The merguez sausage is commonly believed (by me) to have originated the Maghreb region of North African  (Tunisian, Algerians and Morocco), where it often features in tagines, but the French have very much taking it to their hearts and eat it on bread (which soaks up the spice laden meat juices) with French fries in the roll (very much a Gallic take on the classic hot dog).

Sausages are a rarity in most Arab and Maghreb countries as pork is verboten, but the merguez is the rather classy exception to this rule. Made from lamb or beef, the meat is heavily spiced with cumin, paprika and chilli or harissa which gives these sausages their trademark piquancy.

I love a merguez sausage and with France having last week beaten Morocco (two prominent, but contrasting, merguez eating cultures) at the World Cup (not sure which one, possibly water polo, indoor bowls or kerplunk, but most definitely not rugby or cricket, with England rather uncharacteristically seeming to be in it at what appears to be the latter stages), it seemed a rather opportune time to try a merguez the way the victorious French adore them.

I had bemoaned on Instagramaaaaazing the other week the rarity of decent merguez sausages over here, but luckily the stars rather aligned with Pontcanna’s Oriel Modern Meats’ new summer menu including their riff on the French way of serving the mighty merguez,

with said new menu also including a rather tantalising rotisserie chicken offering.

Notwithstanding the allure of the rotisserie chicken, it was the merguez sub (£12.95) that I had set my heart on and thus what I ordered.

There are seats inside, but it was 9 bazillion degrees (I pity those working in kitchens in this weather as it must be hellish) and there was a canopy shading the outside sitting which made it tolerable despite the heat.

My merguez, when it arrived (after a short wait),

was a fulsome beast with the merguez topped with briney feta and pink pickled onions. This allowed for a pleasing trifecta of salt, sour and heat (as well as a touch of sweet also from the onions). The acidity of the onions was very much needed here to balance out the carbs.

Underneath were crispy, nicely seasoned fries, peppery rocket and a good blob of refreshing tzatziki.

The sausage itself

had that nutty earthiness that comes from dry aged beef, with a nice level of spice. Said spice made its presence felt, but not overtly so with it leaving a tingle on the tongue rather than a molten ball in the belly. Good snap to it to as bit into it.

Much admit I think on balance I prefer a lamb based merguez, with the fattier lamb seemingly a marginally better conduit for the spice, but this beef one was still very nice.

I would say the one weak point was the sub bread. Whilst I liked the harissa on it, it didn’t feel very (advertised as) toasted and was a bit pappy. A minor quibble in respect of what was a very satisfying sarnie. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day.

I washed it down with a full fat coke, which was (a very welcome) cold and wet and it’s innate sweetness worked with the heat of harissa that imbued this dish.

The verdict

The new summer menu here is rather appealing and my merguez sub was a fine thing to stuff down my gullet on a friday lunchtime. It certainly helped my slight fragility post a very fine winey night with the Cardiff wine buyers club at Stefano’s in Pontcanna (with us taking full advantage  of their stellar £10 a bottle corkage offer).

I think the rotisserie chicken offering will be very popular, but their mighty fine merguez is certainly worthy of a shout as well.

The detail

Address: 221 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9PP

Website: seems to be their Instagramaaaaazing page

https://www.instagram.com/orielsmodernmeat?igsh=cGFiemE5ZmhxdHNp

Opening hours: