The Meating Place, Cardiff

Not to brag, but the Food Pilgrims make a pretty mean roast. And whilst we love spending a Sunday afternoon roasting our meat of choice, and making all the traditional accompaniments from scratch, we have to admit it does create an awful lot of washing up. So, when we do decide to go out for a roast, it has to be top notch grub. 

With that in mind we headed out to The Meating Place. Whilst we had never been there before, we had visited two other places in the same group; The Potted Pig and The North Star, which we both really enjoyed, so expectations were high.

Walking into The Meating Place, we got that warm fuzzy feeling. We were greeted with a hearty, rustic vibe. Oak beams on the ceiling, old fashioned high back wooden chairs. The only thing that was missing was a roaring fire.

The menu seemed reasonable, £15 for two courses, or £17.95 for three. We both decided pretty sharpish about what we wanted. Mrs P ordered the roast welsh beef (with fingers crossed it was going to arrive pink), and I went for the pork belly (my fingers were crossed for crackling!). 

Fast forward ten minutes or so and our little table was presented with two huge plates. The meat looked and smelled amazing, as did the home made gravy (though a garnish of salad was a bit of an odd addition). Bowls of seasonal veg shortly followed, along with a dish of cauliflower cheese to share. With that we tucked in. I'll confess, I am a gravy man. I like to drown cover all of my roast in it. The gravy tasted homemade, with a splash of red wine. It was delicious, and the only problem was there wasn't enough for me (Mrs P kindly helped my predicament - I guess that's what marriage is for!). The roasties were OK, I'd had better, but I'd certainly had worse. The veg was cooked nicely, truly 'al dente', not raw as some trendy places like to serve, and not boiled to within an inch of its life.All in all a really good roast (and yes, Mrs P's beef was indeed pink).

For dessert, or 'pud' as I like to call it, was an easy choice for both of us...sticky toffee pudding. Whilst it was only a small portion, it was just what you needed after a big hearty dinner. A soothing sweet that melted in your mouth, and gently cwtched up in the last little space in your stomach. 

Quick version:

• Food - Tasty home style roast, with a few tiny let downs that could be totally forgiven, especially as we didn't have to do the washing up!
• Value for Money - At £15 it's not the cheapest roast in town, but the quality is there for all to see (or rather taste)
• Service - Service was with a smile and a joke. Get there early as they were having to turn people away by 2pm
• Atmosphere - Nice and relaxed. Music was great (hello Clapton, Hetfield and Bon Jovi)
• Overall rating - 4 stars

The Meating Place - St Mary Street Cardiff; 02920 224757 ; website