Ember at No 5

‘Best pasta in Cardiff’ was one pithy summation of Dave Killick and Tommy Heaney’s new place – opened at the end of 2024 on a gentrified little street in fashionable Pontcanna near two of Heaney’s other restaurants. It’s a minimalist yet relaxing spot, Scandi in its use of light woods, with sandy walls, a central bar (with stools) and an open hatch into the kitchen at the rear. On our lunchtime visit, a prominent soundtrack ranged from modern jazz to Wham, via James Brown.

Yes, there’s fresh pasta here, and, in the Italian way, the daily menu lists the pasta choices before main courses (such as lamb rump with Jerusalem artichoke, basil and oregano), but just as important is the use of local ingredients. The stars of our meal were half a dozen of the biggest, plump, tender cockles we’d seen, fresh from Pembrokeshire and replete with briny flavours. These shared a plate with tube-like canestri pasta, little cubes of butternut squash, fresh basil leaves and a squash, garlic and chilli sauce – a delight. Almost as good was a starter of buttermilk pheasant, cooked like chicken karaage with a crisp coating and moist flesh, criss-crossed with squirts of fermented chilli sauce and aïoli, all sitting in a deeply savoury game gravy.

Desserts maintained the high standards: three freshly baked madeleines, accompanied by ‘orange curd’ (aka creamy cold custard flavoured with the citrus fruit). A bargain set meal and a five-course ‘chef’s menu’ are further options, and drinks provide admirable back-up – expect everything from house cocktails to an Old World wine list starting with a palatable Italian Pinot Grigio. This place deserves success.