RESTAURANT
Welsh cockles and leek fondue on toast – small, heartsha ed shells each containing a delicate morsel of fishy esh coated in a creamy oniony sauce and adorned with an edible orange nasturtium. I’d never had cockles before, but now find cannot li e without them ut this is not to dismiss the lo eliness of my dining com anion s inea le cris y s uid ust the right amount of bite and not chew and wor s beautifully with ing of shar inea le and when dredged through the sweet almost caramelised black garlic aioli. rom the s ecials for my main choose the cod he white of the ba ed cod has that firm uicy almost meaty a our good cod should ha e the crust of the fried crumb chori o adds a satisfying and contrasting oily smo y crunch while the wa y and earthy new otatoes bring the carb hit so much needed in dishes like this. Providing a crunch of fresh veg are the sauerkraut fritters. y dining com anion has chosen from the classics which are more of the straightforward hearty ariety for e am le fish ie and chi s burger and chi s in fact e erything and chi s er rib eye stea des ite its thic ness cuts li e butter and is rich dee with a dense tang he e ercorn sauce ser ed se arately is unchy and lu urious here s lots of it in the ug which is handy for li ening u the only disa ointing art of the dinner the chi s hey loo the business long fat and golden but they taste nothingy eems a shame when chi s are such a focal culinary oint of he ilot owe er then the uddings come along and shout oyously o er any whis ers of negati ity he chocolate and coconut brownie is a fudgy not too sweet slab of gorgeousness where you can still sa our the moist bite of the shredded coconut t all wor s a treat alongside the accom anying el ety anilla ice cream whorls of mini meringues and shards of honeycomb he stic y toffee with amoretti ice cream comes with e actly the right ratios of s ringy syru y s onge gooey toffee sauce and boo y almondy ice cream ut what s all this got to do with e ille ongbottom the aw ward tubby and scared wi ard with udding basin hair and an unbecoming o erbite you cry ell not only did he mor h into the bra est of wi ards ha e you seen what the actor atthew ewis who lays him loo s li e now e redict the beautiful inside ilot is set to soar ■
“The crust of the fried crumb chorizo adds a satisfying and contrasting oily, smoky, crunch” DINING DETAILS Pilot Pub, 67 Queens Road, Penarth CF64 1DJ tel: 029 2071 0615; www.knifeandforkfood.co.uk Chef Stefan Nilson Type of food served Welsh / British /Mediterranean Covers: 80 Specialities Pork soft Scotch egg and chilli dressing; thinly sliced rare piccanah steak, fondant sweet potato, confit courgette and chimichurri Prices Starters £5.50-£8, mains £12-£16, desserts £6.50-£7.50 Disability access Yes Atmosphere Relaxed, fresh, and funky
www.mediaclash.co.uk I CARDIFF LIFE I 65