Where To Eat In Cardiff, According To One Of Its Best Chefs
By
3 months ago
Where to dine in the Welsh capital
Tom Waters made history when his modern Welsh restaurant, Gorse, won a Michelin star in 2025 – just eight months after its open. It was the first restaurant in Cardiff to ever achieve the accolade. Cardiff’s food scene has been ‘historically underestimated’, says the chef – here’s Tom Waters’ guide to the Welsh capital’s most significant dishes and spots to eat.
A Chef’s Guide To Cardiff
Chef Tom Waters is behind Gorse, the first restaurant in Cardiff to ever receive a Michelin star
The food scene in Cardiff is very diverse. We have a proud history of varied immigration, which has given life to fantastic restaurants across a broad spectrum of cuisines. We also boast a lot of independent restaurants run by young and ambitious chefs with strong backgrounds working far afield and then returning to the city to do their own thing.
Welsh cuisine is having a renaissance. It has suffered a touch reputationally over the years, but, recently, a number of chefs have brought its traditions and ingredients back to life. Ingredients such as laverbread, cockles, saltmarsh lamb and some of our farmhouse cheeses have become increasingly popular on Welsh restaurant menus as well as in the wider UK. Welsh preparations such as bara brith, rarebit and cawl feature on menus across the country; I even saw rarebit on a bar menu when I was in Tokyo! Cardiff’s cuisine is a concentration of regional Welsh cuisine.
Cardiff’s recent restaurant openings are getting more ambitious. Our community is better travelled and more knowledgeable about food than ever before so they have driven demand for more high-end restaurants. It was quite telling that we were the first restaurant ever in Cardiff to win a Michelin star. I believe it was the last major city in Europe to not have a Michelin star – until then!
You should know these restaurants: I’m a big fan of Alex Vines’ food. He has recently opened a wine bar and restaurant called Ogof which is exceptional. He has a good background having worked at Rochelle Canteen and 40 Maltby St. I’ve also had some really good meals at Ember from Dave Killick and his team. Dave’s a champion of a lot of the same local Welsh produce we use at Gorse so it’s always fun to see the different ways that he interprets an ingredient to the way that I would.
On my days off, I head to Longa on Whitchurch Rd which is a Turkish café. Very informal, delicious, warm and inviting. I also love the food of our neighbours at Milkwood. If I’m in the city centre it has to be a trip to either Asador 44 or Ffwrnes.
What we don’t have as much of are mid-priced restaurants – the kinds you can go to once a week. But as we all know this type of restaurant is extremely difficult to operate in the current climate and is the type of restaurant that tends to get squeezed by margins at every opportunity.
Welsh cuisine and Welsh ingredients have been underestimated historically. But I don’t think that Welsh fine dining is underestimated these days with restaurants such as Ynyshir, The Beach House, Gorse, The Whitebrook and others flying the flag. It’s certainly on the up and there are also a handful of really good restaurants such as The Jackdaw, The Fernery and Annwn that are more than worthy of getting some awards in the coming years.
At Gorse, we’re working on our spring menus, so green stuff is finally making a reappearance. We are all about putting the best of regional seasonal ingredients on the plate so at the moment it’s beef rib, wild garlic, cockles, laver, kales, white sprouting broccoli and beetroots. We work closely with farmers, growers and fishermen and they dictate what goes on the menu each and every week. As mentioned we also pay homage to some traditional Welsh dishes and put our modern spin on them. So on our menu right now is the toasted oat llymru with smoked cherry jam and apple caramel. A llymru was an old way of preserving milk using spent oat husks from the harvest. It would thicken the milk to a blancmange sort of texture not dissimilar from Angel Delight. We reimagine slightly more as a custard and finish it with a caramel made from local apple juice and blackcurrant wood oil.
Where To Eat In Cardiff
Longa
Longa was awarded as the best Turkish restaurant in Wales. It offers both a hearty brunch menu – think loaded shakshuka or stuffed gözleme turnovers – as well as elevated late night dining, paired against an imaginative cocktail menu (plump for the harissa margarita).
View this post on Instagram
Book via longacafe.co.uk (11 Park Pl, Cathays, Cardiff CF10 3FH; 180 Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff CF14 3NB)
Ember
Chefs Tommy Heaney and Dave Killick opened Michelin guide recommended restaurant Ember in 2024. Its menu revolves daily around British produce availability but with an Italian streak – there’s fresh focaccia (at the moment served with white beans and confit garlic) and pastas to stuff yourself with. It has a good value set menu for lunchtimes at £32.50 for five courses.
View this post on Instagram
Book via embercardiff.co.uk (5 Romilly Cres, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9NP)
Ogof
You can hardly go wrong with seasonal food and natural wines – and you’re definitely going right at Ogof. A new open in Pontcanna, you can stop by for swede rarebit croquettes or a stuffed sando, served up with brown sauce, and definitely don’t leave without picking up a bottle of wine (which you can return to refill).
View this post on Instagram
Book via ogofcardiff.co.uk (11 Kings Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9BZ)
Gorse
Tom Waters’ 16-dish tasting menu is a tour of the best seasonal produce and dishes specific to Wales. Start with wild mushrooms, foraged in the Vale of Glamorgan, and finish with warm honey cakes, drizzled in honey syrup from Afon Mêl.
View this post on Instagram
Book via gorserestaurant.co.uk (186-188 Kings Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9DF)
Milkwood
A stacked breakfast bhaji bun from Milkwood, Pontcanna’s little neighbourhood café, is the perfect way to start the day. As the lighter months come on, you can also enjoy a ‘dusk’ service every Friday and Saturday night with bespoke cocktails from an award-winning local bartender, plus a curated wine list from The Bottle Shop Cardiff. It’s walk-ins only, with homemade bar snacks and pizzette to pick over.
View this post on Instagram
Book via booking.resdiary.com (83 Pontcanna St, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9HS)
Asador 44
If it’s a perfectly chargrilled steak you’re after, Spanish grill and wine house Asador 44 is the spot to know. Be forewarned, you’ll want a reservation – especially on a match day, as it’s just a moment from the Principality Stadium.
View this post on Instagram
Book via grupo44.co.uk (14-15 Quay St., Cardiff CF10 1EA)
Ffwrnes
An independently owned and locally beloved pizzeria, Ffwrnes is located in the Cardiff market, so expect to queue for your lunch (or pre-order via its website). Each month, there’s a special – this month it’s the ragunamatata, which is a thin, chewy base topped with fior di latte, mushroom ragu, basil and pecorino.
View this post on Instagram
Click and collect via ffwrnes.pizza or walk-in (Market, Central Market, 231-241, Cardiff CF10 1AU)
