Milkwood
Cardiff, Glamorgan
For most of the week, Milkwood is a relaxed café turning out trendy brunches, but every Friday and Saturday evening it shifts to a more elevated dining experience based around an imaginative 'small plates' menu that spans everything from stonking meat dishes to lively and interesting vegan options. At the carnivorous end of the spectrum might be hefty chunks of mangalitza black pudding with pickled walnut purée, a golden, runny egg, melting pork lardo and the crispiest croûtons – or slow-braised short-rib of beef topped with a profusion of glossy, coal-black lumpfish roe, plus hen of the woods mushroom and rich, sweet/savoury caramelised onion purée. Plant-based options are just as satisfying: take a barbecued gem lettuce – fresh, juicy and lightly charred – spiked with confit lime dressing and dainty capers then softened with cucumber and coconut yoghurt (a ‘bright, refreshing’ dish that delighted one diner). Elsewhere, meaty, caramelised slices of BBQ swede are enlivened with sweet-potato purée, punchy homemade kimchi and the crunch of puffed wild rice. Presentation is relaxed and generous – no more so than in a dessert of rhubarb and custard jumbled with honeycomb and spicy Jamaican ginger cake. This is cooking without boundaries, pulling in ideas from all quarters and creating dishes that surprise and excite. A relatively short wine list favours Europe and peaks at £35.
Dining Information:
Family friendly, Dog friendly
83 Pontcanna Street, Cardiff, Glamorgan CF11 9HS
029 2023 2226
