First, a word of advice: if you’re planning on visiting Neighbourhood for an evening feast, ring ahead. With only three tables and a handful of window seats, this friendly little bar/restaurant fills up quickly. Thankfully, we’ve booked in advance and are grateful to escape a violent hailstorm in the knowledge there’ll be room at the inn for Tacos Del Barrio’s residency.
A very short hop from Tramshed, Neighbourhood seems like the perfect spot for pre-gig nourishment, a few rungs up the ladder from a tray of chips and curry sauce at Laziza. Since it opened its doors in 2021, a policy of rotating kitchen residencies has seen the likes of the Louisiana Crawfish Boil and the Camembert Bar serving up fare a little different to the street food staples, and Tacos Del Barrio are the current incumbents.
Locally brewed beers are on offer (hats off to anywhere that stocks Flowerhorn produce), but it’s a round of zingy cocktails that gets our Friday night off to a flyer. On the food front, patatas bravas are a very solid starter for 10, but find themselves overshadowed by both the charred peppers, liberally dusted with salt flakes, and the totopos – corn fritters deep fried to a crispy frazzle and tailor-made for dunking in a fresh pot of guacamole.
As the name might imply, soft-shell tacos are the main event, but disappointment follows with the discovery that the El Cordero is unavailable owing to a lack of the key ingredient, Cwm Kits Farm lamb. While the lobster option is nice enough, it doesn’t quite do enough to justify its £9 price tag – not least because the tinga de pollo, a scrumptious tangle of citrussy marinated shredded chicken, costs half as much. The deployment of tempura enoki mushrooms in the vegan variant is astute, and while the presence of paneer in the queso might be an affront to traditionalists, it’s a well-received novelty among our party.
Like the lamb, the churros are off the menu, but our crestfallen youngest diner is largely appeased with a tub of ice cream. Perhaps greater attention might be paid to ensuring that advertised dishes can be provided, but nevertheless, the chef should be commended for working wonders in such a miniscule space, responding to our staggered orders with a steady flow of food. By closing time, we’ve sampled everything and our server salutes our collective commitment to completism: “I’m proud of you guys.”
Tacos Del Barrio’s residency comes to an end on Sun 21 Apr, so you need to act fast – but it’s a fairly safe bet that whatever comes next will be worth a try too.
Neighbourhood, Tudor Street, Cardiff.
Info: neighbourhoodkitchen.co.uk
words and photos BEN WOOLHEAD
