Gorse

High quality cooking

Tucked away in the pretty suburb of Pontcanna, where chef-patron Tom Waters previously hosted a series of wildly successful pop-ups, this is a fine-dining establishment with friendly neighbourhood vibes. Waters has three years at the Fat Duck under his belt, as well as stints at The Square and Odette’s (among others), and brings both a sense of theatre and a quiet perfectionism to his cooking. The small dining room, with its neutral, calming grey walls and big windows, runs straight into the open kitchen where you can watch Waters and his small troupe of young chefs tweezering microherbs onto, say, an earthy but delicate mushroom tartlet with pickled juniper and lovage. It's all about tasting menus here, culminating in a 10-course bonanza – a succession of intricately designed and exquisitely presented dishes showcasing the best of Welsh produce, especially seafood. Start with a tiny bowl of cleansing laverbread broth, follow with a glistening scallop under a drift of wafer-thin slices of celeriac and ghostly white strawberry with smoked cream and pine, or perhaps a meaty blowtorched hunk of monkfish seasoned with a salty, vibrant and delicately crunchy sauce of pike roe, roast yeast and squash. Our autumn visit also yielded pink slices of fallow deer dressed with blackberry, spiced beetroot and blackcurrant, before concluding with an intensely delicious pear sorbet in toffee sauce. Down-to-earth service from the waiting staff (as well as the chefs) combined with a soundtrack of 90s rock and pop ensures that the atmosphere never becomes too reverential, while reminding everyone that they are here to have fun. Ask the impressively knowledgeable waitress for advice when it comes to the serious, grown-up wine list.

3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence