Perfection in a pop-up
As the rise of the Welsh capital’s food pop-up scene continues unabated, Eve Rowlands rounds up some of the best restaurants you need to try out this year...
GOING to a brand new food spot, available for a limited time only, is an exciting way of trying new dishes and recipes from chefs who are wanting to test out their culinary talents and foodie delights. And it seems that, in the last few years, Cardiff has become a budding location and opportunity for aspiring restaurateurs to test the waters before committing to a permanent venue by hosting pop-ups – be that at a restaurant, their own home or in a coffee shop.
One of the shining examples of this is Lee Skeet who ran his first pop-up 10 years ago. He then hosted a supper club from his own flat during lockdown which later turned into the prestigious Cora.
Meanwhile, James Chant saw his Matsudai Ramen pop-up in lockdown become so successful he was able to open its first restaurant last summer – and it has just received sparkling praise from renowned food critic Jay Rayner.
But chef and street food takeovers are not a new phenomenon. In fact, they’ve been popular in Britain since the noughties and in America since the 1960s in the form of supper clubs. Now pop-up food stops come in various different shapes and sizes from a weekly or monthly slot at a restaurant to a one-off supper club.
And in the capital city of Cardiff and its surrounding area, there are tastes from across the world thanks to the many establishments that host various different pop-up restaurants as a niche as well as chefs who have bagged a regular slot to wow foodies of Wales.
On why she thinks pop-up restaurants have gained so much popularity and traction in the last few years, Helen Gorman, who runs popular brunch spot Twentysix, which in the evenings hosts a pop-up space for street food vendors, said: “The rise in kitchen takeovers and pop-ups has largely been a culmination of a few different factors. We can’t not talk about the pandemic – it sent shockwaves through the hospitality industry as we knew it.
“There was also a complete shift in consumer buying habits during the pandemic. People became so much more aware of what was available to them locally.
“There was a raft of hugely-talented, creative, entrepreneurial individuals suddenly with time on their hands and the industry saw an influx of local bakers, chefs and wannabe food traders finally get the chance to try that ‘side hustle’ idea out. This, coupled with a lack of willing staff, saw a gap appear for venue owners who had kitchens but couldn’t staff them – so along came the kitchen takeovers.
“It was a win-win as venues got their kitchens in use and were able to offer a service to their customers and attract new ones based upon the followings that these pop-up brands had built during lockdown. For people playing the side hustle game it was a great intro into business life without the financial risk of taking on premises and all of the costs that are associated with that.”
Lucas Wootten, chef and founder of Lahmacun who regularly hosts supper clubs at Pontcanna’s Kings Road Yard serving up his fire-cooked feasts, added: “Collaboration in other people’s kitchens gives an olive branch to new ventures such as ours who aren’t quite ready to settle on one idea.
“We’ve found out what works for us over time, but we are still drip-feeding new ideas for future reference so that when we do find the right place for a permanent venture it’ll be a much smoother transition.”
From fine dining to street food, we’ve rounded up a tasty selection of just some of the delectable Cardiff places at which you can dive tastebuds first into new dishes and discover your newest food obsession – with a pop-up.
TWENTYSIX
Run by Helen Gorman – the chef and founder of not just one successful Cardiff business but four: Bad Brownies, Pwdin, Cracklin’, and TOAST – this all-day brunch spot and café does more than just eggs (although they are darn good eggs at that).
It also plays host to rotating street food vendors which take over her kitchen at the weekend. She’s hosted the likes of Bao Selecta, El Cabron Tacos, Queen Pepiada, Kapow Ribs and Char – and that’s just in April.
Reflecting on her beginnings in pop-ups and now her venue, Helen said: “For me personally, running side hustles over lockdown and then dipping my toe into pop-ups and kitchen takeovers, I was really grateful to the venue owners who gave me a chance – namely Matt from Sticky Fingers and Shaz Harris of Wingstack who gave me a slot at the Corporation Yard.
“Now I have my own venue I want to continue to support the creativity that’s out there in local pop-ups and nurture the passion people have for great food. It also keeps the offer fresh for my customers, which being such a local venue I think is important.”
