High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff.
029 2056 4646 / www.thepickledradish.com
Food:
Atmosphere:
The significance of this new Cardiff restaurant’s name – likewise its elder sibling in Laleston, Bridgend, open since 2015 – is not made clear. Pickled radishes, though, prove a suitable pairing for red herrings during two fine hours here.
The board by the door trumpets a menu sourced exclusively from Welsh produce, but if you anticipate bland patriotism, nothing of the sort results. It’s a Wednesday, aka Pickled Radish steak night, and they’re fully booked as a result: pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap? No, it sits at a pleasing intersection of quality and value.
My starter (£9), salmon cured with thyme and Brecon – that’s Brecon – gin, is elegant and modishly Nordic in feel, paired with cubes of golden beetroot, mildly charred cucumber and a miniature bottle of fizzy limeade. It isn’t explained, or clear, what you’re supposed to do with it, but the salmon is excellent, so hey. A scotch egg made with chicken and a soft yolk (£8.50) is a hit: “nicely crafted without being too ostentatious”.
If the bustling room of Llandaff fortysomethings are steaking out their territory, it seems fair to get involved too: a 10oz ribeye or sirloin with two sides, a sauce and a glass of wine is £20, decent value in here. Hailing from close enough to have been walked to the front door, the ribeye is complemented (arguably upstaged) by addictive triple-cooked chips and a salad studded with Frazzles-sweet bacon pieces. Meanwhile, a sea bass fillet (£19.50) comes with a pearl barley risotto, deeply flavoured with a peppery kick.
Desserts are mostly £7, with a multi-component popcorn maple brownie drawing praise across the table, and my carrot cake trifle – deconstructed, although they don’t use that word, into jelly, cake, ice cream and biscuit – proving both original in concept and enjoyable in execution. A bottle of Domaine De Seuil Bordeaux (£30, either despite or because of its makers’ Welsh origins) mirrors the food it accompanies at The Pickled Radish: innovative, but familiar in the ways that matter. It deserves to be a resounding, long-term success.
NOEL GARDNER