BAYTE, St Leonards: review
On April 16, 2026 by The Plate Licked CleanSomeone very precious to me has an annual ritual she holds dear. On her late father’s birthday, she books a table at a restaurant he would have enjoyed, opens a bottle of his favourite wine, and celebrates a life done too soon. It’s not mournful or maudlin. It’s a time for memories which comfort and
Tonkotsu Ramen Bar, Cardiff City centre: review
On March 28, 2026 by The Plate Licked CleanIt’s Thursday afternoon and a World Cup qualifier: in a few hours Welsh hearts will be broken in the cruellest fashion, but surely that’s to be expected if you have to play both Bosnia and Herzegovina, goes the old gag. Hardly seems fair, does it, little old Wales taking on two at once, but it
Booh, Old Town Hastings: restaurant review
On January 11, 2026 by The Plate Licked CleanOx cheek pie. Duck liver parfait. Locally-caught plaice, roasted whole and served with cider butter sauce. Oysters, three ways. Cullen skink. Scallops. Ribeye and bone marrow. Chips cooked in beef dripping. Goose. Fish pie. Yes, Booh, you have my attention. I’m on the train out of Charing Cross, and already smitten with Booh’s menu, when
Lyalena Lounge, City Road, Cardiff: review
On December 14, 2025 by The Plate Licked CleanYour starter for ten. ‘All the men want it…I don’t know why! All the men love it. Women, they don’t seem so keen. But men? They always want it…’ We’ll find out soon enough what my server, the lovely Haja, was talking about. And no, it’s not that. Among City Road’s vape shops, barbers, peri
U Mi Chinese Noodle and Rice Restaurant, Churchill Way, Cardiff city centre: review
On November 22, 2025 by The Plate Licked CleanNo, this isn’t a Chinese restaurant-only blog, though it It probably feels like it recently. This one makes it three in a row: a few visits to the ultimately underwhelming Fresh Feast, before BBQ Xiang‘s siu mei roast meats on Caroline Street restored my faith. Now, we head downstairs to a Churchill Way basement for
BBQ Xiang, Caroline St, Cardiff: Chinese roast meats restaurant review
On November 11, 2025 by The Plate Licked CleanGood things have a habit of happening in this little room in the middle of Cardiff. It was once Malai Thai; you might remember their extraordinarily good value set lunch a few years ago, although it’s almost quaint now to think of a city centre meal, fresh from the wok, served on an actual plate
This blog is a very simple thing.
I won’t try to sell you any hand lotion, exercise programmes, coffee syrups or Patagonian nose flutes. You won’t find tips on dating, ‘wellness’ or yoga mats.
I write because I love it (and food, as indicated by my increasing girth). Greed happens to be my Deadly Sin of choice, but at least it is never shy of providing me with subject matter.Â
A simple thing, then: all you get is me wittering on semi-coherently about places I’ve eaten at; hence a ‘restaurant blog’ rather than a ‘food blog’, although there are a few recipes scattered throughout.Â
From mezze to Michelin ‘fine dining’ and all points in between.Â