I love a bargain (getting tighter the older I get it seems, other than with wine where my purchasing habit/buying addiction seems to be going the other way) and with hospitality and their customer’s really feeling the pinch it is a tough act to get (increasingly skint) customers through the doors (and still turn a profit).

As such the February offer at Victoria Park’s Twenty Six

looked at first blush a pretty good deal.

With the price seemingly very right and it being a relatively short hop from my gaff and dog friendly (had Dick the dog in tow),

I pencilled it in for a solo (Mrs. SF passed and J was off apri-skiing) lunch time visit.

The fact that the toasties are £5.95 and the soup £3.95 usually,

suggested a bit of a bargain at £5.95 for both.

The day was miserable (surprise, surprise, with our dreary rain soak winter showing no signs of abating), but the semi outdoor location was surprisingly sheltered.

Blankets are available, with one sort for us humans and others for the doggies (nice to see bowl of water for dogs too),

but these were not needed (nor were the heaters they have) in this instance (I didn’t feel a chill at all) other than the doggie one for Oscar/Dick to sit on (being a dick he didn’t, despite me laying it out nicely for him).

Orders are either online via a QR code on each table

or (if you are a luddite) in person at the bar

Surprisingly (to people who know me and my relationship with technology – a hate: hate one, with my body seemingly periodically emitting an EMP which fries all known technology within a 10 metre range) I took the former option (it is pretty much foolproof, even for the utter  technophobe I am).

Service was prompt, with the fact that my soup and sarnie combo arrived in no time mildly surprising me (with my ability to use technology, I was expected crumpets and tea to arrive).

The sarnie was decent, if not Ffloc standard, with a nice bit of salami,  properly melted cheese and a bit of greenery to temper the richness of the cheese.

Bit light on filling, if I was being picky, but overall I enjoyed it.

The soup, in the form of a curried red lentil, butternut squash and coconut number,

was definitely the star of the show.

Very nicely spiced and seasoned, with a touch of chilli heat and good consistency.  The butternut and the coconut added both body and a welcome touch (not overdone) of sweetness which worked very well as against the spice. Whoever is in charge of spicing here has a deft touch, which makes me curious as to their loaded naan offering. 

Really enjoyed this soup, which had a very satisfying almost meatiness to it. With the bread and butter that comes with it, if ordered solo off the menu, this would be a decent lunch time meal in itself  (bargain at £3.95).

Drinks wise there is beer,

wine

and cocktails.

I had a coffee (flat white – £3.20)

which I enjoyed (especially the bourbon biscuit, which I regarded as dessert).

One thing I would say is it could have been a bit hotter. I don’t know if it is me, but I find coffee in cafes and restaurants all too often just isn’t hot enough. A case of infantising us, with the majority paying the price for the minority of imbeciles who might stick their bits in it/throw it over their head or is there another reason (cold cups, perhaps)?

The verdict

Despite the vile weather (I am still waiting for the Mediterranean climate we were promised back in the early 2000) and this place’s open-ish set up, I had a perfectly nice and very good value lunch here. The set up, whilst not indoors, operated to shield me and the dog (on his best behavior for once – I blame the owner) from the elements and the lunch offer is a very good deal in these trying financial times.

It is a real struggle for hospitality at the moment (as well as the customer) and anything that draws people in is worth a try.

Kudos for Twenty Six for this deal (and others), as well as offering space to multiple indie traders. I had a nice roti canai last year for Roti Shack here

and I see Kapow Ribs have been there recently)

amongst many, many other traders.

I don’t really like to get even remotely political on the blog (it is a food and drink blog after all), but I just don’t get why our Lords and Masters are seemingly so utterly indifferent/asleep at the wheel as to the dire straits hospitality (the life blood of most communities) is in at the moment. We are heading for towns/cities just full of shxte,homogenous, chain restaurants/cafes etc., which are certainly not places I want to live in! About time they pulled their collective fingers out and did something to help – VAT reduction for starters and here in Wales not reducing rate relief (neither are exactly ground breaking) and anything to address sky high energy costs.

Use them or lose them and I fear even the former may not be enough (without other help to reduce costs) and there is going to be an awful lot of the latter if things don’t change (and soon). Our towns and cities will be all the worse for it if that occurs, that is for sure.

The details

Address: The Boneyard, Paper Mill Road, Cardiff, CF11 8DH

Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089891961101