As you wander through Cardiff Market in the heart of the capital you are met with an incredible array of local and lip-smackingly good food stalls. From Clancy's to Ffwrnes and the Market Deli and Bakestones to gluten-free favourite Noglu, there is something quite literally for everybody.
So when I heard that burger joint Smashed Cardiff LTD, the market's latest lunch time eatery to join the market community, had opened (on Monday, August 15), I was excited for 12.30pm to come. I was even more so when I found out it was run by the same team behind the Sage Deli, one of my favourite spots in the beating foodie heart of the city.
Read more: 'I tried the Parador 44 hotel breakfast now being served at Asador 44 - and was in foodie heaven'
Sage Deli, with its decadent sourdough toasties and bursting salad boxes, without fail has a queue meandering down the walk way every time I go. And Smashed Cardiff isn't much different - especially on day two. When we get there, the chef behind the bar - which is designed with industrial looking like bulbs and wooden panels on the joint's exterior (behind the bar is a different story and reflects a working kitchen - aka not quite as glamorous, but does the job) - is busy taking and cooking orders for the two punters stood in front of us.
As we wait happily, my eating companion and I study the menu, which has a whole host of options; chicken wings, burgers, hot dogs and fries.
We opt for a 'Bippy's' burger meal deal (at £10) - which consists of two beefs patties, bacon rashers, lettuce, tomato and onion. If you so wish too, you can have cheese - a veggie burger meal deal (£9) and a scattering of chicken wings (six pieces cost a fiver).
We wait for approximately ten minutes before we're greeted by our smiley server and place our orders - both meals deals come with fries and a cold drink: we choose Diet Coke and Fanta Lemon.
It's another seven to ten minutes before we are handed our packaged meals - one with two chicken wings in as we mentioned we wanted to try them, which was a lovely touch. During this time, the queue grows by the second and by the time we pay and head upstairs in the market to tuck in, there are at least eight or nine people behind us.
The 'Bippy's' burger, which is made up of the two beef patties, is well-packed and bursting with flavour. It tastes high quality and is the right level of saltiness, even with the addition of the bacon. Without sounding like I am lost for words, the patty tastes...beefy, in the best way, and the burger sauce - the stall's own, we're told - is smokey with a slight kick. It's not too thick of a burger either so doesn't feel like the most decadent lunch - although it is probably one to limit to a treat day as you will be completely satisfied by the end.
The lettuce and tomato in it are a welcomed freshness and offer a variety of textures; you can't - or shouldn't - have a burger without a beef tomato and some lettuce. These classic burger elements are enveloped by a soft and fluffy brioche bun that has been toasted on the sliced side - this stops it from getting a dreaded soggy bottom and holds the burger together well.
As for the veggie burger, I was utterly shocked. A good kind of shocked - nay, a great shocked. I have tasted many veggie burgers in my time (not because I am vegetarian, but because sometimes you just want a burger without the heaviness of a wodge of meat and plant-based patties are delicious) and this burger was so spot on with mirroring the taste of beef. So much so that I had to think back to us watching the chef cook the patties to check it was, in fact, a veggie burger (...it was).
The saltiness was just right, the flavour was rich - and it didn't fall apart nor taste fake and rubbery. I also appreciated the size of this singular patty - it oozed out of the brioche bun, meaning extra substance for a nibble once the burger bun had been demolished.
The chips, with both meals, had a nice amount of salt which had been added ahead of us receiving our takeout boxes - Smashed Cardiff LTD's chef knows what he's doing when it comes to flavour, it seems. I particularly enjoyed that they were skin-on fries.; they just feel and taste less greasy - although that may have been the fact that this particular batch didn't taste as oily as some chips I've had, which (I'm sorry) is a winning factor.
If you're gluten intolerant too, they have a separate fryer for chips (his partner is coeliac he says in passing) - although it is stressed to me that most other items on the menu contain wheat.
Although my dining partner and I were stuffed to the brim by the time we finished our final chip, we couldn't pass up on the two chicken wings in BBQ sauce. Upon first bite you are hit with the stark sweetness of the sauce but after that it's a bit lacklustre - personally.
As you make your way through the rest of the chicken - which you get a surprisingly vast amount of considering the wings are so small - the flavour isn't exactly overpowering, although it may have been my mistake in starting off with something so satisfying and flavourful - the burger - that anything else in comparison would seem underwhelming.
All in all, it was a bangin' burger paired with some swell salty fries and service with a smile - and while it came up a tad pricier than what you'd expect to see in the market (£10 a pop for the bippy meal deal and £9 for the veggie deal), I left with a full belly and my hunger happily satiated. If you're a sucker for some wings, a burger or a classic NY-style hot dog, you need to try the Market's newest kid on the block.
For more updates, follow Smashed's social media or its sister site, Sage Deli.
READ NEXT:
- First review of Fowl and Fury's Cardiff restaurant: 'I could just about handle the mildest chicken, but I'll definitely be back'
- The burger bar on a remote farm that's become one of the most in-demand venues in Wales
- Giles Coren tours Pembrokeshire and absolutely loves it, finding 'the world's best sandwich'
- The 10 Welsh restaurants shortlisted for the British Restaurant Awards
- Spanish wine and food shop stocking 500 bottles, cured meats, cheeses and incredible nibbles has opened in Cardiff
