food / drink
1861 ****
Cross Ash, Abergavenny. 0845 3881861 / www. 18-61. co. uk Abergavenny is awash with excellent restaurants: The Walnut Tree, Foxhunter and the lovely Bell at nearby Skenfrith. 1861 has slotted neatly into this bracket and has earned an enviable reputation in the relatively short time Simon Wright and his wife Katie have been at the helm. Simon’ s credentials are of the finest pedigree: a stint under the Roux brothers at Bray and continuing under the Viking-esque Martin Blunos at Lettonie, in Bristol and Bath. After meeting Katie at Llansantffraed Court, he settled in Wales and they opened 1861. We recently went for Sunday lunch, and as driving constituted a three-hour round trip, an evening meal was a bit of a stretch. However, the drive is very picturesque and a warm and homely welcome awaits you on arrival. All produce is fresh, many items from Katie’ s father’ s nursery or nearby farms and suppliers. The tasting menu( from £ 49.50 per head) was a considered option of seven surprise courses, created daily with the best ingredients available, but we chose from the Sunday lunch menu. To start, cauliflower soup with a stilton mousse, and wild garlic risotto. For mains, roast topside of beef and Yorkshire pudding in a red wine gravy with beetroot and roast potatoes; plus escalope of turkey in a sage cream served with a mini hotpot. Desserts were all tempting, but as we were both quite full we shared caramelised pineapple with rum and raisin ice cream. Everything was tremendous: beautiful homemade bread, the sensible cutlery and serving dishes, as opposed to a wobbly, inappropriate piece of art / slate which seems to be the craze, the service, food and experience were all above average. For us it’ s too far to make a regular trip, but worth it for a special occasion or if you live nearby. ANTONIA LEVAY
THE SMOKE HOUSE ****
77 Pontcanna Street, Cardiff. 029 2034 4628 / www. facebook. com / smokehousewales About halfway through this meal, it strikes me that The Smoke House has timed its arrival extremely judiciously. Only open since March, in Diner 77’ s old building in Pontcanna, Buzz and dining pal visit on one of the first warm, or even non-cold, evenings of 2013. Not that The Smoke House’ s fare – burgers and steaks, plus signature meat mountains cooked at tectonic pace in a hickory smoker – wouldn’ t suit a chilly day, you realise. It’ s a barbeque joint, though, and barbeque is pretty self-evidently summery. Obviously, this type of burnt offering bears very little resemblance to the puny efforts of 99 % of British BBQers, which is all the more reason to welcome it in. The Smoke House, whose walls are bedecked with either unvarnished wood panels or bottles of bourbon and American beer, is impressively full on a Tuesday night. Not even Cardiff’ s promotionally triumphant 0-0 can keep the big, blokish table away. Our starters of southern fried chicken and grilled halloumi are both perfectly fine; not quite revelatory but moist / squeaky respectively. Even if that is an uncomfortable juxtaposition of adjectives. Come the mains, slow-smoked beef brisket sits across the table from barbeque pulled pork on barbeque beans, both served in an iron skillet and teamed with fries, coleslaw and onion rings. Both meatpiles( I ate nearly half my guest’ s) fall apart pretty much when you look at them, and have an impressive depth of flavour. The‘ fries’ are chips really, not noticeably seasoned as claimed and a bit underwhelming, but I’ ve no real issue with anything else. Cardiff, as ever, follows where‘ hip’ Americanised London places lead, but I think this place should do the biz for a while. A meal for two plus a bottle of house red was just under £ 50. NOEL GARDNER
THE BLUE PELICAN CAFÉ ****
Hamptons, 10 Ludlow Lane, Penarth. 029 2070 5391 / www. hamptons-design. co. uk Penarth is now something of a destination point for those searching for a decent bite to eat. As we walked around on a sunny Saturday lunchtime the majority of the restaurants and cafés were brimming with people, and as we climbed the stairs to the Blue Pelican Café on the first floor of Hamptons, the popularity of this spot was obvious. We arrived just after 1pm and the dining space was full, with a queue of people waiting for a seat. Despite there being plenty of other places to eat in the area, the fact that people were happy to wait demonstrated to me how good the café must be. After a short wait we were seated by our waitress who quickly took our orders. I had a large cappuccino and an incredibly delicious halloumi salad(£ 7.99), which included the obvious salad components as well as artichokes, olives, sundried tomatoes topped with warm slices of halloumi. I’ m not sure what kind of kitchen witchcraft the chef used to cook the halloumi, but it was without doubt the nicest I’ ve ever eaten and even when cool it avoided being chewy. My husband opted for the soup and sandwich combination. He chose the roast chicken and smoked bacon sandwich with tarragon mayonnaise and the homemade tomato soup(£ 7.99). Both parts of his meal were fresh, tasty and hastily devoured. For dessert we could’ ve easily been tempted by any of the cakes displayed on the cake table, but to celebrate what was hopefully the start of spring, we opted for the Eton mess(£ 3.99). Served in a tall glass, it was creamy and fruity, but perhaps it could’ ve done with a touch more meringue. But that is a minor grumble in what was otherwise a perfect informal lunch. ANGHARAD BROWN
BUZZ 30