FED | FOOD REVIEW
Mary Ann Street, Cardiff. 029 2034 1501 / www.wearefed.co.uk
The big, brightly lit ‘Food Exploration Destination’ (or FED, see what they did there) is a restaurant that offers up a combination of pre-made buffet food and freshly cooked dishes. The ‘exploration’ comes in the form of different cuisines from around the world, with everything from traditional Italian food to spicy Indian dishes, Tex-Mex to sushi, flame-grilled meat to Chinese classics. Whether you’re into all-you-can-eat style restaurants or not I do find that there is something immensely fun about having Japanese sushi, chicken fajitas and pizza all on the same plate.
The fresh food stations, where you can pick and choose elements of your dish and have them delivered to your table, are a great idea, and provided the tastiest dishes. A pasta carbonara from the Italian stall was spot on: the spaghetti was well cooked and the sauce was smooth and creamy without being overly cheesy. My partner and I tried to make sure we had the whole world covered, so we ate a lot, but other highlights included some well cooked, succulent freshly fried prawns, the ‘build your own’ Chinese stir-fry and the flame-grilled beef steak.
This being a buffet-style restaurant, with a huge selection of food, it’s unlikely that any of the individual dishes that are going to blow you away. If you’re looking for this style of meal,however, FED is probably the right way to go. The place is well lit so you can see what you’re getting, the staff are friendly and attentive, the buffet food is of a solid quality and the freshly cooked dishes turn things up a notch. Undoubtedly FED is a good choice if you have a big group and no one can agree on what type of food they want: the set price, which is between £8.99-£12.99 for lunch and £12.99-£14.99 for dinner, also makes splitting the bill a simpler task.
words HEATHER ARNOLD