Eat Out In Cardiff
Newsletter March 2008
This months review
The Mint & Mustard
Whitchurch Road
Cardiff
When you enter the Mint & Mustard you enter an oasis of calm, cool, contemporary dining. The warm greeting from George the Head Chef & owner and his attentive staff is really a pleasure. The immaculate décor and freshly pressed linen tablecloths and the profuseness of fresh flowers lets you know instinctively that this will be an incredible dining experience. The staff and George are always available to discuss the menu and let you know the exact ingredients included in each dish.
As we discussed the menu an assortment of plain and spicy popodoms with an array of pickles arrived as a precursor to the meal, very tasty very moreish.
For starters we ordered a meze of starters that included Murg Tikka chicken marinated in green herbs, masala cheese, and chilli, garlic then cooked in a tandoor oven. Tandoori Salmon a salmon steak marinated with mustard, honey, dill leaves and spices then cooked in the tandoor. Bombay Chaat a vegetarian pastry that is filled with yoghurt topped with chutneys. This starter was a real taste of Southern India with a subtle blend of spices and flavours that really wetted your appetite further for the rest of the meal.
For the Main Course we again selected a Meze which gave a fine selection of the dishes prepared and included Classic Butter Chicken a moist tender chicken breast in a rich tomato sauce with subtle flavours of fenugreek and cinnamon. Also a really succulent Lamb Coconut Fry which is a slow braised lamb stir fried with curry leaves, shallots and coconut chips. A real favourite of mine was the Allepey Fish Curry which was swordfish cooked in aromatic spices and gently poached in a coconut sauce. The fish was so tender it melted in your mouth. The vegetarian dish was the Snow Peas and Water Chestnut Masala, which is crunchy water chestnuts and snow peas with crushed red chillies onion and tomatoes a really tasty dish. All of these dishes were served with delicious coconut rice and Malabar parotta a flaky bread enriched with butter.
This delicious and beautifully presented meal was finished off with a fantastic dessert of Chocomosa a samosa filled with a rich dark chocolate delicious, a slice of pineapple cooked in the tandoor very refreshing and a caramelised slice of banana.
I can fully recommend the Mint & Mustard as the standard of presentation, service and the food cooked were fantastic. George has brought to Cardiff a new concept of Indian cuisine and an old fashioned level of service I have not experienced for quite a while, all set in a modern contemporary setting, giving a true dining experience which I am happy to give my Five Star Recommendation .