A local's guide to eating in Cardiff

If it’s fine food and an evening to remember you’re looking for, these top notch eateries are well worth a visit; there’s something to suit all budgets.

Tommy Heaney, the Northern Irish star of the BBC’s Great British Menu, runs Heaneys, a 50-cover restaurant and cocktail bar in Canton. It serves tasting menus throughout the week and a full roast dinner with all the trimmings on Sundays. Heaney also owns the more casual Uisce (next door), great for nibbles, seafood-focused small plates and wines by the glass.

Hiraeth in Cowbridge Road East celebrates the rich flavours and traditions of Welsh cuisine. Offering a menu that features locally sourced ingredients, with a cozy ambience, guests are sure to enjoy a memorable dining experience.

The Classroom is a short walk from Cardiff Central station. On the top floor of the Cardiff and Vale College, the Welsh chefs of tomorrow are busy honing their craft. It's a working restaurant, but primarily it’s a training ground for the college’s catering students – and priced accordingly. The dishes coming out of the kitchen are always seasonal, creative and stylishly plated. And the unrivalled views from the panoramic windows make eating here a truly memorable experience.

After gaining plaudits for his food at his restaurant at Tower Bridge in London, Tom decided to open a place in his native Wales. Here at Thomas he cooks French-inspired dishes made with the freshest local Welsh ingredients. It's beautifully presented, cooked with real passion. The restaurant is wonderfully calm and sumptuously plush, while the downstairs bar is more relaxed and informal. If the beef or vegan wellington is on the menu, try it. It's utterly delicious!

For something more low key, full of flavour and fun, how about one of these?

This raucous taco and tequila joint calls itself ‘the home of the inauthentic taco’ – priding itself on coming up with flavour combinations that no one would expect – like sweet balsamic fig and rosemary roast potato. A vast range of mezcals, a thumping glamrock playlist, and technicolour walls adorned with Mexican wrestler masks and associated artwork gives La Pantera an eclectic atmosphere like no other.

Milkwood is the result of a dream shared by three friends who wanted their own cosy neighbourhood restaurant. After years spent working for other people, they made their dream a reality in 2017. Since opening in leafy Pontcanna, this little gem has charmed ardent foodies and locals alike. The seasonal, comforting produce cooked simply with flair hits just the right notes.

From the owners of Milkwood also comes The Grange, a community pub rescued from dereliction in the most fantastic way possible, picking up CAMRA’s Cardiff Pub of the Year award a little over a year after re-opening. The winning combination of hearty, unfussy food, real ales, old-school pub games (and not a single flat-screen TV in sight) was one they knew they could trust.

Some areas are becoming destinations in their own right for foodies, offering all sorts of options no matter what you fancy.

There's a trio of excellent Spanish eateries based around Westgate Street: Asador 44, Bar 44 and Curado combine to make an afternoon of bar-hopping, sherry-sipping and tapas-nibbling a very real possibility in this affectionately nicknamed corner of the city centre.

For a special occasion, Asador 44’s ambiance, service and show-stopping, slow-grown, Rubia Gallega chuletón steaks are hard to beat. Meanwhile, tapas-to-share is a date-night favourite at Bar 44, and casual snacks (known as pintxos in the northern regions of Spain) are the speciality at the laid-back Curado Bar. Be sure to pop next door - to their cosy and intimate little bar Vermut - for a nightcap.

A few years ago, a group of passionate Cardiff culture vultures made a plea for Roath’s eclectic City Road to be rebranded as the city’s ‘international food mile’. This part of town is where local foodies craving far-flung flavours come to feast. Covering cuisines that range from Japanese to Mediterranean, Asian to Egyptian, a trip to City Road is an invitation to eat your way around the world, restaurant by restaurant.

Head down this gated alleyway on a residential street in Pontcanna to discover a clutch of independent businesses worth writing home about: Alex Gooch, an artisan plant-based bakery famed for its organic sourdough bread and Pipes Microbrewery and their zesty vegan beers.

Every Saturday morning, the alleyway also transforms into a farmers’ market, packed to the gills with local produce.

 Alex Gooch is an artisan plant-based bakery famed for its organic sourdough bread. Now based in Whitchurch Road, with a commitment to quality and sustainability, Alex Gooch specialises in handcrafted bread and pastries made from organic, locally sourced ingredients. Offering a warm atmosphere and the delicious aroma of freshly baked goods, its a beloved spot for locals and visitors alike.

For more than 100 years, Cardiff Market has housed butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers and bakers, as well as a number of grab-and-go stalls serving quick and tasty lunches for city centre workers. More recently, the market has enjoyed a new lease of life. Eco-conscious shoppers are shunning the supermarkets and coming back to the market to buy local produce that is far less likely to be covered in plastic packaging. Meanwhile, a wave of new, artisan producers and micro cafés have moved in to call this impressive Victorian building their home.

Ffwrnes run a pizza café on the first floor balcony, serving wood-fired pizzas for little more than five pounds. Meanwhile, Cardiff Bakestones can pass you a bag of still-warm, traditional Welshcakes straight from the hot plate. This is city-worker lunch break heaven.

A gaggle of ornately decorated passageways off St Mary Street, Cardiff's Arcades are home to bustling cafés and brilliant bars - as well as great shopping from independent makers and curators.

The shelves in Gin and Juice, a cosy drinking den, groan under myriad bottles of gin. Situated at the entrance to Castle Arcade, the location attracts a varied crowd and is perfect for a spot of people-watching. Alternatively, head to the dimly-lit snug at the back for an ambience which begs for whispered conspiracy and shared secrets.

For more Cardiff foodie inspiration follow Jane on her blog Hungry City Hippy.