URBAN TAP HOUSE | FOOD REVIEW
*****
Quay Street, Cardiff, 029 2039 9557 / www.urbantaphouse.co.uk
That’s right: a five-star review for a place which isn’t a restaurant, and in fact only serves burgers. Urban Tap House is hereby awarded this because since opening in late September, it has approached the task of ‘being a bar’ with an unprecedented level of verve, knowledge and respect for its customers.
In the last couple of years, Cardiff’s bar scene has opened up to beer drinkers who actually care about what they’re drinking. Fire Island was arguably the city’s most ambitious venture, but failed to iron out its flaws before going into receivership in July. Youthful, lauded Newport brewery Tiny Rebel purchased the building, and set about making Urban Tap House a beer madman’s dreams.
UTH’s bar manager Chris Rowlands attempt to consistently keep around 100 beers on sale, ranging from Tiny Rebel’s own brews to unfiltered lagers, fruity Belgian things and Denmark’s remortgagingly expensive Mikkeller range. Today, I have a pint of Siren Näcken, a 6.4% British craft beer – hop-loaded, but fearfully easy to drink. My pal chooses Red Willow’s Witless (4.4%) – also on tap, British and a wheat ale with sweet fruit overtones. They both stand testament to the innovation in UK brewing at present.
Food undeniably plays a bit part in UTH’s image, so it’s cheering that their burgers (£7.50 each) aren’t just paper towels for the stomach, but are made with care and some inventiveness. My ‘Pork, Pork & Pork’ burger is so named because it’s made from minced pork, black pudding and bacon; this sounds wilfully indulgent and a bit internet meme-y, but actually works a treat, as does my colleague’s chicken and chorizo patty with chilli jam and sweet peppers. Skin-on fries, onion rings and – the jewel in the arterial crown – deep-fried gherkins are offered as sides. Urban Tap House has been a roaring success in its first few weeks, but if you are remotely curious about craft beer or beer craft, you need it more than it needs you.
words: NOEL GARDNER
photos: ANDREW WILCOX / Flickr
