Well I am back after my little (blogging) break (in Cornwall – may bore you all with platitudes about what you can get on a plate in Porthleven and surrounds at some point in the future) and I am sure you all missed me (I mean even just a little bit?!) – although the metrics suggests you care very little if I put a new weekly post up or not (numbers remained surprisingly stable, which I am not sure is a good or bad thing to be honest, but oddly I seem to be more popular in African countries when I don’t blog!!!) .

With this blogging lark it is tempting to always look for the next new place to review (so you can be a proper Influenza) and I think I am probably as guilty of this as most in terms of trying to hunt out that oh so new place (“Ooh look at this new Laos BBQ’d tarantula place I’ve found on the web” kind of thing), although I am not one for the freebies which often seem to come with certain new places.  To be honest, I think I am too nice (no laughing at the back) to be properly objective when someone has given me a gift. I mean at Christmas (oh god I said the c word in October – burn the witch) when you get that “oh dear lord, why did you buy me that abomination” gift you don’t say “Bloody hell this comedy mug you bought me is utterly shite, did you get it free from Temu? By the way where is the hammer and the bin“, but rather smile meekly and say “Oh, thanks, can never have too many mugs (and you certainly were one for buying it) can you!? I will definitely take it to the office next time I am in” (Editor: he is self employed and works from home).

As such people often forget the so called tried and trusted, which I think is rather a shame. I mean why would you pay for a meal off the latest menu at the likes  of Asador 44, Thomas by Tom Simmons, Gorse, Casanova or Hiraeth, when there is a freebie available at the latest branch of the Giggling Squid (who hasn’t thought of selling their soul to Mammon for the offer of  a “cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth, expertly curated” free – it is free right – whatever) et al – it’s a mystery I tell you, a total mystery 🤔.

In reality, bar from the last couple of weeks break, as I blog most weeks going somewhere shiny and new every week is neither feasible or indeed desirable and I often revert to what I regard as the tried and trusted, with the blog being more a diary (from me) of where I eat rather than an influenzial newsletter to enlighten the masses.

Those tried and trusted gaffs are easily forgotten, but tend to be still there and doing well because they are constantly good and are consistently innovating. As a result, it is always worth a visit ( not least to see if the standards are still being maintained as opposed to laurels being rested on). I often think that a star from the tyre people is dreadfully hard to get (with Cardiff seemingly, at least to my mind, rather unfairly shunned as they leave rubber on the road in their haste to swerve the place), but even harder to lose once attained.

One such (lacking a star) place is Heaneys, which is to me very much in the top tier in Cardiff and as much, if not more, deserving of a star than many a 1 star place I have been to.

As I hadn’t been there for a while and was somewhat at a loss as to what to get J for her birthday, after I forgot to post her card (I did get it in good time, honest), Mrs. SF and I thought a revisit was rather in order (with J being quite food orientated, pressies of that ilk tend to go down well and she has hideously expensive taste in other stuff) based on an ever changing (monthly) set lunch menu.

On the face of it £35 for a set lunch is pretty competitive for a place operating in the top slice of Cardiff’s culinary scene and it gratifyingly doesn’t have any irritating supplements on it (much as I like the “fixed price” lunch offering at Thomas by Tom Simmons, the presences of multiple add ons to the price limits the available choices/ups the price somewhat from the set). The lack of any supplements (and the ” would you like essence of Madagascar ring tailed lemur/grated vaquita blowhole with your dish, for an extra £8,000,000″, ok more likely caviar/truffle but you get my drift) is a big plus for me with a set menu, where I believe the advertised fixed price should be exactly that. If something can only go on with a supplement, then it shouldn’t be on the fixed price offering in my humble opinion.

Back to the actual (set price) offering here, culinary muscles were flexed with the less than petite and punchy on the flavour front canapé.

A crunchy on the outside and soft and yielding on the inside hefty rectangle of polenta was infused with the earthiness of truffle and topped with a parmesan crema and a generously shower of nutty parmesan.

Polenta can be bland, but the powerful flavours of truffle and parmesan added full on flavour to the pleasing textural contrasts, without the truffle dominating.

A rapier like Bivol jab and cross rather than a Bertetov battering by blunderbuss flavour wise.

Next up was Heaney’s trademark bread and butter, with what must be Cardiff’s original (and much copied) pimped up butter.

