THOMAS BY TOM SIMMONS
The Welsh chef brings it home with his new Pontcanna venture and Sarah Moolla discovers it’s a world of happy every afters (and the starters and mains bring about a lot of contentment too)
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nless you’ve been hiding under a mountain of discarded Taco Bell wrappers, you have probably already heard about Thomas by Tom Simmons. It opened less than two months ago in Pontcanna and is already doing a roaring trade in great word of mouth reviews. The Tom in question is Tom Simmons of Tower Bridge restaurant fame and was the youngest competitor to reach the uarter-finals of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2011. Originally from Pembrokeshire, he says his earliest memories are of “roaming farmers’ markets, foraging in the countryside, and harvesting his mother’s vegetable garden.” And he’s all about promoting Welsh food, which when you think about it, is a shocking rarity outside of Wales, but the Tower Bridge cockneys went crazy for his cockle popcorn, laverbread mayonnaise, leek bread, and Welsh lamb cawl. And now the local boy who’s done good is bringing it home. Thomas by Tom Simmons occupies the former Cameo Club, and while Tom’s reputation might be heavyweight, this place is spirit-lifting joy. The décor is simple with an old-school members’ club feel - wood panelled walls in racing green, polished par uet floors, plush yellow velvet chairs, crisp white linen, and a feeling of candle-lit exclusivity. But it’s not stuffy or pompous, this
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is a Thursday evening and the joint is jumping. There’s a good natured, relaxed vibe, and while we wait, drinking wine at the bar, we realise we could actually happily stay here all night sipping on a house speciality cocktail or two. Glad we don’t though because I’d have missed out on a meal I haven’t stopped dreaming about since. For the table comes sourdough bread served with a lightly whipped Marmite butter and a tangy, creamy leek butter, I’m slathering it on, worrying about them taking it away. And I’m cramming in the juicy gordal olives, which pop like sweets, and have ruined me for any other olive. The mini-mushroom croquettes with Caerphilly cheese are earthy, crunchy, and creamy, and are the kind of tapas you could eat 24/7. For starters, its diver-caught sweet, plump king scallops, with laverbread (which Richard Burton once referred to as the Welshman’s caviar), rounds of salty, pink pork belly, and a spiky, pungent cauliflower purée. My dining companion loves her Spain meets Wales inspired dish of barbecued leeks, with Jerusalem artichoke, and hazelnut romesco. She is equally smitten with her main of caramelised s uash risotto sprinkled with flakes of almonds and dotted with beads of Perl Las, a delicate blue cheese from Carmarthenshire. My fillet of beef is so soft, it almost collapses with a happy sigh, the red wine and stock jus adds a deep
