A renowned food critic and MasterChef judge has given one of Cardiff’s most popular restaurants a glowing review and even suggested that its chef should be given the keys to the city because of “the greatest mouthful of lamb I have ever tasted”.
William Sitwell, who regularly appears on MasterChef alongside John Torode and Greg Wallace, is a respected foodie writer for the Telegraph and this week made an appearance at Heaneys restaurant in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff. To get the latest What's On newsletters from WalesOnline, click here.
Before mentioning the food itself, Sitwell is glowing about the surroundings on offer in the leafy suburb a short distance from the city centre, describing it as “a sort of Fulham of Cardiff”. Writing in the Telegraph, Sitwell said of Pontcanna: “There is culture oozing from the arts centre; there are gastropubs and restaurants, independent coffee shops and stores, and it feels a safe place to stretch your legs. But it has a thing few other villagey city neighbourhoods do: a heavily tattooed, diminutive Northern Irisham who, at least twice a day, performs miracles in his kitchen”.
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He is writing about Tommy Heaney, head chef and owner at Heaneys, which first opened its doors in Cardiff in 2018, the same year that he appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu. His reputation has only grown since, and no doubt it will receive another shot in the arm after a rave review from such an established critic.
Inside the restaurant, Sitwell went for a short tasting menu, comprising six courses “ending with treats”. His two small children were offered a kids’ menu with “impeccable fishcakes, battered buttermilk chicken, mashed potato and broccoli”. Sitwell and his partner were then treated to a course of sourdough with soft Marmite butter, something he described as a “glorious invention”. He also enjoyed a cottage pie, a trout tartare, and then pollock, which he described as “flaky and delicious under a crisp skin, charred to perfection, in a rich veloute, with a slightly pointless half-moon of squash (really, that vegetable needs banning along with Morris dancing)".
But his most glowing critique was saved for the “greatest dish of the night” - a loin of lamb. Sitwell wrote: “Oh, dear sheep, your slaughter was worth it. It looked almost too rare, but I was wrong. Literally the greatest mouthful of lamb saddle I can remember tasting. Rich, earthy, melting and with crisp skin. Seriously, sheep farmers should stand outside Heaneys and applaud him for the honour he does to their produce.”
Praise indeed. Signing off his review, he wrote: “For that lamb Cardiff should give Tommy the keys to the city.”
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