Cardiff restaurants and cafes

On a foodie related note, Jay Raynor wrote a review of The Classroom, which he praises but is pretty critical of Cardiff generally as a foodie place. I know it doesn't have that many fine dining or Michelin starred places but I think Cardiff is a great place for food in general.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ant-review

This did not go down well amongst the many Cardiff based food bloggers on Twitter to say the least.

The poor man has now done a major Twitter flounce and said he will never review a Cardiff restaurant again because people were so mean to him. I have some sympathy for him, in that it was a good review of a good restaurant and he got a kicking - but he took the Wales Online "Just Eat" survey of what Cardiffians thought our best restaurants are seriously and he moaned that he couldn't find a decent restaurant five minutes walk from what sounds like just north of Queen Street after 10.30pm (which suggests to me that his hosts were extremely remiss in giving him directions and suggestions). And of course once he started clutching his pearls, people answered back.

I think its fair to say that Cardiff's city centre food scene is rather lacklustre and rather dominated by chains. Yes there are some decent independent restaurants and eateries but they aren't really "destinations" with the exception of one or two places (e.g. Potted Pig). I think its also fair to say what you might call the "city centres" of Bristol and Manchester (and probably other regional cities), have more highly-rated restaurants. I think Cardiff does have some such restaurants but they are probably more "homely" than the very top end you may find in other cities; and are located mostly in the inner suburbs (especially Roath and Pontcanna/Canton), which very few visitors venture out into.

I've also noticed that Cardiff city centre seems rather dead on weekday nights - again in comparison to other major regional cities. It is hard to find good food at 10:30 - many places close at 11 and won't take new customers at that time.

So I think there is some legitimacy to what he says. Cardiff's food scene - at least in the city centre - is less developed than in other major UK cities. Its just that he expressed it in a rather unnecessary and condescending way (he could have said it was a star in a rather lacklustre Cardiff food scene without labouring the point so much). He's also acted like a rigth wally when he got some stick for writing an article of this tone - talk about a diva!

I should add, I think certain English people feel quite the urge to put Cardiff down - perhaps as a reaction to our own habit of over-hyping Cardiff (perhaps because it does stand out so much in comparison with the rest of Wales), and the generally good reviews it gets as a friendly, interesting destination. Sort of "Yes.. but"..:
"the architecture is a bit of a hotch potch"
"its full of chain restaurants"
"the nightlife isn't exactly sophisticated"

All fair points, I think. But when said in a sort of sneering way, do grate.

he should have come to penarth. its much better than cardiff for eating out

We should just MUFFS. Every opinion doesn't need an emotional knee-jerk display of villagism. Embarrassed by the reaction & 'challenge'. We do love being small in Wales, we specialise in it.

Do Cardiffians looking for a good meal really want to go into the centre of town? I kind of prefer the slightly more suburban restaurant approach. And I'm sure plenty of people going out for meals - often at the weekend - do not want the faff of town and its drinking culture. I wonder if smaller eating establishments have been a victim of the matchday culture? And maybe visitors are better off hiding in their hotels, some of which have extensive food options.

I also get rather tired of the idea that food says something cultural rather than economic. That London has all these Michelin starred restaurants because it's more 'sophisticated'. Er no, it's because it is full of all sorts of peculiar oligarchs and bankers who aren't going to be satisfied with bistro food. This no doubt helps to attract many of the best chefs from around the UK and indeed the world. If you're a talented chef from the valleys it might be nice to think you'd be happy cooking meals for the Joneses down the road but serving the global feral rich is likely to be more lucrative.

Independent restaurants can be great (some can also be shockingly bad) but I do get annoyed at the rather bigoted view that a city should be judged entirely on its independent offerings. Some of the best meals I've ever had have been in chain restaurants. There is a reason they became chains after all. We seem to want to punish success in this country. It's not just restaurants either. Many independent retailers just can't offer the same quality for a reasonable price, and that's what your average Cardiffian looks for - value for money. We may be growing as a city, both in size and culturally, but I like to think that Cardiffians don't place pseudo-culture and hipster trends ahead of more important things. Besides, if you want an expensive meal at a fancy independent restaurant, there are many offerings on the outskirts of the region.

Typical Gaurdinista fare. I am surprised he even acknowledged the existence of anywhere outside his London enclave.

I am also surprised he missed an opportunity to blame something on BREXIT

I've also noticed that Cardiff city centre seems rather dead on weekday nights - again in comparison to other major regional cities. It is hard to find good food at 10:30 - many places close at 11 and won't take new customers at that time.

I think it's important to consider that this is not necessarily down to the operator - for a business to serve hot food after 11pm it needs a Late Night Refreshment license and the relevant planning permission. Cardiff Council do not make this easy to get without a huge amount of solicitors fees, paperwork and appeals.

This has been made even more difficult since the extension of the saturation policy across the city centre.