of locally brewed Pipes Beer. Extra points for the “Mactorious P.I.G.” sandwich. Starters from £4.50, sharing platters £14.90.
ffresh
Bute PlaceBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
An expansive, industrial-look interior gives this address on
increasingly gourmand Whitchurch Street the retro-fit vibe of a New York art gallery circa 1989. There’s influence too from Bristol, just across the River Severn, where the proprietors Tim Moores and Dom Wood also own Urban Standard and North Street Standard. The menu is designed to be enjoyed by friends huddled around a table, sharing pork or seafood platters washed down with a pint or two of locally brewed Pipes Beer. Extra points for the “Mactorious P.I.G.” sandwich. Starters from £4.50, sharing platters £14.90.
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
This is the result of several years of evolution and
development by husband-and-wife team Rhys and Laura
Keogh, who took over The Pot when it was an unassuming
café. Word quickly spread about their new, hearty cassoulets and bouillabaisse – and suddenly, 25 covers wasn’t enough. They’re now packing them in at their new location on Whitchurch Road, while the original venue has been re-reimagined as an upmarket café named, rather sweetly, Arty’s Kitchen, after their son. Breakfast from £5.50, main courses from £8.50.
13 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
The Pot Bistro
55A Whitchurch RoadBest for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid-friendly
This is the result of several years of evolution and
development by husband-and-wife team Rhys and Laura
Keogh, who took over The Pot when it was an unassuming
café. Word quickly spread about their new, hearty cassoulets and bouillabaisse – and suddenly, 25 covers wasn’t enough. They’re now packing them in at their new location on Whitchurch Road, while the original venue has been re-reimagined as an upmarket café named, rather sweetly, Arty’s Kitchen, after their son. Breakfast from £5.50, main courses from £8.50.
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
The name Anand George is whispered with sacred reverence in Cardiff. Learning his craft over many gruelling hours back home in Kochi, Kerala (and in some of the best kitchens in London), George set up the Purple Poppadom in Cardiff’s vibrant Canton district in 2007. His mission: to change the way Indian food is viewed. The clean, bright, modern presentation – the room as well as the plate – allows many varied flavours to breathe and bedazzle. Read all about it in George’s first cookbook, The 5,000 Mile Journey. Mains from £13.50, seven- course tasting menu £49.95.
29 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Purple Poppadom
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
The name Anand George is whispered with sacred reverence in Cardiff. Learning his craft over many gruelling hours back home in Kochi, Kerala (and in some of the best kitchens in London), George set up the Purple Poppadom in Cardiff’s vibrant Canton district in 2007. His mission: to change the way Indian food is viewed. The clean, bright, modern presentation – the room as well as the plate – allows many varied flavours to breathe and bedazzle. Read all about it in George’s first cookbook, The 5,000 Mile Journey. Mains from £13.50, seven- course tasting menu £49.95.
Best for: Casual dining, special occasions
The name Anand George is whispered with sacred reverence
in Cardiff. Learning his craft over many gruelling hours back
home in Kochi, Kerala (and in some of the best kitchens in
London), George set up the Purple Poppadom in Cardiff’s
vibrant Canton district in 2007. His mission: to change the way Indian food is viewed. The clean, bright, modern presentation – the room as well as the plate – allows many varied flavours to breathe and bedazzle. Read all about it in George’s first cookbook, The 5,000 Mile Journey. Mains from £13.50, seven- course tasting menu £49.95.
34 icetyiswa ngabantu basekuhlaleni
Tiny Rebel Cardiff
25 Westgate StBest for: Casual dining, special occasions
The name Anand George is whispered with sacred reverence
in Cardiff. Learning his craft over many gruelling hours back
home in Kochi, Kerala (and in some of the best kitchens in
London), George set up the Purple Poppadom in Cardiff’s
vibrant Canton district in 2007. His mission: to change the way Indian food is viewed. The clean, bright, modern presentation – the room as well as the plate – allows many varied flavours to breathe and bedazzle. Read all about it in George’s first cookbook, The 5,000 Mile Journey. Mains from £13.50, seven- course tasting menu £49.95.
Street Food Circus
16 St Peter's StCocorico Patisserie
35A Whitchurch RdPettigrew Tea Rooms
Castle StreetSightseeing
I-Castle ye-Cardiff
Castle StWaterfront Park
Harbour DriveEntertainment & Activities
IStadium yase-Principality
Westgate StreetCardiff International White Water
Watkiss Wayplan2ride Bike Cafe
51a Merthyr RdCardiff Sea Safaris
Parks & Nature
Bute Park
North RoadArts & Culture
Iziko lezwe laseSt Fagans National Museum of History
Off the Wall Art Gallery
49 Cardiff RdSherman Theatre
Senghennydd RoadMillennium Centre station
Shopping
St David's Dewi Sant
Bridge StreetQueens Arcade
Queen StreetThe Capitol Shopping Centre
Queen Street