This is a place that is actually firmly in the trendy Cardiff burb of Pontcanna, never quite worked out the sky high house prices as parking is a total bitch, without the need for an estate agent to redraw the map such that Tristan da Cunha (with a name like that I bet they all drink natural wines there and man buns are mandatory) falls within its ambit. 

Of the many places in proper Pontcanna, as oppose to Pont – canton and give it time Pont-pangea, the one I have inexplicably failed to visit, despite it having been open for a fair few years, is Milk and Sugar’s outpost there. My excuse is I have in the past been side tracked by the allure of the likes of Milkwood (if looking for a quick-ish bite) and Thomas by Tom Simmons (for more a substantial repast, subject to being able to remortgage) when in that neck of the woods

What triggered my visit was a Instagram post of their specials,

which had a cubano (regarded by many as the king of toasties/grand dame of grilled cheese sarnies) on it.

A cubano done right is a thing of beauty, but all to often it disappoints, with lack of a decent mojo marinade in terms of the roasted pork element and the usual complaint of a paucity on the filling front. A valid, but more difficult to address in the UK, issue is the bread used. In theory, this should be Cuban bread which is pimped up on the flavour front by the use of lard (probably be illegal shortly in favour of some ghastly vat engineered frankenfood and in ten years time we will all be told “Lard is actually a super food and the stuff we told you to eat instead is rapidly killing you all, my bad!”) EDITOR : lard and tallow ARE super foods.

Thankfully on the day of my visit the specials reflected the Itsagramaaaaazing  post that drew me in in the first place

as I would have been more than a little peeved to have found it “off” on the day of my visit.

Notwithstanding my interest in the cubano special, the main menu had plenty of appealing stuff on it

so as to bring a bit of angst into the decision making process.  Can’t say I am a huge fan of the use of crispy serrano/prosciutto ham on a breakfast plate (as it is way too shardy and what is wrong with good old bacon) but the rest of it sounded  good and the flat iron steak stack, in particular, caused me pause for thought before I ultimately stuck to my “armas de fuego” in going for el cubano (I feel it should be compulsory to say this in a thick Spanish accent, in the manner of Antonio Banderas or Penelope Cruz).

Good looking beast this I thought when it arrived,

with the right sort of bread (not sure if true Cuban with lard, but certainly in the same ballpark), rather than some sliced sourdough abomination. Lacking salami, it would be regarded as a Miami rather than Tampa iteration, but can’t say I have an opinion as to which is best.

Under the hood, everything looked in proper order,

with lots of properly gooey cheese, proper (non plastic) ham and plentiful mojo marinated roast pork, as well as a plethora of pickles and a robust spreading of mustard.

The pressed bread had a good crunch to it,  giving way to molten cheese, crisp tangy pickles and yielding meats.

The mojo marinade to the pork gave it a zinginess from citrus and a spicy herbal hit from cumin, oregano and mint. 

The briney pickles acted as a good counterpoint to the richness of the cheese and meats, which could have been all a bit too much without the acidity that the plentiful pickles and mustard brought to the table.

Really tasty sarnie this, which did not need the crisps on the side or, even more so, the superfluous cress. I mean who actually enjoys eating cress? Be honest, like me, most of you would rather it wasn’t there (so it is just a waste of time, money and effort for both the restaurant and the customer). Why much of hospitality insists on applying these meaningless garnishes is beyond me.

On the drinks front they have the usual suspect re coffee + some more out there option (mushroom latte sounds magic 😁),

but the cold drinks are far from your standard soda offering. Of particular interest were the cold pressed juices, with some intriguing combos.

I went for the Recover,

which was a very pleasing blend of sourness tempered by enough, but not too much, honeyed sweetness. Very refreshing, although I would have preferred a little less ice, it worked well with the cubano

The verdict 

If truth be told I haven’t had that many cubanos in my oh so long life and none of the ones I have had are from its Florida homeland. As such I am probably not the best person to gauge whether this is an  authentic one or not  What I do know is it was very tasty and that is what really matters (still can’t call something a carbonara if it has cream in it, no matter how nice it tastes, or its 30 years in the gulag for you when I am rightly crowned Emperor of the Universe).

It is a nice space for both solo dining (Mrs S.F had multiple dogs and J was having her hair done, which meant she was in the hairdressers for 48 hours costing the annual  GDP of Gabon, so I was solo) or with company,

which it a bit tardis like with a semi hidden back room and also an out the back garden area.

After breaking my duck re going here, I should certainly go more often. Breakfast/brunch (still maintain no such thing as brunch, it is merely a late breafast or an early lunch and was preceded in light years by the all day breakfast) plates on the menu being dished out to other tables all looked rather fine.

As an aside, is Pontcanna build on a lead mine or is there a secret WEF (I mean they are not even trying to hide that the chap in charge is Ernst Stavo Blofeld) base, with jammers deployed to protect said villian’s lair from exposure, as I have gotten a better mobile phone signal (i.e. one at all) on a tiny island in the Celebes Sea off North Sulewesi than I can get in Pontcanna!! How can the mobile signal be so shxte in pretty much the middle of a capital city?!

The details

Address: 79 Pontcanna Street, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 9HS.

Website:https://www.milkandsugarplease.com/

Seem most active re menu changes, specials etc. on Instagram – @milkandsugarcollection