I ask only because there have been a few sightings locally of unlikely culinary marriages, of cuisines you wouldn't normally associate. The most intriguing of these is a recent opening in Splott, with its head-spinning offer of Hungarian, Indian and peri-peri chicken all across the same threshold.
Perhaps less expected were certain elements on the La'Shish menu: it bills itself a Middle Eastern restaurant, and is well placed near the foot (I'm counting from the old Infirmary end, like any right-thinking person) of City Road. Sometimes it seems impossible to traverse said road without wading through a deluge of shish kebab, a welter of kofte: Those are on the menu here, of course, but so are fajitas...
Falafel (£2.95) had a crisp segue into creamy warmingly-spiced centres. Anything which marries these two is A Good Thing. But there are unexpected elements here, too: a Spicy Chicken starter (£3.75) did what it said on the tin, thick with onion, red peppers and kidney beans and decidedly more South American than Middle Eastern.
If she could see me now...
The charcoal grill is front and centre at La'Shish, taking pride of serried ranks of marinated meat waiting on their skewers. A mixed grill (£9.95) would seem the quickest way to get to the heart of what they do here, it would seem.
Pretty good it was, too: excellent buttered saffron rice with a side salad, a mildly spiced lamb kufta (sic) and some excellent chicken shish which bore clear marks of cooking over charcoal. The only let-down was the lamb shish, which had been left on the bars a mite too long for my liking and was a tad dry as a result. A shame, as the other meats were very, very accurately grilled, juicy and smoky.
A chicken mixed grill (£9.95)- no skimping on portion size, here- was a better all-rounder. Chicken shish, kufta and a boned-out thigh were all deftly done, with none of the dryness of the lamb and all the char you'd want from that grill. A garlic paste and a pulpy chilli sauce to accompany were just the job.
Save that (slightly) overcooked lamb, then, a pretty solid showing here. Even among the numerous and capable competitors on this pilgrimage route, La'Shish can hold up its head.
A word of warning, though- loosen your belt before you begin...
La'Shish
17-19 City Rd,
Cardiff
CF24 3BJ
Tel: 029 2049 3337
Monday - Sunday: 12:00pm - till late
http://lashish.co.uk/
A word of warning, though- loosen your belt before you begin...
La'Shish
17-19 City Rd,
Cardiff
CF24 3BJ
Tel: 029 2049 3337
Monday - Sunday: 12:00pm - till late
http://lashish.co.uk/
Looks delicious. Do they have a website you could link to?
ReplyDeleteDuly amended! Thanks for the reminder.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete