The Promised Land Bar
Originally featured on Walesonline.com
I love getting new suggestions of where to eat at, so when The Promised Land tweeted me and asked me to come over and check out their food, well it’d be rude not to!
Ok, so it took me a few months but when we did eventually make it there we found a relaxed bar with the walls festooned with music and film pictures and solid wooden tables and chairs.
But you’re here to read about the food.
As it was lunchtime, we opted for their platters – I chose the meat platter with my partner deciding on the smoked and cured fish. At £7.95 each, or £15 for two, these are a good option if, like us, you enjoy trying a little bit of everything!
The Charcuterie was billed as containing a pork rillette (a coarse French pate) and I was really looking forward to this – but sadly when my wooden platter arrived it was missing! Rather disappointed, I was soon perked up by the excellent Carmarthenshire Ham – Wales’ answer to the smoked Italian Parma Ham, and just as moreish. The Milano salami and chorizo were a little less local but just as tasty – soft, fatty slices of meat with just a hint of the paprika spice to the chorizo. There was also a sample of the excellent Smoked Duck from the Black Mountain Smokery in Crickhowell , winner of the True Taste Award 2008. The soft pink flesh of the duck infused with a subtle smokiness which enhances rather than overpowers the flavour of the duck.
The Smoked Fish Platter also had an item missing in the form of the horseradish cream, yet the dill and mustard sauce went perfectly with the fish selection – which included smoked salmon, also from the Black Mountain Smokery, smoked trout pâté and some excellent mackerel escabeche. The roll mops were tasty but looked a little untidy and started to unfurl on the plate.
Both platters came with a slice of good, thick sliced bread, cornichons and several sauces or pickles. I’d asked for the Medjool dates and the walnut chutney from the cheese platter to substitute the slightly uninspiring piccalilli normally served with the meat platter – what I got was a pot of slightly acidic black goo which had the texture of tapenade and some onion and tomato chutney – both were rather good but neither appeared to be what was on the original menu or what I had requested.
The food was certainly of a good quality but perhaps a little more attention to detail over what is and isn’t available on the day is needed when ordering.
One other minor quibble would be the music, whilst a great selection of old pop and soul hits, was a tad loud – if you’re hard of hearing you may struggle to follow a conversation.
All said, a good venue to pop by for lunch or early evening drinks.
The Promised Land also has a function room available to hire and the central location make it a great venue to consider for those holding an informal meeting or get together without the need to take the car.
The Promised Land, 4 Windsor Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BX
I love getting new suggestions of where to eat at, so when The Promised Land tweeted me and asked me to come over and check out their food, well it’d be rude not to!
Ok, so it took me a few months but when we did eventually make it there we found a relaxed bar with the walls festooned with music and film pictures and solid wooden tables and chairs.
But you’re here to read about the food.
As it was lunchtime, we opted for their platters – I chose the meat platter with my partner deciding on the smoked and cured fish. At £7.95 each, or £15 for two, these are a good option if, like us, you enjoy trying a little bit of everything!
The Charcuterie was billed as containing a pork rillette (a coarse French pate) and I was really looking forward to this – but sadly when my wooden platter arrived it was missing! Rather disappointed, I was soon perked up by the excellent Carmarthenshire Ham – Wales’ answer to the smoked Italian Parma Ham, and just as moreish. The Milano salami and chorizo were a little less local but just as tasty – soft, fatty slices of meat with just a hint of the paprika spice to the chorizo. There was also a sample of the excellent Smoked Duck from the Black Mountain Smokery in Crickhowell , winner of the True Taste Award 2008. The soft pink flesh of the duck infused with a subtle smokiness which enhances rather than overpowers the flavour of the duck.
The Smoked Fish Platter also had an item missing in the form of the horseradish cream, yet the dill and mustard sauce went perfectly with the fish selection – which included smoked salmon, also from the Black Mountain Smokery, smoked trout pâté and some excellent mackerel escabeche. The roll mops were tasty but looked a little untidy and started to unfurl on the plate.
Both platters came with a slice of good, thick sliced bread, cornichons and several sauces or pickles. I’d asked for the Medjool dates and the walnut chutney from the cheese platter to substitute the slightly uninspiring piccalilli normally served with the meat platter – what I got was a pot of slightly acidic black goo which had the texture of tapenade and some onion and tomato chutney – both were rather good but neither appeared to be what was on the original menu or what I had requested.
The food was certainly of a good quality but perhaps a little more attention to detail over what is and isn’t available on the day is needed when ordering.
One other minor quibble would be the music, whilst a great selection of old pop and soul hits, was a tad loud – if you’re hard of hearing you may struggle to follow a conversation.
All said, a good venue to pop by for lunch or early evening drinks.
The Promised Land also has a function room available to hire and the central location make it a great venue to consider for those holding an informal meeting or get together without the need to take the car.
The Promised Land, 4 Windsor Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BX
Comments
Staff were gracious when dealing with the complaint but I'm shocked that it was let out of the kitchen!
I usually find risottos vary widly between restaurants with some preferring a more soupy consistency and others wanting it to be more like a pilaf. I have to say I always prefer creamy risotto. I'm wondering if the chef had used aborio rice (or similar) or whether s/he'd chanced it with long grain - might account for the texture.