Breakfast with a bite, part 1: The Fat Pig Deli, Pontcanna, Cardiff

The Fat Pig Deli, on Romilly Crescent in Pontcanna- next to the former Oscar's and current Arbennig- has been going for about 18 months. I've heard many a good thing, mainly from my brother, a brunch regular- so made the most of the Saturday morning 'hour at a loose end, waiting for Costco to open' to investigate.

The look of the place is... interesting. Little of the furniture matching and in other parts of the city would be called haphazard, but round these parts probably qualifies as arty. Beware the low bench at the long table by the way- or more accurately, beware sitting right on the end of the long bench unless you fancy being part of a Wile E. Coyote style catapulting.

 A mishmash of plastic chairs, wooden benches and wicker gives it a homely, lived-in feeling that fits rather well. My wife was taken with little dishes of sea salt and cracked black pepper which sit on the tables, and the pot with rough cubes of sugar and tongs- nice little touches which add to the eclectic decor.

A squint at the breakfast menu had me zeroing in, somewhat predictably, on their 'Spanish' option and the enticing sobrassada on toast. The latter is one of life's little pleasures, when done well, so we were disappointed it was not available and hadn't been for some three weeks now.

I'll come back to that.

While we supped a silky cortado and a cappuccino (stronger than you often find it, and all the more welcome for that) I had a quick peruse of the menu. The deli has recently extended its opening hours to 9.00pm on Friday and Saturday nights and it's then it casts all else aside and wraps itself in the yellow and red of la Rojigualda. All your usual tapas suspects are here: from A(lbondigas) to B(oquerones), from chorizo to jamón, calamares to patatas bravas. In short, the dishes that are not only increasingly fashionable but brilliant in their simplicity. A specials board bolsters this selection, promising more Iberian ingenuity.

None of which I tried today, but it's good to be able to plan ahead...

Back to breakfast. Disappointed at the absence of the sobrassada, my wife went for toast and jam (£1.60). The thick granary slices that arrived were generously buttered and the accompanying preserve was obviously homemade. It was sweet, obviously, but with none of that almost-aggressive, cloying oversweetness you often find on the shelves. Good bread, good jam, good job.

My Spanish fried breakfast (£5.45) promised eggs, toast and two sausages: chorizo and plain pork. Cut into rounds, both were excellent: the chorizo with its mild kick, and the pork well seasoned and with the texture you only get from a quality banger.

The eggs may not have been con puntilla*, my personal favourite, but had gloriously runny sunny yolks and had been generously seasoned with smoked paprika for that lingering back-of-the-throat prickle of warmth. All in all, a plate chock-full of flavour to start the day.

There are some shelves of Continental produce but this is much less of a feature than the deli displays which greet you on entering. Cheeses from Spain, France and of course far closer to home feature heavily, as do salami and chorizo and jamón.  Most of the deli's business centres on these and the dishes of 'tasters' on the counter top certainly didn't hurt; 'try before you buy' is encouraged. A brief chat with the owner revealed that he takes great pride in his sourcing policy and his quality control. With experience of running the Brasserie Blanc in Threadneedle St, he places paramount importance on good produce. He has recently returned from a trip to Spain, where he deals face-to-face with his cured meat suppliers and cheesemakers. At a local level he buys his free-range eggs direct from a farmer he trusts. Many places will, quite rightly, emphasise the nearby traceability of their ingredients: not many can do so over a thousand miles, I'd guess.

Remember the Case of The Missing Sobrassada? He had a delivery from Spain a few days ago but wasn't happy with how it 'cooked'- so promptly rejected it. The attitude is uncompromising, then: clearly a case of  'we'd rather tell you the dish you want is off today, than serve you something we're unhappy with.'

And you can't really argue with that. Can you?

*Literally, with a frilly lace hem- in other words, crispy around the edges.

4 Romilly Crescent

Hours	CF119NR Mon - Thu: 08:00 - 18:30 Fri - Sat: 08:00 - 21:00 Sun: 09:00 - 12:00

Twitter: @fatpigdeli