Twentysix is also getting ready to host a new supper club series, which will see chefs such as Andrew Minto of Bake Off: The Professionals, Simmi Vedi from the Great British Menu, Shane from Nordik Kitchen and John Cook from Rocket & Rye take over the shipping container kitchen to bring foodies a fine dining experience for one night only. This event will occur once a month and will be washed down with wine from Wine Fiend. The first event is being held at the Bone Yard on May 17.
■ Where? The Bone Yard, Canton, CF11 8DH.
NEIGHBOURHOOD KITCHEN
Hosting monthly residencies at their intimate restaurant in Riverside, Tudor and Caroline Barber give street food vendors, foodies with unique culinary concepts and brand-new chefs a chance to wow the masses with a slot in their kitchen for a solid chunk of time.
Its concept is simple but exciting – every month a different chef will take on the kitchen in a rotating residency to create their own menu. They’ve had people like Gaz Oakley with his vegan Nana O’s pop-up make waves and hosted Sin Nombre Taco – which you can find at Forest Feastival until tomorrow night – as well as holding Wales’ first-ever Camembert bar, bottomless raclette nights and crawfish boil.
Tudor and Caroline, who pair their cocktail/ mocktail menu with each food offering, told us: “As we run our street food events branded Street Food Warehouse, we wanted to provide a bricksand-mortar venue for our beloved street food traders to ‘pop up’ in to showcase their talent and cuisine to our home city.
“We invested heavily in the restaurant space and kitchen so the traders had an opportunity to own a restaurant of their own for a short period of time at a low cost. It also gives the local community of residents a local restaurant where the food and drinks menu is always changing. With something new and exciting on offer we promise no two visits will ever be the same.”
They added: “It was our restaurant USP to offer an ever-changing rotating kitchen of street food traders and independent chefs. We have hosted a number of incredible culinary talents as well as
hosting some of Cardiff’s firsts such as the crawfish boil and bottomless raclette nights.
“It works well because we have an ever-growing loyal following of regulars who want to try something new and exciting and our venue provides just that opportunity.”
■ Where? 80 Tudor Street, CF11 6AL.
CORPORATION YARD
Right next to the old Corporation Pub, which has been transformed into its own mini market named the Corp, Canton’s Corporation Yard hosts a variety of street food vendors week in week out to feed the masses. Plus these street food dishes sometimes come with a side of live music as on Sundays it hosts its Sunday Sessions.
Previous traders include Wingstack, Million Dollar Gravy, Ansh Cymru, Potheads, the Queen Pepida, Dirty Gnocchi and many more.
■ Where? 188 Cowbridge Road East, CF5 1GW.
LAHMACUN
Having just finished their third supper club, Lucas Wootten and his wife Sophie have tapped into something quite special with their Lahmacun Supper Club, which in its young life has sold out time and again.
Its next supper club was held last night, although it’s not the only opportunity to munch the goodies this chef has to offer. It regularly pops up at Cardiff Farmer’s Market and more recently made an appearance in Tenby’s Tap and Tan. Offering a taste of Middle Eastern cuisine, Lucas cooks over fire and offers food so sumptuous you’ll be dreaming of it for a while – as we were.
Lucas tells us, of his supper club: “Our goal is always to get into spaces where we can set the tone of the evening, control as many aspects as possible, from setting the scene with the smoke and fire to laying out an intimate dining table, where people can interact while enjoying platters of vibrant, flavourful food.
“There are only a few places that will allow us to do this… but we aren’t quite ready to settle on just one space or one community within Cardiff yet! We are always on the lookout for more venues, but we need plenty of outdoor space for our fire, which is a tough ask for most!”
■ Where? Kings Road Yard, Pontcanna, CF11 9DF.
GORSE
A seven-course set meal cooked single-handedly by a chef in one evening – sound good? You’d be right. Hosted by Thomas Simmons and George North’s incredibly successful bakery Ground, chef Tom Waters has created an intricate and interesting tasting menu that is cooked by him and him alone.
He began his Gorse pop-ups at various coffee shops, such as Little Man Coffee Co, before he found somewhat of a temporary home at Ground. Using fresh produce, expect dishes like Pembrokshire mackerel with spiced citrus, Brixham pollock with smoked mussel and wild sea vegetables and 70% Valrhona chocolate with salted almond and buckwheat.
