Countyfood
Flavours of Wales by Gilli Davies
Crown Social The Parc Hotel, Cardiff
W
ales’ capital city is desperately and notoriously short of great eateries.
Bucking the trend is the rather special
Crown Social at The Parc Hotel in the middle of Cardiff. It is the third outpost of the Crown
empire, encompassing the Michelin-star Crown at Whitebrook, outside Monmouth, and the Crown at the Celtic Manor. At the helm at this restaurant in the
Thistle chain hotel in Cardiff is the chef Martin Blunos, regarded as one of the UK’s finest and a man with an impressive track record at Michelin-star venues. And he doesn’t disappoint in his latest
venture which caters for eclectic tastes and moods. Both menu and the experience are
completely unpretentious with the emphasis on a tapas form of dining where smaller dishes and sharing is encouraged. On the other hand if you just fancy a
few cocktails – the champagne bellinis are extraordinarily good – at the cool bar and a few top class nibbles like the sticky beef rib middles (£1.80) and hard boiled quails eggs and celery salt, then look no further. If you want something more substantial
then the ‘starters’ include delights such as the delicious Welsh pork boudin which is perfectly accompanied by the shallot piccalilli (£4.45) as well as the exquisite
poached duck egg, savoury choux bun with a béarnaise sauce (£3.65). And when it comes to main course
– where again you’ll be spoilt for choice – you can dine in the restaurant. Sample dishes include Welsh pork belly,
apples and Gwynt y Ddraig cider (£10.25), pan fried halibut with a beetroot pilau (£12.65) and slow cooked lamb shoulder in a thyme sauce (£12.45). My partner and I both went for the
succulent Social Burger (£15.95), which is European Wagyu beef (Wagyu cattle are one of the most expensive breeds in the world, raised on a special diet which includes beer and grain), in a ‘milk’ bap, tomato relish and, in keeping with the exotic, avocado butter. To finish you can choose off the
wall treats like New York style apple cheesecake (£4.25) or warm doughnuts and vanilla milkshake (£5.95) for dessert. We went for the rather more prosaic,
but nonetheless superb, Welsh cheese, pickles, breads and biscuit (£6.95). The Crown also has a superb wine list
to suit all budgets as well as wonderful, attentive staff. For an excellent three-course dining
experience, excluding drinks, expect to pay just over £20.
Iwan Davies
Cordon bleu cook Gilli Davies has put together a stunning collection of traditional Welsh recipes in her new book, Flavours of Wales. Covering every possible meal, from cockles to game, the book makes use of some of the finest ingredients to be found in Wales. Gilli Davies gives useful tips throughout the book, which is illustrated by photography from Huw Jones.
She brings us ideas for cawl, laverbread dishes, seafood in all its varieties, leeks, lamb, beef pork, game and poultry, cheese baking, desserts and even drinks. At the back of this packed recipe book is a section called Wild Wales, where Gilli takes us on the adventure of using ingredients which can be foraged in the hedgerows and rock pools of Wales. Gilli’s enthusiam for food spans 30 years from running a bistro in Oxford to presented a food-based TV series. She’s written a number of cookery books and is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.
Flavours of Wales is published by Graffeg. Price: £16.99
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