I have never really understood the term brunch. I have no issue with eating any sort of food at any time (I mean who hasn’t finished off the previous night’s dirty kebab for breakie the next morning), but I am pretty sure that the all day breakfast easily outdates the advent of the Americana brunch fad. There is also the fact that night/shift workers have been around for yonks and they eat meals/ drink booze way out of sync in terms what us standard 9 to 5 day time workers may  regard as the norm (just look at when the early houses pubs around London’s market are open for business). So what were these meals called?

To me, brunch is: 

• breakfast for the lazy (those who can’t get out of bed at a reasonable hour);
• breakfast for alcoholics (who can’t wait for the sun to cross the yardarm before swigging a mimosa/cheap prosecco); or
• lunch for the impatient toddlers amongst us (a hobbit- esque second breakfast).

Brunch is thus really just a late breakfast/early lunch time meal and to be frank you can eat what you like at either and I won’t judge you (actually I will, if you put maple syrup on everything). Some of the best breakfasts I have had have not exactly been what we tend to deem as standard breakie fare in the West (e.g. pho in Vietnam, roti canai and nasi lemak in Malaysia – century egg congee in Hong Kong, didn’t like the smell, taste or texture, on the other hand went in my rare “not eating that again” column). Cocopops/Frosties (“they’re gr-r-eat” for dentist’s bank balances) those dishes weren’t and that is never a bad thing in my book.

Back in Blighty, I usually limit my breakfast to a cup of strong coffee (may add toast if I am feeling extravagant) and go for more sustenance at lunchtime.

This brings me to a one o’clock lunch (they call it brunch) at Let Them See Cake, in the Cardiff burb of Victoria Park, on the 29th of February (which links into the title). 

The place’s name is presumably a rift on the alleged Marie Antoinette quote (apparently she never said it, but have we as a species ever let those inconvenient  things called facts get in the way of a good story/narrative?).

The menu here would seem to my untutored eye to be quintessentially what most people regard as very brunch,

with some seemingly insanely sweet combos (merely reading the descriptors for the “Black Forest” and “Winter Berry” concoctions gave me a cavity), the mix of sweet and meat (the latter usually bacon), a predominance of egg and, of course, the mainstay of any “brunch” (your donation to the Mexican Cartels is gratefully received –  muchas gracias) avocado (nice to see they have resisted the “smashed” adjective).

There is also a fixed price £15 offering

which looks decent value. The savoury granola sounds a bit weird, with candied bacon and a maple and tahini dressing, but nothing ventured, nothing gained and it may well be lovely.

I tend to lack a real sweet tooth (I know Rachel will dispute this statement, as I was not averse to scoffing the homemade cakes she used to bring into my old work) and have never really gotten the avo hype. I do on the other hand love the humble spud, which has seemingly undergone somewhat of a renaissance in recent times, here in Cardiff, with the likes of Heaney’s top-tier tato terrine and Tom Simmons superlative layered pots. (very much a case of filler turned thriller). As such, I defaulted to the tato section of the main menu and the rather fine-sounding tato Glamorgan (with the leek from the title and it being the extra leap year day before St. David’s day) at £12.

I added a poached egg because:

• I like poached eggs (when done properly, despise them when not); and
• the ability to cook a decent poached egg (runny yolk, without the “pukey”  white gloop) is a good test of a kitchen’s mettle in my opinion (in theory easy, but actually very easy to ff’ up).

Decent looking plate (although perhaps not the biggest for the £13.50 price tag, when adding egg, and no idea what purpose the whispy bit of green on top served – do people actually like these garnishes?) I thought,

with the poached egg just on the right side of runny.

Nice cook on the leeks, with a yielding texture and just a touch of retained bite. Sweet, but with that lick of allium acidity. A touch more char, perhaps, would have been a welcome addition adding more to the flavour profile. Sesame seeds brought a touch of sweet nuttiness, although I was not convinced they were a necessary addition to the dish (bar from the black and white seed combo looking quite pretty).

The rarebit topping on the potato element was a little lacking in punchiness (and cheese), 

More cheese, mustard and a touch of cayenne would have pepped it up. 

The potato cake base had a nice density to it, with good seasoning and not too blocky texture. Nice caramelisation to the outer crust.

Acidity from the plentiful, well cooked roasted, cherry tomatoes acted as a good counterpoint to the richness of the rarebit and potato base.

On the drinks front, there are the usually coffee suspect and loads of hot chocolate (to keep your blood sugar levels right up there at Type 2 levels and the dentist filthy rich),

but I fancied a cup of tea.

Not one to muck about with tea (no idea what a chocolate digestive or Vicky’s Sponge cake black tea is, unless I am reading the menu wrong – entirely possible – and Enhanced Narnia sounds  truly psychedelic, I mean English speaking beavers, a witch and a gateway to an alternative universe in the form of a wardrobe aren’t enough?), I went for the Builder’s brew.

Tea arrived in an odd contraption, the operation of which was explained to me in detail. 

The rather dainty cup was not one I really imagine in the hands of most builders on or off site.

I, of course, wasn’t listening properly to the detailed explanation of the tea contraption and thus misunderstood the crux of it (automatically pours into cup when place on it, rather than any pressure being required to be applied ). This resulted in a overflowing cup and a sea of tea on the table. They kindly offered me a new pot, which I declined on the basis that they should not have to pay for my idiocy.

Decent cuppa this, with a nice strong brew but not too tannic in nature.

As Mrs. SF didn’t come with me I bought her a cake to take back (she castigated me for being thoughtless as she is on a diet, apparently, but still ate it).

Very nice carrot and walnut cake this. Not too sweet and quite light (some carrot cakes can be at the neutron star end of denseness).  Never understood why carrot cake works, but it does and this was a rather good iteration (I feel Uncle Roy would approve, J).

The verdict

Enjoyed my lunch (call it what you like, but that is what it was) here. Not cheap, but good quality with some nice flavours on display. The tea’s inbuilt intelligence test regrettably found me more than wanting. 

Their meal deal/set lunch menu looks good value and certainly will give that a go in the future.

Have to say the service was charming. They dealt very well with the utter imbecile at the table in the corner (me) who manage to flood his table with tea and seem to genuinely love their jobs and want to make the punters happy.  Credit to the business the two front of house people in on the day of my visit.

The details

Address: 593 Cowbridge Road East, Victoria Park, CF5 1BE

Website: https://www.letthemseecake.com/

Brunch menu hours are as follows:

Wednesday to Sunday : 10.00 – 15.30 (last orders 15.00).

Of course you can have cake at any time between 10.00 and 17.30  – Wednesday to Saturday and  10.00 – 16.00 on  Sundays.