Pop-up restaurant. [email protected] / www.theherbivore.co.uk
Chef Simon Matthew recently spread the green gospel in Pontcanna for with an instalment of his South Wales supper club. Not only is everything deliciously vegetarian, all the ingredients were foraged growing wild. The evening began with wild garlic, watercress and dandelion tempura. As it was served, the staff presented each diner with a paper wrap, containing hot Japanese shichimi seasoning to sprinkle on.
Another local delicacy is the underrated leaf, sea beet. It’s deliciously tangy, iron-rich, and grows near the shore all across the UK. Tonight it arrived on the plate in a loose patty, mixed with chickpeas and Middle Eastern preserved lemon, topped with a lacework of pennywort leaves, a familiar site in hedgerows. More surprise came with the pumpkin seed and nori seaweed ‘risotto’. This intense dish was riceless, with the seeds replacing the grains and the nori providing a strong, stock-like flavour and thick texture. If this sounds a bit ‘health-foody’, served with it were slivers of pale, pink, pickled Jerusalem artichoke, in sweet, zingy counterpoint.
The least successful part of the meal was gnocchi made with nettles. The soft roundness was lovely, but a little bland and claggy, as doughy potato balls are liable to be. Finally came the pudding. A moist, comforting cube of orangey almond sponge was topped with a sweet, sharp rhubarb compote, but that was just the beginning. Next to it was wild fennel granite.
The whole meal was an exciting experience with a great buzz in the relaxed and sociable spot that is Kemi’s – whose own daily cafe fare is worth a look too. After an evening of eating like that, going out for steak and chips seems a bit barbaric.
words GWYN THOMAS DE CHROUSTCHOFF