This was my first trip to Wales, and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of vegetarian options available.
I wouldn’t say it’s a ground-breaking place to be vegetarian or vegan, but you definitely won’t go hungry. My sister was trialling being gluten free at the time too, and she found several tasty eats.
So let’s crack on… what did I try and where did I go?
Welsh Cakes
Possibly the only Welsh snack I was really keen on trying- but full disclosure- I don’t like raisins, so I avoided the traditional version.
In the modern world, this isn’t difficult at all. Various flavoured versions of the Welsh Cake can be found all over Cardiff. I had a lemon one, a chocolate orange one, and a jam one.
I think the jam was my personal favourite, as to me, the Welsh Cake tastes like a cross between shortbread and a scone (so is very dry) and therefore the addition of jam is a welcome one.
Absolutely perfect to have with a cup of tea, I fully recommend giving them a go.
Street Food
Cardiff Market offered a number of different street food vendors and I was genuinely spoiled for choice.
The two places we tried when in Cardiff were Dirty Gnocchi and Bao Selecta (which won points from me for name alone).
Bao Selecta had a number of vegan meat options, which personally I was thrilled about, as I love a bao, but the veggie option is normally aubergine or something like that. This is fine, but knowing vegan pork belly exists, I wish it would show up more.
I ended up getting the “chickn” and teriyaki “beef”. Both were extremely tasty, so if you’re a bao fan, I’d recommend.
Dirty Gnocchi however was unfortunately disappointing. I think I had an idea in my head of what it would be and it wasn’t.
So the one I got had aioli, but the gnocchi wasn’t boiled, it was just fried and then smothered in aioli and it lacked a depth of flavour and was very oily. I’d be open to give it another go, but with a different menu item.
Restaurants
We tried two restaurants when here. Firstly, The Botanist, which at the time I thought was indie to Cardiff, but turns out this is a chain.
I got houmous and flatbreads to start, as I had a massive craving, and it hit the spot.
Then for my main I got the hanging halloumi skewer. This was hit and miss. They gave you a pot of marinade, which turned out to just be oil, and I made the mistake of pouring this over my skewer. In addition, only half of the halloumi had enough sweet chilli dressing. The ones that did were really tasty, but the ones that didn’t were quite bland. However, the menu and ambiance was great, and I’d therefore recommend it- but just don’t pick the halloumi!
We also tried Viva Amigo, travelling a bit out of the city centre to do so. This is a Mexican/Indian fusion place- so think paneer tikka burritos and fajitas. We loved this meal! It was such a fun concept and my sister loved her chicken tikka burrito. However, the restaurant was very quiet on the weekday we went, which meant we got served quickly, but they forgot my masala fries. This ended up being a good thing though, as I was so full, I took them to go. They also had mango lassi, which is my favourite drink and one I always get if it’s on the menu!
Overall, I think Cardiff is a solid choice for veggies. I probably made some bad choices, but I definitely wouldn’t worry about having choice if I ever return.