Letthemseecake’s gorgeous new shop FOOD NEWS A heap of new foodie businesses are opening in the city

TASTY BITES A whole lotta new openings here, and foodie offerings are being shaken up as the hospitality sector fi nds new ways to make things work during these surreal times

It’s a leaning tower of meat, sir MISO HUNGRY

Burgers, beers and good times are coming to Mermaid Quay in November.

Hub Box, which has Cornish roots, is bringing its award-winning, street-foodstyle grub to Cardiff Bay, and it will be the brand’s fi rst Wales-based restaurant. To accompany their bold prime-cut and plant-based off ering, they are working with local legends Tiny Rebel Brewery, off ering a revolving range of

IPAs and NEIPAs, stocking stout and lager. “Ever since my fi rst visit to Cardiff Bay, I knew that the waterfront location – which is basically in our DNA – would suit us perfectly,” says Hub Box CEO,

Richard Boon. “With eight other restaurants, it was about time Cardiff got a taste, customers are in for a treat.”

For more: www.hubbox.co.uk ALL STARS Yet another new kid on the block is North Star Cardiff , a pub, bar and kitchen which opened on North Road at the end of August after a speedy overhaul and deckout of the venue.

“My partner and I took possession of The College Tavern on 5 August, and after refurbishing the venue ourselves, we opened to the public on 28 August as North Star,” says Tom Edwards.

Inside, you’ll fi nd a modern industrial style bar, Spanish star tiling, tropical greenhouse wallpaper, as well as spraypainted scenes by a local artist. And the menu is all about contemporary twists on For more: www.northstarcardiff .com Volcano Japanese Restaurant has erupted into The Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay’s entertainment destination. It’s Cardiff ’s only all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant and off ers an unrivalled selection of authentic cuisine for customers to choose from, including fresh sushi, hot teppanyaki and miso soup.

“It is a joy to be able to welcome Volcano,” says Clare Jenkins, manager of the Red Dragon Centre.

“Their team has worked incredibly hard to make sure that the restaurant can open safely, while off ering absolutely delicious food,”

GOT BUNS, HUN?

pub classics – put us down for the deepfried lasagne stix please – cooked by head chef Dewi who brings his Michelin-star training to the kitchen. For more: www.volcanojapanese.co.uk Sofi shticated dining

Spray-painted scenes and contemporary twists on pub classics are what awaits at North Star James Sommerin’s Michelin-quality food is now

at Goodsheds

FED AT THE SHED The newest restaurant under the James Sommerin brand is The Shed, which opened in October at Goodsheds in Barry. The modern eating destination’s philosophy is centred on Barry’s proud industrial heritage.

Michelin-quality food and exacting standards are what you should expect here, and the interior will wow too – with wooden table tops sourced from original timber reclaimed from the Barry Docks area, and slate for the bar and pass coming from old snooker tables. For more: www.theshedbarry.co.uk

Tea subscriptions? Don’t mind if we do

THAT’LL BREW Rose & Dragon is a new Penarth-based, lockdown-launched, online tea company, founded with the belief that we all deserve a moment of calm.

“We send out three flavoured teas every month, as a throughthe-letter-box subscription service, with a theme of mindfulness,” says founder Gabrielle Szary. “Each tea is paired with a mindfulness card and comes with follow-at-home tea meditation.

“Sustainability is a key part of our brand identity, with all packaging being biodegradable or compostable.

“Our December flavours are cocoa and almond; cranberry mimosa; and coconut spice.” For more: www.roseanddragon.com

Treats like this can be delivered to your door. Sweet!

CAKE IT AWAY The Gorgeous Cake Co, based in The Vale of Glamorgan, was launched during lockdown by Nancy Reed and Beverley Amery with the aim of delivering goodies all around Cardiff to cheer up housebound folk. Their signature offering is a customisable selection box, featuring a variety of homemade cakes, brownies, chocolates, biscuits and other treats. For more: @gorgeouscakeco

IN CRUST WE TRUST

In light of local lockdowns, Dusty Knuckle pizzeria – one of Cardiff’s biggest pop-up-to-permanent success stories – has relaunched their DIY pizza kits in response.

Their assemble-at-home pizzas were hugely popular in the first national lockdown, and have been made available to order for home delivery around the city once again.

“We created the DIY kits as a way to keep our business going during the first lockdown, and they proved amazingly popular,” says Dusty Knuckle co-founder Debs Lewis. “With social distancing measures looking set to continue, we thought we’d bring them back.”

Dusty Knuckle also offers the option to purchase a DIY pizza subscription, at £15 per month for a minimum of three months. Each month they will deliver everything you need to make two restaurant-quality pizzas at home, including two fresh DK dough balls, pre-portioned toppings and full instructions. For more: www.dustyknuckle.co.uk

The new Love Brownies shop in Penarth will look much like its sister business in Clapham Junction

Totally worth the calories

BROWNIE POINTS Love Brownies will open its 11th UK café on Windsor Road, Penarth, in November, showcasing their award-winning brownies and indulgent treats.

“We can’t wait to open our first café and shop in Wales,” says owner Chantal Teal. “Our aim has always been to make people smile and we are looking forward to welcoming the people of Penarth through our doors.” For more: www.lovebrownies.co.uk

These DIY kits look a real pizza work

WE CAN’T WAIT TO TRY... When trained actress Caitlin Mckee found herself at a standstill during the Great Pause, she decided to set up The School Bell Bakery, based in Victoria Park.

“It started off as a cake box delivery service and I specialised in nostalgic bakes from childhood and school dinners,” she says. “As lockdown started to ease, I began to trade at the Indie Superstore Market in Canton which was a great experience meeting new traders, a lot who had started their businesses due to the pandemic. Now I’m moving onto bespoke celebration cakes.” For more: @theschoolbellbakery

NATHAN ROACH - COAL POET PHOTOGRAPHY ©

By day it’s a coffee shop, but by night it’s party central

Street food is the staple here

You’re just too good to be true, can’t cake my eyes off you

xxxxxxx

5 MINUTES WITH... We had a quick catch-up with Nathan Jones, head honcho at Motel Nights, a new café, bar and event space that’s packed with character

Having opened in September in a unique location near Victoria Park in Canton, and with an atmosphere Nathan describes as “never seen before in Cardiff”, Motel Nights is an eclectic beast.

“Centred around a strong community vibe, during the day our space lends itself to co-working as well as an open-plan coffee shop offering our own Motel Brew coffee, roasted by Hard Lines, a local roastery,” says Nathan, a stalwart of the Cardiff music

MEET THE TEAM NATHAN JONES Head honcho • Has a GCSE in woodwork (so will be busy doing a lot of the construction at Motel Nights) • Owns roughly 20 disco balls • Makes a mean espresso martini

scene, whose events – such as Disco Motel which has been hosted all over the city, Drag Brunches at Depot, and NYE at Tramshed – you’ve most likely heard of over the years, and who also had stints as the events manager at Clwb Ifor Bach and Buffalo, where he established the award-winning Buffalo Comedy.

“But when the sun goes down, the motel comes alive under a seductive glow of neon, playing host to a variety of cocktail-fuelled events as well as a fully private bookable venue. With a sheltered outdoor space and street food – such as Matsudai Ramen, and Hot Damn Wings – served ’til late, the motel will be the perfect place to host your long-overdue birthday party and private functions. I’m ridiculously excited to share my latest creation with you all!” For more: www.motelnights.co.uk

ROSS MARTIN Design assistant • A respected DJ within the Cardiff underground music scene • Can Russian dance on request • Can cook a one-minute ready meal in 58 seconds

WYBURN & WAYNE Move over Ant & Dec. Make way Edina & Patsy. Stand aside Batman & Robin. Our dynamic duo are in town and they’re here to give us the low down on the Cardiff high life

In good taste

As we sit writing this, we are hours away from going into Wales’ lockdown part two. Thankfully, by the time anyone is reading this, it should be over and that thought is keeping us super positive and determined to keep celebrating the amazing things our beautiful city has to off er.

For example, we fi nally got to check out new independent business Cafe Bistro 73, right at the top of Mackintosh Place. It’s a beautiful spot, perfect for people watching. The owners are incredibly lovely, and they’ve done a great job.We tried their custard slice (‘ice slice’ if you’re from Ebbw Vale like Nathan) and it was delicious. The outside porch area and back garden are perfect for that bottle of wine, too.

We have relied a lot on home cooking this year, but occasionally it’s been lovely to order in a treat, and The Coconut Tree off ers just that. We can’t wait to visit again when lockdown lifts, but it’s just lovely to know you can enjoy the same beautiful cuisine while lazed on the sofa. Their cheesy chicken combo, goat curry and curried cashew nuts are a must try.

Earlier this year, Wayne had his annual joint birthday fundraiser with the landlord of The Golden Cross, Rob Burnett. The total raised went over £1,000, which was used to purchase a defi brillator for the venue this month. As we’re both patrons for Welsh Hearts, it was an honour to place yet another life-saving device into a much-loved and personal venue to us, the oldest and longest running LGBTQ+ venue in Cardiff . Sharon Owen, the CEO of the charity, popped along with us for a socially distant presentation. Our hearts go out to you, Sharon, and to everyone who donated. Let’s hope it never needs to be used.

Tell someone you love them today; we love YOU! To keep up to date with the Radio Cardiff DJs Wyburn & Wayne follow them on Facebook, Twitter @WyburnWayne and Instagram @wyburnandwayne

Let the festive celebrations be-gin with this Welsh Gin advent calendar from Bodlon

LITTLE NIBBLES Inspired by Wyburn and Wayne’s foodie escapades, here are a few more tasty bites to chew on…

GINCREDIBLE Bodlon in Whitchurch has searched far and wide to put together a gin advent calendar celebrating the very best of Welsh Gins. After months of tasting and trying (cor, that must have been a hardship) they narrowed it down to the best 25. Well, gingle our bells, Christmas has come early. www.bodlon.com

CUPPA STORY Milk&Sugar has an Indie café operator industrial edge Milk&Sugar has opened a new restaurant at Eastern Business Park in St Mellons after a whopper of a refurbishment by owners Robert Hitchins Ltd. Taking on the café, kitchen and workspace is a new venture for Milk&Sugar owner Tim Corrigan, who opened his fi rst café in 2016. “People can relax and eat fantastic food in a great environment which will hopefully become the heartbeat and hub of the park,” says Tim, whose fl agship business is the Milk&Sugar at One Central Tea and custard slices at Cafe Bistro 73 Square, Cardiff. “The space is incredible. We can look after 100 people very comfortably and still comply with the new Covid regulations.” www.easternbusinesspark.co.uk

Welsh Hearts Defi b presentation at The Golden Cross

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Bute Park is on the lookout for a new catering outlet to serve the popular green space in the city centre. Cardiff Council have issued a tender seeking to fi nd an experienced catering operator to run a mobile operation in the area. www.cardiffcouncilproperty.com