What’s great about this is it’s an extended residence, meaning there is no definitive ending to the pop-up slot just yet. It runs on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Recalling why he started up his Gorse pop-up, he said: “There are a few reasons that I’ve decided to operate as a pop-up instead of going straight into opening a bricks-and-mortar place. Firstly, and most importantly, it’s important for me to test the Cardiff market and see whether there is a demand for the style of food I’m offering at Gorse. The good news is that it seems that there is. We’ve been fully booked nearly every service since we started.”
■ Where? Ground Bakery, 15 Pontcanna Street, CF11 9HQ.
STICKY FINGERS
This venue on the border of Cardiff ’s student area, Cathays, is a mecca for street food pop-ups and has hosted the likes of Fowl and Fury, which now has its own restaurant a short walk away. It’s also played host to the Queen Pepida, Nomad Kitchen, El Cabron Tacos, Potheads, Ychafi Street Food, Vegan Filth and numerous others.
With craft beers and cocktails on offer and even a quiz on Sundays, it makes for such a great evening and it’s always keeping things fresh with a rotating line-up that has foodies salivating at all times.
■ Where? 199-201 Richmond Road, CF24 3BT.
THE GATHERING GROUND
With venues across Cardiff, this café by day trades as itself but on certain nights transforms into a venue for food vendors to test the waters and trial their dishes. Its most recent was Dirty Gnocchi serving up a delicious pasta-filled menu on Friday and Saturday nights.
Their collaboration at the Gathering Ground has ended and, as stated on social media, they’ll continue popping up at Gathering Ground venues across the city. Gathering Ground is also on the lookout for more aspiring cooks and food venturers to serve up their concepts at the venue too.
■ Where? Roath Park, Whitchurch, and Victoria Park.
NOOK BY THE RIVER
Now we know this isn’t a permanent feature, but it is one which is sold out year upon year and consistently delivers top-notch dining when it does.
Brought to you by the team behind Nook, the restaurant in Canton, Nook by the River is a residency lasting usually around 20 days at Llandaff ’s Rowing Club at which diners can experience seasonal small plates and natural wine – all while marvelling at the view over the water.
While the date for this year’s Nook by the River has not yet been revealed, if last year and the year before is anything to go by, it’s a pop-up restaurant you can’t miss.
■ Where? Llandaff Rowing Club, CF5 2PT.
EAT THE BIRD X FIRE AND FLANK
Street food veteran Fire and Flank and fried chicken experts Eat the Bird are collaborating for a month-long special being served out of ETB’S Cardiff restaurant in a pop-up that’ll see Fire and Flank’s steak and chimichurri complemented by the restaurant’s fried chicken (or beef).
Launching on Tuesday, May 16, there will be two “very special collab burgers”, celebrated by a one-off event on launch night which will see a restaurant takeover by Fire and Flank who will be serving up their menu for one night only as well as launching the burgers for a month-long stint. Expect “special cocktails, banging tunes and outrageous vibes”.
■ Where? 37 St Mary Street, CF10 1AD.
THE THIRSTY ELEPHANT
Offering brunch, brews and booze, this café also plays host to a number of food traders who sell their delicious dinners out of Thirsty Elephant over the weekends.
Announcing May’s line-up, the café took to Instagram to get foodies around Cardiff excited: “Lots of you have been messaging us asking for May’s street food line-up... so here it is. @ ringosdirtydiner with the best damn burgers in town, @pastaalsugocardiff with some unreal Italian grub… nothing but fresh pasta all weekend. @tokyonights.yakitori will be joining us for the third weekend with their always incredible Japanese street food and, to finish off the month, A BRAND NEW TRADER…. @vegan_filth will be taking over our kitchen with their naaaaawty vegan take on junk food.
“Please do not let the word vegan put you off coming down… go and take a look at their Insta account and see what they make possible with only plant-based ingredients (it’s unreal).”
Booking is recommended but they “always leave space” for walk-ins.
■ Where? 12 Cowbridge Road, Pontyclun, CF72 9ED.
ACADEMY ESPRESSO
From coffee shop to cocktail bar, Academy Espresso has drinks flowing, but also hosts a variety of street food traders from across south Wales in its kitchen, keeping its food offerings new and interesting.
Previous months have included vendors like Tokyo Nights, Flour’d Up, Cegin, Ringo’s Dirty Diner and more.
■ Where? The Pumphouse, Unit 1 Hood Road, Barry, CF62 5BE.