Burger & Lobster, Cardiff - #tanktalks

Last Thursday, the lovely folks over at Burger & Lobster invited me over to sample a few dishes, drink some cocktails and find out a little bit more about them, as part of their #tanktalks series. That's not an offer a girl can turn down.

After a glass or two of prosecco and making our introductions, we got down to business.

Ben, Cardiff's general manager and our fantastic host for the night, launched into an informative chat about lobsters, and specifically, the ones they use at B&L, and how they are treated.

It's fair to say, I learnt quite a lot that night. Did you know, lobsters just keep on growing and growing until death? I've got this image of a monster lobster floating around somewhere in the North Atlantic. They also shed their shells, much like a snake, of which I had no idea either.

Many people have reservations about lobster and they way they are cooked and kept. I've got to be honest, I have wondered how ethical the practices of such a large company could be, with the sheer amount that the number of covers the restaurants demand.

 
B&L fish for their lobster generally from the Nova Scotia/Maine area of Canada/USA. This is because it would be impossible (and a sustainability issue) to fish the amount of lobster required from the UK. There are also very strict laws and regulations surrounding the fishing there, to ensure they are caught in the most ethical and humane ways possible.

The lobster are kept at a certain temperature during transit, so although they are alive, they are in an almost hibernated state. They remain at this state until they get to the restaurant, and placed back into the tanks, where they wake up from their deep slumber.

Ben assured us that the lobsters are cooked in specialised steamer ovens, which knocks the lobster unconscious before they are cooked. None of this boiling pot malarkey!

All this lobster talk had started to make my stomach grumble, and as if on cue plates upon plates of lobster came pouring out of the kitchen. Steamed, grilled, lobster nicoise salad and lobster rolls!

The grilled lobster was my favourite on the night, that chargrilled taste just added something extra. It also went extremely well with the Vinho Verde that Ben had expertly matched with our lobster. My new favourite white wine, with a hint of sparkle.

If you're undecided or new to lobster, the steamed is much purer, with a stronger seafood taste. The grilled lobster loses that seaside salty freshness and is replaced with a chargrilled smokiness, which is no bad thing either.

Trust me, that butter sauce is the absolute bomb. You can dip everything in it, and it makes it all 100% better. Dunk your rolls and chips, and pour onto the lobster, it's heavenly.

A little break was needed to let all that food go down, so we headed over to the bar to watch the master mixologist Luke at work, showing us how to create a Gin Fizz.

We were then challenged to a cocktail competition to make up their newest cocktail, 'Shrubbery' from a set list of ingredients. Fortunately for your poor eyes, I haven't got a good enough picture of my team's effort, because it was dreadful, and we came last!

We admitted defeat and left it to the professionals to show off a little...

(If you can look at this and not sing Shake It Off, we can't be friends)

 Cocktail making is hungry work, right? Time for round two...the burger course.

I've previously said that £20 for a lobster is great value, but that I wasn't so sure for a burger. I take it back, just look at this bad boy.

Medium rare beef patty, smothered in cheese, bacon, tomato, onions, pickles...the list goes on. My pet hate is burgers that you can't get in your gob in one go (I'm looking at you guys who stack onion rings on top five miles high). This one just about got in with a bit of squishing, but it was so worth it. Serious chin dribbling going on though, so you'll need the bibs.

If this one's a bit big for you, just look at these little cuties. From their new kids menu, two itty bitty (my fist sized) sliders with chips would have actually been enough to fill me up.

I'll definitely be going back soon for another burger. In fact, if you're visiting in even numbers, you can go half 'n' half with each other, which I think is the perfect answer to my indecisiveness. I really can't implore you enough to go try it out!

Speaking of which, B&L are hosting a 'Pay What You Want' week, to raise money for Velindre Cancer Care for the five days beginning 6th July. This applies to lunchtimes only, and reservation is a must, so if you want to try these guys out and help a very worthy charity, book a table now in 02920 224044 or email cardiff@burgerandlobster.com.

Not enough Burger & Lobster for you? Have a read about my previous visit here.

Where to Eat in... Tenby

I've been to Tenby so many times, that it feels odd to review any of my usual haunts. Instead,  I thought I'd introduce you to a few of my fail safe favourites in my home from home. No visit to the 'Little Town of Fishes' (or Dinbych-yn-Pysgod to give it's full Welsh name) would be complete without stopping off to one or more of these brilliant eateries.


