Nook, Cardiff | Inventive & Delicious Small Plates Dining

Recent restaurant opening Nook has been eagerly anticipated by the food-loving denizens of Cardiff, and no wonder.

This small, unassuming restaurant opposite Victoria Park is the project of John and Ceri Cook, and Phil and Deb Lewis. Thanks to our Cardiff-based friends Team Not Leafy, I can give you the lowdown!

John and Ceri owned and ran Arbennig restaurant (now closed), own and run the Lamb & Flag pub, and are the creators of DIRT and Ember, two hugely popular pop-ups, the latter of which runs about once a month. Phill and Deb are the duo behind Dusty Knuckle, (which sells Naples-style pizzas baked in wood fired ovens, first as a street food venture, and soon from a permanent location too). Phill created BITE Festival (in conjunction with Simon Thomas), and he and John partnered for Hoof Horn to Hind, one of the traders that sold via Sticky Fingers street food, a permanent space with 5 kitchens for a revolving array of vendors.

Nook is a permanent joint project, and we visited  two days after it opened. The menu, developed by John and Phill, was nicely balanced and very appealing. Already, the cooking was deft and assured, and front of house (Ceri and Deb) was friendly and smooth-running.

Nook restaurant in Cardiff An array of delicious dishes at Nook restaurant in Cardiff

The restaurant is inviting, with an architecturally pleasing line of sharp succulents along the front window ledge and a slim living wall up one wall corner, which we are told will expand to run greenery around the room. Furniture is wooden, as is the open-hatched divider to the kitchen, and the floor, all of which make the space feel warm and cosy. Along another wall is an expanse of shelves where wines and beers are displayed. And don’t miss the wall of wine taps next to the kitchen, allowing Nook to serve a range of wines by the glass. They focus on natural wines, by the way.

Interior of Nook restaurant in Cardiff Wine on tap

Soft drinks are also worth checking out, with some delicious indie offerings rather than the usual big commercial brands.

Some great choices for soft drinks at Nook restaurant in Cardiff Menu of the day at Nook restaurant in Cardiff

The menu is a small plates offering rather than starters and mains. Dishes showcase high quality local, seasonal ingredients, with several nods to international cuisine with ingredients like dukkah, enoki mushrooms, miso, mostarda and truffle.

We were advised to order 2-3 dishes per person and greedily chose 6 for the two of us. We could easily have ordered double that, based on everything that appealed!

Burrata, fermented chilli, lemon, olive oil and dukkah Artisan butter

First, Burrata, fermented chilli, lemon, olive oil, dukkah (v, £6.5). A full globe of burrata, generously topped with oil, chilli and dukkah spicing, this was a punchy dish. For me, the dukkah was a touch overwhelming against the subtle flavour of the burrata, but it certainly worked well with its creaminess, and there was lots of delicious flavoured oil and juice to mop up.

We asked for bread to do just that, and it came with the most fabulous Bungay raw butter, a star of the meal in its own right (£3.5).

Sheeps ricotta, pear mostarda, sour honey chicory

Probably my favourite savoury dish of the evening was the Sheeps ricotta, pear mostarda, sour honey chicory (v, £6). The pillowy delight of silky ricotta served as perfect foil to the sweet and mustardy candied pears, the bitter crispness of the chicory and the sour honey dressing. This dish looks deceptively simple but – if you’ll forgive me a moment of office-bingo lingo – achieves a real synergy, where the whole is somehow greater than the sum of its parts!

Pressed potato with truffle

Pressed potato, truffle (v, £3.5) was also a firm favourite. Thin slices of potato pressed together and fried, were served with a dollop of tart creme fraiche. The truffle scent and taste was rich and heady, and the potato both crisp an soft. We ate these with our hands, like giant chips.

Crab on toasted treacle loaf

Crab, toasted treacle loaf (£10.50) was one of the more expensive dishes on the menu but the generous serving of super fresh crab made it worth it. Not much of the treacle came through in the toast for me, but it was a fresh, enjoyable dish.

Crispy enoki, runnerbeans, miso and sesame at Nook restaurant in Cardiff

Another choice that everyone adored was the Crispy enoki, runner beans, miso, sesame (vg, £6). Each bunch of gangly enoki mushrooms had been lightly battered and fried, creating a delicate and delicious tempura, and it paired wonderfully with the sweet green crunch of the runner beans. The miso dressing and black sesame seeds added a welcome umami hit.

Grilled fish, beurre noisette, savoy, sesame

The Grilled fish, beurre noisette, savoy, sesame (£13) was the most expensive dish on the menu, but for that price tag we were served a generously sized portion. The plaice lifted from the bones with the lightest touch, the flesh soft and moist and decadent. We really appreciated the simple savoy and browned butter dressing.

Phil's Pavlova at Nook restaurant in Cardiff

Somehow, we found space for dessert, and ordered both choices on the menu.

Phill’s pavlova (£5) turned out to be a perfect meringue (which to us means crisp exterior and chewy inside) topped with syrupy seasonal plums and a dollop of whipped cream. Another dish where simplicity created something beyond expectations.

Milk Chocolate dessert at Nook restaurant in Cardiff

Milk Chocolate (£6), a somewhat ambiguous menu description, turned out to be a rich, intense chocolate mousse and a similarly sized dollop of thick, sticky, salted caramel. The lime zest was perfect with both, and we virtually licked the bowl clean!

Eminently affordable, and certainly delicious, Nook is very much our kind of place. Seasonality, and quality of produce shine, and we love how the small plates menu allows for a quick, light meal or a more lingering feast.

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Nook restaurant in Cardiff

(v = vegetarian, vg = vegan)

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
15 Comments to "Nook, Cardiff | Inventive & Delicious Small Plates Dining"

  1. Yukti Agrawal

    I always love to read about your reviews on restaurant as you select some of the unique restaurants. Nook too looks interesting and cozy due to warm interiors. It is good that instead of serving big size of food which becomes monotonous after some time they serve small portions of food. I too love to taste many things instead of eating one big meal. This concept is unique and interesting too. They use raw butter which interests me as I love raw butter. All dishes are plated very beautifully and I loved that Phill’s Pavlova for dessert.

    Reply
  2. Erik Requina

    The place looks so cozy and love the name. Curious to taste their artisan drinks i hope it tastes good as it sounds.

    Reply
  3. Val

    Wow, all these plates look so delicious! Surely an address to remember when in Cardiff. Also, I really like the décor of this place, looks very cozy.

    Reply
  4. Bhushavali N

    Oh wow! I love the look and feel of the restaurant. Good to know that they focus on local soft drinks. Wine tap concept is interesting. Its not common here!
    Its amazing how specific everything is. The label that says which farm the butter comes from, is just so specific. Love it! The burrata looks yummy.
    Pressed potato truffle? Whoa! I wouldn’t have guessed its even vegetarian, looking just at the pic! I want to taste that definitely.

    Reply
  5. Cat Lin

    Nook sounds inviting. It also looks homey…It feels like a good place to hang out after a long day…The food looks really good too! Perhaps I’d love their Milk Chocolate… It’s a good thing that they support local products too like soft drinks.

    Reply
  6. Shreya Saha

    The look of the restaurant is really impressive. Plus I love how they garnish every dish. They look so yumm. I wish there were few vegan options, then I would have loved to try them too.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    There were 5 vegan dishes listed on the menu on the day I visited, you can see which ones in the menu I photographed.

    Reply
  7. Clarice

    The crispy enoki, runner beans, miso, sesame looks really delicious. Would love to try it next time. The place looks really cozy and nice. Would love to visit in the future.

    Reply
  8. Annick

    I like the idea of the taps for natural wines by the glass. With so many delicious options, I can see why you chose three of them! The crispy enoki sounds so delicate. Small plates are growing on me just so that I can try a variety of dishes.

    Reply
  9. Tim Kroeger

    The presentation of the food is really nice! For me it makes huge difference! I like that they serve small places. This way you can try many different dishes 🙂

    Reply

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