Al Timon, Venice, Italy

Al Timon, Venice, Italy

We were staying at the Domus Orsoni, which my wife had seen in a newspaper travel review of Venice. A lovely little Bed & Breakfast just above a famous mosaic foundry situated in the quiet Cannaregio district, Northern Venice.

Our host on arrival, Flavio, was particularly friendly, warm and welcoming, and gave us several recommendations on where to eat and drink.

We decided to visit all the places he recommended on our first afternoon so we could choose somewhere for our gastronomic extravaganza.

We popped into Al Timon, which was packed with locals and tourists alike. Al Timon is tiny but the sight of the cichetti (mini-bruchetta with different toppings) sitting on top of the bar and some great looking wines was just too tempting to pass up, so we stopped at the bar, had a couple of cichetti and two glasses of Barbera, chatted to the bar staff and booked a table there and then. The wood-beamed ceilings, random antiques, temperature-controlled wine cabinets and cool soundtrack formed a relaxed but quality impression and we couldn't wait to come back later.

In the evening we returned and were greeted once again to a full bar and there were even people standing outside and drinking in the rain! The atmosphere was gently buzzing and they bent over backwards to accommodate us. Our lovely waitress translated the menu for us and was charming throughout. 

 

We decided to try something new and potentially controversial to some, horse Chateaubriand. Whilst we waited, I foraged four different cichetti from the bar and a bottle of Barbera d'Alba. The wine was fantastic quality and at £18 was a bargain too.

The cichetti were mexican prawn, prosciutto ham with roasted artichoke, sausage meat with sage and roasted pork. All four were delicious, though the Mexican spiced prawn wasn't as spiced as we would have liked, we could have easily eaten many more!

Horse Chateaubriand for two served on a wooden platter surround by grilled marinated vegetables and chips. It tasted as good as it looks! The Chateaubriand came cooked blue, seasoned very well with salt, pepper and rosemary. 700 grams of horsemeat is a big meal between two, the equivalent of ordering 3 steaks back in the UK. The array of vegetables were lovely: steamed spinach, cannellini beans in rosemary oil, roasted red peppers and skin on chips. All were well cooked and seasoned, although the spinach would have been great seasoned with garlic. Interestingly, they offered to cook the meat a bit more when we'd eaten half the plate.The flavour of the horse meat medium rare definitely came through much more, well worth doing. A leisurely hour later we had just about finished, our taste buds satiated and stomachs full.

We were offered grappa and limoncello to finish off with as we had to refuse the dessert menu, slightly gutted about that!

Overall we had a great evening in a relaxed, informal, slightly chaotic environment, where if you take the time to get to know the staff, you can have a really authentic Venetian experience and some great food and wine.

Our bill came to £80 which is about average in Venice and we thought it was well worth it. We also left a 10% tip as the staff had been friendly and accommodating throughout.

Details:
Reservations essential for lunch and dinner

Al Timon
Cannareggio
Venice

Open Tues-Sun 12-10.30pm
Cards accepted

 

Smokehouse Wales, Food Blog, Restaurant Review

Smokehouse Wales has been open now for almost a month and we finally managed to get ourselves table! We happened to walk past and see that they had started opening for Sunday lunch. We popped in and were able to grab a table for three.

Smokehouse Wales is on the site of Diner 77 that was apparently a Cardiff institution, I always saw it as an out of date restaurant that was waiting to close down. Thankfully, Smokehouse Wales has taken its place and is a welcome addition to the culinary scene in Pontcanna. On entering the Smokehouse you are greeted by the smell of fresh wood. It's everywhere: the walls, the floors, the tables, the chairs. It smells amazing. We walked in at just gone 12pm and it felt a little as though they weren't quite ready for us. The waiter had to check and see if we could have a table and thankfully we could.

The menu is simple - smoked meat! Actually they do have a couple of vegetarian options but don't get your hopes up - smoked cheese only goes so far, as does Veg chilli for that matter. It's a smokehouse, it's not meant to do vegetarian food!

Whilst looking through the menu we were given a small dish of pretzels to help stave off the hunger. For drinks we had a couple of Cokes and some water. It was good to have bottles of coke rather than watery post-mix out of a gun.

Our mains took about 25 minutes to arrive, which did put us on edge a little but when the food arrived, it looked fabulous.

I had the pulled pork with BBQ (£10.95) sauce, chips, onion rings, poppy seed apple coleslaw and mixed smoked beans. Our dishes came served on lovely chunky wooden blocks and provided a bit of theatre.

My pork was moist, smoky, succulent melt in the mouth and covered in BBQ sauce. The chips, chunky and crisp, the onion rings homemade crunchy and not mushy. The homemade BBQ beans were lovely and smokey but the coleslaw was a little disappointing. The coleslaw wasn't seasoned well enough and the poppy seed didn't add anything to the flavour. I would have expected a fresher herb infused coleslaw bursting full of flavour.

My wife's half rack of ribs (£13.95) was enormous (apparently it was an end cut so we benefitted nicely) and came with the same accompaniments as my pork. The ribs were smothered in BBQ sauce, large and satisfyingly messy to eat. The mini saucepan of extra BBQ sauce, which really was finger licking good, was essential if you wanted to smother your ribs and yourself in sauce heaven! The meat was tender, smokey and had enough bite left in it to feel like you'd just finished off your first dinosaur.

Our friend's attempt to eat healthily resulted in a halloumi salad(£5.50), smoky BBQ beans(£2.95) and Smokehouse coleslaw(£2.95). Halloumi is a squeaky cheese to eat and was no more than satisfactory. I'm sure they could do better for a salad and only need look at Kemi's Cafe round the corner for inspiration.