I think Heaney’s nails the delicate balance of the marmite being evident but not overpoweringly so. Slathered on sourdough (not my fav. bread, but this is as good as it gets) it isn’t really a course in its own right, but it is a lovely thing none the less. What I would say is I like bread for mopping up of sauce duties and sourdough is not a very effective tool for such a task. As such, I must admit I prefer the Gorse and Hiraeth shokupan style offerings, which allow for a duality of function in the form of a butter slatheration platform and a sauce mopping up vehicle.

Courgette has never been my favourite veg. (and I positively recoil at the thought of marrow, having loathed as a child my mother’s Monday marrow, stuff with Sunday’s left overs), with their tendancy (when overcooked) to become colourful yet insipid bags of vapid nothingness (promising much and delivery little – the politicians of the veg. world).

This dish, however, tasted as good as it looked.

Raw courgette is an altogether different beast to cooked, with a pleasing sweetness of flavour and crunch of texture. Smoked ricotta bought delicate smokiness with a touch of salty piquancy all sitting in a gossimer thin (brik?) pastry case. A whey sauce, split with herb oil, brought a tart creaminess and refreshing herbatiousness to the party. Really enjoyed this dish, despite my general indifference to courgettes.

This is exactly the sort of dish that you go to restaurants like Heaneys for, where they elevate the mundane (in the hands of the amateur cook) to the magnificent.

The next dish wasn’t much of a looker (reminder me a bit of cuckoo spit you use to see on plants),

but what it lacked on the aesthetics front it more than made up for with flavour. The foam was a potent surf and turf combo of iberico pork fat and dried, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna flakes (katsuobushi). Big on umami flavour this, with the iberico pork fat adding a rich nuttiness which worked really well with the earthiness and delicate spice of the turnips and the iron rich spinach.

The menu description of the next course (Mrs. SF and I going for the duck) had me salivating even before the dish hit the table.

The duck was beautifully cooked, with the confit process locking in both moisture and flavour from the fat infusion.

A sherry gel had a lovely zingy, saline,  acidity to it that worked a treat with the fatty duck and a silky smooth cauliflower puree, spiked with vanilla, brought sweet nuttiness. Leaves (from the cauliflower I think – nice to see nothing wasted) added just a touch of bitterness (with a kale type taste).

The sauce added that sweetness that works so well with duck, as did the gentle citrus of the quince.  Another dynamite dish this.

J (after much prevaricating) went for the plaice, which sat on a rich crab bisque

Nicely cooked fish, that held its own as against the robust flavour of the bisque and the trout croustillant, sat on crunchy leeks (which added acidity and a gentle aluim hit). Texture was added by strings of shred pastry.

I am a sucker for a good crumble and the pud here instantly appealed, with an intriguing promise of tarragon.

An espuma of a custardly concoction capped an exemplary crumble top, heavy with buttery macadamia nuts, annointing sweet (not overly so) apple. The real revelation was a ginger beer ice-cream that perfectly replicated that zinginess, with a touch of heat, you get from homemade ginger beer. You could almost taste the fizz. Despite the promise of tarragon (assumed to be the green flecks on top) I can’t say my jaded palate really discerning its anis presence, but no matter as this was a delightful dessert.

We finish off with some miso fudge, which was scoffed before I took a picture

The savoury saltiness of the miso worked as a very nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the fudge (with it tempering the oft over sweetness of fudge).

We drank a bottle of Prunus (£35 – retails at around £15, so a pretty fair mark up), from the very underrated Dao region of Portugal, with our meal.

Easy drinking number this, with cherry and red berry fruit and a touch of black pepper spice. It was particularly good with the duck.

The verdict

It is easy to forget just how good Heaneys is and to get this quality of cooking for £35 is some bargain in my view.

Heaneys is regarded as one of Cardiff’s best restaurants and it is easy to see why. Bit of recognition from the Tyre people perhaps wouldn’t go amiss, but then again would that mean prices going up (so, selfishly of me, maybe not)?

After our lovely lunch, we popped across to Uisce for a rather nice bottle of Bodegas Bhilar tinto rioja (we collectively decided that work was done for the week and it all made for a rather jolly start to the weekend), where the man himself and Dave Killick were seemingly putting the finishing (PR) touches to their exciting new venture across the road.

The Details

Address:  6 – 10 Romily Crescent, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 9NR.

Website: https://www.heaneyscardiff.co.uk/heaneys