Canton, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Set up by GBM’s Tommy Heaney and partner Nikki in 2018, this hip and haute suburban venue is “a breath of fresh air in Cardiff”, where the “happy, bustling atmosphere” is at poles to fine-dining starchiness. The “dead good value” tasting menu is rounded out by decently priced set menus and a hearty Sunday lunch. This year’s worst report? “I stopped just short of awarding a ‘5’, but surely this is one of the best places to fine dine in Cardiff?”

The French-inspired cuisine is quite straightforward and likewise the relatively traditional decor at Tom Simmons’s ‘Restaurant & Bar’ in Pontcanna, whose shortish a la carte features dishes such as Beef Short Rib or Fish & Chips; and where the tasting menu for £85 per person might include Roasted Monkfish or Creedy Carver Duck Breast. For whatever reason, it inspired no feedback this year, although it was rated very good across the board in last year’s survey. Reports please!

2022 Review: “Worth a detour to the old docks” – a converted red-brick Victorian railway building “down by the Barry Island waterfront” is the new (May 2021) home for one of Wales’s best-known chefs, who closed his former Penarth HQ in July last year. It’s an attractive contemporary setting with 30 covers for a menu that’s not as chefy and expensive as his former Michelin-starred one – more affordable and in a style you might describe as ‘brasserie plus’. A range of steaks is a feature, and early reports speak of “classy cooking by James Sommerin's team from a short, well-realised menu”.

2023 Review: This “buzzy hotel restaurant” in a “lovely sunny setting overlooking its vineyard” is “great to know about if you’re in the area”. Chef Andy Aston wins good ratings for cooking that is notably “good-value” for its quality.

2023 Review: “Always excellent food” has built a strong reputation for local lad Tom Watts-Jones’s well-regarded pub in the Vale of Glamorgan. Chef’s CV includes stints at London’s St John and also The Anchor & Hope. There are numerous menus here, including an à la carte or nine-course tasting option.

2024 Review: Next door to the more formal Heaney’s, this two year old spin-off (whose name means water in Gaelic) is a no-booking affair, serving small plates. Oysters are the speciality.

2023 Review: “Tiny! Difficult to get a table but worth it” – ex-Hedone-chef Lee Skeet’s 12-seater above Pontcanna’s Milkwood opened in January 2022 following the success of his 40 Days, 40 Nights pop-up, and he serves a seasonal tasting menu, majoring in fish and seafood. Limited early feedback all says the food is good, although one reporter felt “I really wanted it to be great, but thought the food was a little muted”.

2024 Review: “A great place for warm summer evenings” – Phill and Deb Lewis’s sustainably focused outdoors venue (sibling to Nook) is built around Sophia Gardens’ old Warden’s House and offers a menu of well-prepared dishes cooked over fire, complete with natural wines and blankets to keep the cold at bay. It’s rated on limited but highly enthusiastic feedback.

2024 Review: Two former Gordon Ramsay and Galvin Bros staffers have joined forces to launch this ambitious restaurant and cocktail bar in the suburb of Roath. Its May 2023 debut occurred just as our annual diners’ poll was concluding – too late for feedback – but it aims to provide ‘something for everyone, whether you’re visiting post-dog-walk for a cocktail on our terrace or celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary’. The name? – as you probably know, the Silures were a powerful tribe of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales.