FISH AND FIELD | FOOD REVIEW
Wedal Road, Cardiff. 029 2048 1700 / www.fishandfield.co.uk
The classic combination of ‘surf and turf’ is getting an upmarket makeover in the restaurant-formerly-known-as-Scalini’s. Ross Williams, former head chef at Pier 64, and Gareth Farr, former head chef at Bully’s Restaurant, have joined forces to do what ‘Fish & Field’ says on the tin: serve up thoughtful, high quality meat and seafood dishes.
Walking into the restaurant you are hit with its brilliantly higgledy-piggledy charm. It looks like it’s been decorated excitedly by two guys who have gotten a little overeager on their shopping trip (“let’s get these cow paintings! And these giant forks! And a fish tank!”) but I loved it.
We’re not here to talk about décor, however, we’re here to talk about food. To start I went for the bresaola: the earthy flavour of the thinly cut beef was paired nicely with the sharp flavours of the rocket salad served with it, while my partner had the mussels (which we were assured were local). The soft mussels were delicious, and cooked perfectly in a buttery, garlicy sauce that we both guzzled down.
For mains he chose the Cornish brill, which was served with a variety of steamed vegetables. We couldn’t quite put our fingers on what the fish was seasoned with, but it smelt like popcorn and tasted delicious. I couldn’t resist choosing the halibut with vanilla sauce to see if it would be an interesting and inventive combination, or a novelty dish gone wrong. Thankfully it was the former and I was met with a perfectly cooked dish covered in a subtle sauce that was pungent (it had an air of custard) but paired well with the fish and bed of sweet potato mash.
Desserts, a creamy but not too heavy blueberry crème brulee and a deliciously pancake-like banana tart, were a fantastic final act to a top quality meal.
words HEATHER ARNOLD photo MORGAN DIVINE