Kindle
I love to read books. My favourites are the ‘A Song of Ice & Fire’ series by George R. R. Martin. I know, I know, how cliché of me. The heading of this piece may have you concerned that I’ve now decided to ditch the paperbacks for an e-reader. But do not fear, this is a restaurant review. I haven’t gone AWOL and started writing reviews on electronic devices.
Kindle is owned by Phill & Deb Lewis, the Directors of Dustys Restaurant Group, who also run Nook (see my review here) and Dustys Pizza. There is a vision at Kindle which focuses on sustainability, small plates, and cooking food with fire (an open fire and a smoker). This unique little place has carved a rather brilliant reputation for themselves since opening their doors, or should I say swung open their gates, in the summer of 2021.
Many scoff at the term ‘sustainable’ in our modern society. It’s become a trendy buzz word and some may question whether this concept is genuine - take Gaucho for example, a successful chain steakhouse soon to arrive in Cardiff at the former All Saints building on The Hayes. They claim to serve carbon neutral beef from Argentina. In the UK. That short journey of 7,000+ miles. I’m happy to be educated otherwise, but something doesn’t seem to add up there.
With Kindle, the more that I delve into research, the more I discover the term ‘sustainable’ is more accurate than a James Ward-Prowse free-kick. The build of the restaurant contained no waste; meaning nothing was sent to landfill, and all materials were re-used in the project. Nothing was sourced from builders merchants, including reclaimed timber & bricks. Wall tiles inside the building are comprised of 90% glass. Local suppliers provide seasonal ingredients as a means of keeping delivery mileage down. Even the finer details are tuned, such as not providing cloth or disposable napkins due to the environmental impact (though note that disposals are available upon request should you make a mess).
The culmination of all this meticulous planning and pain staking process is this beautiful spot with a secluded feel in Sophia Gardens, alongside Cardiff Bridge & the River Taff. Seating is all outdoors, equipped with shelters for poor conditions. I never knew Al Fresco dining in the city centre could feel so good.
Not only has their bricks & mortar venue been a hit, they have also held successful pop ups at The Scrandit throughout March in Bristol, and at Street Food Circus.
We were contacted prior to arrival that the meal would be bring your own booze, due to licensing issues:
So, naturally, we rock up armed with cans of gin & tonic. I can’t help but feel we should be sat on the banks of the Taff blasting Scooter through a Nokia.
A dash to the Esso Garage over the road for a bottle of white, and we’re a pair of hoop earrings and a pink tracksuit away from activating full Vicky Pollard mode.
The member of staff who looked after us, Eden, all the way from Vermont, clearly wasn’t judging though. She offered glasses with ice and talked us through the menu.
Their menu is heavily based upon seasonal ingredients and what’s available in the fruit & vegetable allotment on the restaurant grounds. I didn’t need to survey the menu like your nan searching for the last caramel swirls in a tin of Quality Streets. At a glance,I genuinely fancied everything.
Everything arrives as it’s ready, such is the custom with small plates. We didn’t order the oyster mushrooms & ranch sauce, but it’s provided in the form of an amuse-bouche. The ranch is a mix of soy, mustard, dill, lemon, and a “whole lotta love” - I felt it.
The Sangak flatbread is a little too plain for my liking, but the same cannot be said for the burnt onion butter which is pleasantly both sweet and bitter.
Phill & Deb clearly know how to create a signature dish out of a simple potato, as they achieved this with their Hasselback potatoes, basil aioli & garlic butter plate at Nook.
It’s a similar story at Kindle where the torched & crispy baked potatoes, impossibly soft & fluffy within, with flecks of salt and a dollop of garlic aioli have become a bit of a famous dish in Cardiff. I’m officially on the bandwagon.
A medium-rare, deep, rich, and tender flat iron steak which had a smoky char thanks to being licked by flames, decorated with sweet pink pickled onions, earthy oyster mushrooms, and a smoked mushroom purée is a beautiful marriage of flavours, and extremely pleasing on the eye.
The proteins listed on the menu had me excited, and they didn’t disappoint. This moist pork chop served on the bone, topped with a sweet & sour battered pork belly, and a crunchy pak choi was a knockout dish with an Asian twist. And it wasn’t even the best of the evening, which is a testament to what the team are capable of here.
When the spiced potato spring roll was brought out, I had to make a double check of the menu. It reminded me that the dish was served with lentils, and not a blob of passion fruit. This was matched with pickled kohlrabi and a sticky jam.
The final protein dish we ordered was the stand-out plate of the outing. I heard that Kindle set up a fried chicken stall at Street Food Circus, but had no idea it could be this good. With Chronic Fried Chicken relocating to Bristol and leaving a deep void in the Cardiff independent fried chicken market, which only Fowl & Fury have managed to fill, there is scope here for a future permanent venture.
It’s a similar story with the execution of the baked potato dish. The batter crisp as you could possibly imagine on the outside, with a juicy chicken inside, garlic aioli to smear with. I don’t think the asparagus had a place here, but that’s the least of my concerns.
This piece of chicken was in a word: exceptional.
Huevos rancheros weren’t a huge hit with the table. Egg texture is a delicate thing, and this was overcooked underneath, forming a thick, crisp layer. The combination of beetroot salsa, tortilla chips, smoked goats cheese, and jalapeños is one that I thought would sing. All the components resulted in a combination of unusual consistencies.
There was also a charred hispi cabbage, drowned with hot honey & smoked butter.
We finish with something sweet, and my word what a choice. It’s a baked white chocolate ice cream with torched, smelted marshmallow & toasted oats. Another outstanding invention.
This all cost £84 without service. £21 each. Which was obviously, softened by the bring your own booze policy on the night.
We’ve been extremely fortunate with the warm weather recently, and I can’t think of many places in Cardiff that offer a better Al Fresco dining experience than Kindle, let alone in the city centre. It’s worth the visit food wise for the fried chicken and baked white chocolate ice-cream alone. What the team have created here is special & innovative, and needs to be celebrated!