THE PILOT
Sarah Moolla disco ers the once run-down Penarth boozer is flying high, serving up properly decent and delightful food
I
f I said The Pilot reminded me of Wayne Rooney when he played for Manchester United, or maybe the young wizard Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter, you’d probably think I’d imbibed too much in the Penarth gastro pub, and was writing this while weaving my way home. But it’s all to do with appearances being deceptive – I’ll try and explain. Basically, the Penarth doesn’t look all that from the outside. It’s a slightly nicotine-stained in colour, two-storey, end of terrace, with weather-worn wooden garden pub benches on the only outdoor space – a front concrete patio. The Queen’s Road does indeed have ‘spectacular views o erlooking Cardiff Bay’ as the website states, but to en oy them from The Pilot is a bit of a stretch. Quite literally. We have to crane up through one high, narrow window for a glimpse of the vista. Howe er we’re here to en oy the food, and not to paint
64 I CARDIFF LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk
a landscape picture. And this is where, like no-oil-painting Rooney, The Pilot scores time and time again. First to the décor, with William Morris-style wallpaper feature walls, artfully-filled bookshel es, terracotta s uare tiled floors, wood panels painted in soft lime, and o erhead industrial lighting. There’s even a kids’ toy area, proving the adage it’s what’s on the inside that counts. The staff are welcoming, and fizz with efficient energy. The huge blackboards, and no paper menus, serve to emphasise the ever-changing fresh food selection, with the starter options including spicy pork scotch egg with apricot purée; grilled erk chicken skewers with lime yoghurt dressing and lime marmalade and gin-glazed goats cheese served with celery, walnut and grape salad – all sound so mouth-wateringly tempting, we consider eating tapas style. However, I’m glad we didn’t opt for sharesies in the end because I would have refused to part with a smidgeon of mine. I fall head over heels, and hard, in love with the