The Coach & Horses

The Coach & Horses is a bright yellow pub at the top end of Upper Frog Street. It's been a firm favourite of ours over the years that we've been visiting Tenby, and we've always tried to pop in whenever we're in town. I mean, if it's good enough for Dylan Thomas...

It's one of the cosiest pubs in Tenby and well away from the rowdier ones in the square. It ticks all the boxes on the good pub checklist, with great ales on tap, a log fire and an extensive jukebox.

The Coach & Horses boasts a large menu, one side full of traditional pub grub, and the other, surprisingly, of Thai food. The standard pub food is always a winner, especially the  'mega boozy cod' and the Dragon's curry, but the best meals I've had were from the Thai menu.

On our most recent visit, I had a garlic and black pepper prawn dish, which was gorgeous and so full of flavour! Plump juicy prawns, fresh vibrant veg and the sauce was so moreish I was mopping it up with everything I could.

We visited during lent, so I had given up meat, and I was pleased to see an abundance of vegetarian options on the menu. They would also replace any curry/Thai dish with Quorn pieces on request if possible, which I thought was a nice touch, and one which I didn't see replicated anywhere else during my forty days of hell vegetarianism.

For a chilled out night with a couple of beers and some hearty dinner, this is the one. However, if you feel like livening it up, they do sell absinthe if you're after a nightcap. I've always been too scared.


Plantaganet House

If you're after somewhere a little more fancy, try Plantaganet House. An unassuming little building from the outside, it's harbouring something more exciting behind those doors. Bare stone walls, beautiful iron candelabras and a medieval Flemish chimney make this an interior design dream. A perfect date night spot away from the rabble.

The menus, from outside, look like traditional seaside fare with colourful words scrawled over blackboards and handwritten menus adorning the walls. But contained in those menus are some pretty special meals.

Whole lobster and fresh fish of the day, alongside traditional Welsh lamb and butter roasted belly pork. An extensive wine list makes this the place to go if you want to impress. Be prepared to pay to impress however, as it's a lot more expensive than anywhere else I've eaten in Tenby town. It's worth it for a treat, however expect to pay around an eye watering £24 for a meat/fish based main.

However, that seabass biryani above though? Worth every penny - hands down the best meal I've eaten in Tenby.


Fecci & Sons Fish Bar

You can't come to the British seaside and not get fish and chips. It's the rule.

There are a few fish and chip shops dotted around, but we've always found Fecci's to be the best around. They've got an extensive menu, cook their fish fresh to order and also provide gluten-free fish and chips for those who require it.

Crispy batter that's not too greasy, hiding flaky white cod inside is always a winner in my book. A pile of highly salted-and-vinegared chunky chips on the side and a pot of curry sauce and it's heaven. Mushy peas if you're feeling virtuous, they're pretty good here too.

Look out for when battered Mars Bars are on the menu. Holiday calories do not count.

Top tip, get your chips wrapped up to take away, turn left out of the shop and then left again. Eat them on the benches there, staring out at the sea and over South Beach. It's the best view. Just watch out for the seagulls.


The Baytree

You can't miss the Baytree, in prime position in Tenby's Tudor Square. It's positioning not only makes it easy to find, but if you get a window table, the perfect place for people watching too. My favourite holiday activity.

The Baytree is the antidote you need when you get to that point on holiday where you just can't take anymore chips or anything in batter. Saying that, the calamari is pretty good, and the homemade aioli just excellent. Keeps the vampires away too.

With mains ranging about £15-£20, and starters around £6, it's a step up from the pub grub on offer throughout the town, but considerably less than the Plantaganet above. However, they always have a very reasonable early bird style set menu that makes this a very viable option for both lunch and an evening meal.

During the summer months, there's usually live music on weekends too, such as an acoustic guitarist or a singer. Unobtrusively enhancing the chilled out atmosphere, it's a great place to unwind with a bottle of red and some good local food.


These are some of my top picks, but there's so much choice in town that I've still not eaten everywhere yet! Any favourites of yours that I should try out? Let me know!

Urban Pop Up, Newport

If you’re out and about in Newport in the very near future, and are a big fan of good beer (yeah!) and locally sourced pizza (hell yeah!) then you need to get down to Newport Market as soon as possible.

For one month only (yes – I am fully aware that I’m super late and we’re nearly at the end of the May) the fab guys from Urban Taphouse, Cardiff have made their way down to open up a little sister Pop Up in Newport.

