Recently we were whisked off to Park House Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant and wine bar at the heart of Cardiff City Centre, on Park Place. As you walk in, from floor to ceiling the restaurant looks and feels classy.
We were greeted by our server, where we were taken to the bar for complimentary canapés and champagne. We nibbled on chicken liver parfait and cherry tartlets, and cream cheese, trout, and caviar pastry cones. This was washed down with a Passionfruit Mimosa (passionfruit syrup topped with champagne).
We then sat down for our first course – Amuse Bouche; a traditional Spanish gazpacho (chilled soup) with heritage peppers and frosted cucumber; a refreshing take on soup, perfect for a summer appetiser. At Park House, they pride on both their food and their wine, so each meal was paired with a different tipple. The gazpacho was paired with Code rouge – a French sparkling wine by Gérard Bertrand.
Our first starter, “Cardiff Salad”, with buffalo mozzarella and black garlic sauce. The salad is sourced locally from the greenhouse in Bute Park, delivered daily by the gardener by bicycle (how cute?). This was paired with a Neudorf Sauvignon Blanc, from Nelson, New Zealand. The tropical notes tasted great with the salad.
Our fish course was line-caught seabass from Pembrokeshire, with a bed of mixed beans, tortellini of caviar and a champagne veloute sauce. The fish was fresh and tasted so rich with the veloute sauce. The fish course came with a wine was Old Vines White by from family vineyards in Swartland, South Africa.
Onto the main course: suckling pig. At Park House, they serve two cuts each using the whole animal; we were served cuts from the belly and the neck. This was served with Pomme de terre de l’île de Ré potatoes, peas and wild garlic. The pig was succulent, and the wild garlic with the vegetables added the right amount of kick to the dish. The server paired this with a Petit Verdot wine from Riverland, South Australia. The biochemically grown grapes in this wine are apparently great for the environment and preventing headaches! Who said wine can’t be good for you?
For afters, the dessert was a pistachio parfait with marinated cherries, coated in Valrhona chocolate. This was a pudding for dessert lovers, tasting sweet, rich, fruity and everything in between. The wine was a dessert wine; Botrytis Semillon Reserve from Berton in the Australian Riveria.
To finish, the complimentary petit four were madeleines, canele and a passionfruit chocolate. It’s fair to say by then, we were full to the brim, and it was time to take a taxi home (after all the wonderful wine). Park House Restaurant is a great place to treat a loved one, and not one to miss for fine dining and wine lovers!
Book your table now: www.parkhouserestaurant.co.uk