First Floor, Cardiff Central Market. 07834 347527 / www.ffwrnes.co.uk
Food **** Atmosphere ****
Situated on the upper level of Cardiff Market, opposite the gallery from Kelly’s Records, Ffwrnes is a great new addition offering excellent pizza for exceptionally cheap prices, and with no frills or fuss. The market already has a number of great places to eat, from greasy spoons to fresh Welsh cakes, and Ffwrnes fits in nicely with the overall mood.
The menu is as simple as can be (although to my understanding they were running a reduced version on the day of my visit, due to the demands of the rugby), with five or six vegetarian options (at £6 for 12”) and around the same number of meat options (£7 for 12”). No messing about, just simple, high-quality pizza, baked almost right in front of you in an oven. Compare those prices to even just the average chain store (a Pizza Express averages about £10-£12 a go), and the value for money is far better, especially as these are superb pizzas loaded with flavour and not grease-cardboard.
The two options we settled for were both vegetarian, a mushroom pizza and a pesto one. The two pizzas arrived remarkably quickly – five minutes at most – so the oven must be an impressive piece of kit; indeed, the website claims they’re done in 90s seconds. The dough is traditional Neapolitan, where the outer crust is crunchy without being baked out, and as you get towards the centre, the pizza becomes softer and more flavourful. Arguably, the base at this point is almost too thin, practically falling apart in the centre; this is maybe my one issue with the whole deal. It provides the perfect opportunity for making an impromptu calzone out of this, at least.
The flavours themselves are great too. The ingredients are all clearly fresh – the mushrooms had a fleshy bite, the pesto rich, and the base was excellently balanced. Ffwrnes aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but this is an excellent place to stop by during the day for great pizza. FEDOR TOT