Urban Pop House is situated at the front of Newport Market, and it’s looking pretty epic. Featuring the same Taphouse vibes, it’s all bare brick walls, Tiny Rebel graffiti and empty kegs for stools. Unfussy, unpretentious and a great place to just kick back and chill for a while. Ceiling to floor glass windows and a little terrace makes it a pretty good sun trap, perfect for the bank holiday weekend we’ve got forecast.

With the booze coming from their Newport Tiny Rebel brewery, and the pizza ingredients all sourced from the adjoining market, it’s a thoroughly local affair and one that we should all be completely supportive of. Frankly I think it’s a bloody brilliant idea.

All pizzas are £10, and the menu changes daily with what they find in the market. With the same brains that are behind pizza fries and beer battered gherkins, you can’t go wrong. We had the garlic sausage and mint version, and it was more than enough for two to share.

 
Stringy cheesey perfection!

So, get down to Urban Taphouse Newport before it’s all gone on 31^st May. Mine’s a Boho (just saying).

Street Food Circus, Cardiff

Street Food Circus is one of the many nighttime street food pop ups that are appearing throughout Cardiff in the coming months.

Every Friday through to Sunday in May and June, numerous local street food trucks roll up (roll up) to the big top in Old Stable Yard, John St. For those not so familiar with Cardiff, that's behind John Lewis, over the road and under the railway bridge. As soon as you're under the bridge, you can't miss the Big Top tent.

It's a foodies dream. I dragged Mr P along last Sunday on the promise of lunch and cocktails. I'd been craving some Greek food for some time now, and there's a serious lack of it around here. I heard Meat & Greek were appearing, and the thought of souvlaki drowning in tzatziki was enough to get me out of bed on a bank holiday weekend.

Entering the Circus, you're faced with a few vans and stalls before entering the Big Top tent. Take your time and wander around, don't go to the first stall you fancy! As there are another bunch of food trucks waiting for you the other side of the tent, and believe me, you don't want to spend all your pocket money in one go!

My advice, sideline a couple of hours and go for the atmosphere, as well as the food. It's definitely got great Friday night vibes, dress casual, grab some food and a couple of beers from the bar inside the tent, and settle in for the night with some friends. Take as many as you can - it's a lot more fun to share!

Not listening to my own advice however, I made a beeline to the ever so friendly guys over at Meat & Greek. I finally got my favourite, a salad stuffed pitta filled with grilled pork souvlaki, topped with a more than generous helping of tzatziki.

It was definitely worth the wait, as those Greeks certainly know their way around a BBQ! However, not the easiest thing in the world to eat, just try not getting any yogurt on your face!

Mr P had a wander, and his first helping came from the Patagonia Steak Shack. He plumped for a roll with 48 hour slow cooked beef, topped with crumbly stilton and sharp salty gherkins. Definitely hit the spot.

A little breather ensued while we chilled out in the tent and rubbed our bellies, before we were ready to go wandering again. At the back of the circus is a cute little pink van, making exciting candy coloured 'Kooktails'. The sun had come out, and it was glorious out in the yard, so a lavender and rose infused gin cocktail was defintely the one for me.

Normally, I find flowery infused food and drink items are a bit like munching on a washing powder tablet, but this was lovely. Lightly flavoured with a good slug of gin, it went down a treat in the sunshine. At £7 a cocktail mind, you won't be on these all night! The Mr went for a tequila and toasted marshmallow concoction, which was too strong for my liking on the tequila, but the toasted marshmallows on the side were a lot nicer than the standard cherry or umbrella!

As soon as the sun had appeared, our 5 minutes of summer were over and the dark clouds descended upon us once more. Everyone dived back under the protection of the Big Top while the heavens opened above us!

Thankfully, with two well stocked bars, plenty of seats and some funky live music going on, no-one was in a rush to go anywhere. Least of all us. People hovered around the edges of the tent, grabbing umbrellas and making a run for it out to one of the trucks when they got hungry again.

Me included. I'd been nosing on everyone else's food as they wandered around me in the tent, and kept getting a wonderful smell from the Bao buns that passed by. I decided I'd brave the rain to go try one for myself. I'd heard good things about Hokkei, and with two Masterchef finalists at the helm, it was worth a shot.

For £5, we shared a 'Moo Bao' which was an Asian steamed bun, filled with slow cooked beef brisket with black beans and kimchi, topped with lots of zingy coriander and tomato. I've never tried a Bao bun before, and I've got to be honest, I found it a little bit slimey and not my favourite thing. However, the slow cooked beef with those light flavours on top was wonderful, and tasted as good as the smell had led me to believe.

But after that, and a few drinks, you could have stuck a fork in and called me done. All I kept seeing after that were crispy churros, from Mr. Churro, with gleaming little pots of chocolate dipping sauce. I really, really wanted some, but my jeans zipper was not going to allow it.

That's the beauty however, because all these stalls are on rotation for the next two months, so I'll be back for my Churros at some point!

So pop over if you find yourself hungry and in Cardiff within the next two months! It's open from 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2pm on Sundays. Sunday afternoons are the best to take the whole family. Make sure you take enough cash, and wear sensible shoes. While I'm at it with the dress code - wear loose fitting clothes, you're gonna need them.

Tag me in all your photos, so I know what to eat next time! And remember...

Five Guys, Cardiff

I've never been much of a burger fan before, but the combination of starting this blog and the general explosion of great food places in Cardiff has definitely changed my mind. After discovering The Grazing Shed, the best burger I've ever had, there's no going back.

So I've been looking forward to the opening of Five Guys for some time, having heard a lot about them from various London blogs. An American export, this is true fast food. Placed in a prime position, it's in the Brewery Quarter, but only just, as it opens out onto Caroline Street. Or, for those in the know, Chip Alley.

A Saturday morning hangover and a sunny weekend promised, the Mr and I found ourselves with the perfect excuse to try out the new opening. In severe need of salty carbs and cheese, we drooled at the menu.

Luckily, I'd read up that the standard hamburger is actually a double hamburger, and that you have to order a 'little hamburger' for a single patty. I'm passing this important bit of information on to you, as I'd never have thought to order a 'little' anything, but it's actually just the average size. For me anyway!

In the end, I went for the little cheeseburger (£5.50) with little fries (£2.75). I found this to be pretty reasonable, about the same as a McDonald's (from what I remember). It was more than enough food for me, and you know I can eat. I've heard a few people say how expensive it was, but if you're ordering large fries and a standard burger, It'd soon add up.

All toppings from then on are inclusive, so this is where the 250,000 variations comes in. Apparently, there are over 250,000 possible ways to order a burger at Five Guys. This seriously appeals to the nerd in me! You decide on everything that piles into your burger, from standard burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, onions, gherkins) to relish, jalapenos, mushrooms and hot sauce.

I went for all the standard ones, plus a bit of mayo. I was suffering a little, after all.

I enjoyed the burger as a whole, especially all the toppings, which really helped make it a big juicy dribbly mess. The bun was the traditional squishy sesame seeded bun, which had become softer from being wrapped in foil. This cheered me up no end, as I absolutely detest the thick, dry white buns that stick to the roof of your mouth.

It's hard to say what the burger itself was like, as I'd got over excited at the huge toppings list. As a whole it came together well, but I found the patty was a bit dry and unexciting. For want of a better word, it was a bit like most other fast food burgers, 'grey'.

In the little paper cup, the chips were gorgeous. Crispy on the outside, with the skin left on, and fluffy and light on the inside, I couldn't get enough of these at first bite. The problem is that they are heavily pre-salted before given to you.

Now, I was hungover and in need of carbs and salt. I've also got naturally salty tastebuds, it's physically impossible for me to eat cucumber, chips or tomatoes without a liberal pinch or two. I always add more salt and vinegar to my chip shop bought chips when I get home.

And still, I couldn't finish these. Which was such a shame because I fell in love with them at first, but they were so salty that my mouth was starting to burn by the time I got to the bottom of the cup...

...and then I looked in the brown paper bag to see all these left in there. I don't think I've ever left chips before in my life.

Food aside, I haven't told you the best bit about Five Guys. The Coca Cola machine. I'm an unashamed Diet Coke addict, so this was the most exciting bit of technology ever. God Bless you America for this invention. With over 100 flavours possible, you could be here all day.

Under pressure from the queue behind me, I went for Diet Cherry Dr Pepper first time around, and then went back for a Fanta Grape. That was the hangover talking. It was the kind of sugar that I needed.

As far as the food goes, it's not in the same league as The Grazing Shed, and definitely doesn't use any local produce like they do. But it is what it is, a fast food dirty burger, and it does hit the spot. I want to go back purely to see if I'm man enough to have the biggest burger "all the way", i.e. with all the toppings, and to play with the Coke machine again.

Remains to be seen whether it'll beat good ol' Dorothy's cheese and chips when I'm faced with both on Chip Alley after a few shandies...