This was a quick lunch so we weren't hanging around for dessert, but I did want a coffee to keep me going. To my horror they haven't had their coffee machine installed yet and couldn't even provide me with a Nescafé for a quick caffeine fix! Aaarrgghh! I got over it. Eventually.

Smokehouse Wales are in their first month and therefore still finding their feet. The food on the whole really was excellent with only a couple of mediocre offerings. The meat is clearly the star turn and is everything you'd expect from a smokehouse. The lack of a coffee machine is really poor considering all the social media hype they created before opening, you have to be ready to provide the whole experience. Unfortunately they're not quite there yet, but I must say they show great promise and I look forward to going back and having a full blown pig out in the near future. They have spent a lot of money on making the place look and feel good and the quality of everything in the place does stand out. I wish them every success and look forward to doing a full review in the near future when their "full blown menu" is published.


Details:

77 Pontcanna St, Cardiff, CF11 9HS

https://www.facebook.com/SmokeHouseWales

Open: Sunday 12-5pm
Monday-Thursday 6pm-9pm
Friday 6pm-9.30pm
Saturday 12-3pm 6pm-9.30pm

Tel: 02920 344628

Lilo, Kebabs, Food, Blog Review

Lilo's Kebab House is one of many Middle Eastern restaurants on Cardiff's City Rd but is one that I have been back to many times. The restaurant is a mass of people and noise just like in a bustling souk, jostling waiters and noisy managers shouting out instructions, organised chaos that appears to work. Lilo's has been full each time we have been and this Monday night was no exception. Yes, a Monday and they were full, not many restaurants can say that in Cardiff. We have booked on a couple of occasions but they never check and just give you the next available table. This can be 20-30 mins after you arrive depending on when you go!

We were greeted at the door by the manager who was dressed in a suit and appears to mainly greet and say farewell to customers. We were hurried to our table and given menus. We knew we needed to order our drinks quickly as they take time to make. Lilo's is a non alcoholic affair and do freshly made fruit cocktails. There always seems to be plenty of staff around but just one poor guy squeezing the life out of all the fruit. Hence your drinks quite often turn up after your food has arrived! A little frustrating so always order as early as possible.

I love the fruit cocktails (£2.50), I think they are a really good effort at trying to provide an alternative to a coke which is what most restaurants offer. My favourite tipple is the Pineapple, Orange and Mint Juice. Part of the fun is getting a massive brightly coloured curly straw - when I was a kid this is all that was needed for it to be an awesome meal out whatever the food was. Sometimes I feel that not much has changed! Yes, dating myself there a little but hey - each to their own!

The main event though is obviously the food. We ordered a first course of Baba Ghanoush, Hummus, Tzatziki and a plate full of freshly made naan breads to share, half eaten plate above!. This is the sort of food I love. Ripping apart a warm freshly made naan bread and mopping up a trio of dips is a relaxed and friendly start to any meal. The Baba Ghanoush (£2.95) is made from mashed aubergines that have been  roasted and mixed with olive oil and various seasonings. The smokiness of the roasted aubergine comes through perfectly. The Hummus Beruity (£3.25)is made from cooked, mashed chickpeas mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic and was lightly dusted with chilli powder for a bit of extra kick(not sure if that's a pun on Beruit's turmoiled past). Tzatziki (£2.95) is made from yoghurt mixed with cucumber, garlic and salt. Tzatziki has always been a favourite of mine having spent the summer working in Crete when I was younger, there is nothing better than a gyros topped with tzatziki. This Greek starter in a Middle Eastern restaurant fits perfectly and although it didn't have enough garlic in it for my liking, although it  would probably suit most palates.

Unfortunately I forgot to take proper photos of the starters as we devoured them on sight!As you can see out of four naaan breads (£2.00) only one has survived for a photo call. We had to order another round of nana bread - bad idea - as you fill yourself up on bread but they're so good we couldn't help it.

For mains I chose Chicken Shawarma (£6.50). Shawarma is meat that is put on a stick and turned over heat or in layman's terms a kebab. Our chicken shawarma's had been well marinated and seasoned before being cooked over flames and were quite simply delicious. I always have mine with rice as I find eating them with chips a little offensive, although my wife seems to have no problem eating her Lamb Shawarma (£6.80) with chips and I always end up stealing some anyway. So not really that offensive! The meat on both of the shawarmas was succulent, tasty and perfectly cooked.

My mother in law chose Chicken Biriyani (£6.25)which was an unusual choice I thought in a Kebab House, but proved to be a winner. The rice was well seasoned and the flavours that came through really were top notch. Biriyani is an Indian dish that is made from rice, numerous spices and has various meat or vegetables in, and is usually accompanied by a vegetable curry on the side. The biriyani was lovely and spicy and might just be my next favourite dish on the menu.

Having absolutely stuffed ourselves on naan breads and two courses there was absolutely no chance we would be getting dessert. Desserts are not really something I think about when going out for a kebab and I couldn't even tell you whether they offer any.

Lilo's Kebab house is a Middle eastern restaurant that offers cheap, simple food in a fun and relaxed environment. I see the organised chaos and managers shouting at staff over the heads of their diners as an authentic Middle Eastern experience and that's fun! The staff don't have much personality and really are just plate bearers and order takers and if they forget something confusion comes first but you do get what you asked for in the end. I value it for the comfort food it provides me with, which comes at great value and am therefore happy to recommend it for that. Four of us ate a two course meal for £48.20.

74 City Rd
Roath
Cardiff
CF24 3DD

Tel: 02920 450089