Picton & Co, Cardiff
As we meander towards Cardiff Bay for our second visit to Picton & Co; we talk about how odd it feels to be heading to Cardiff Bay for a night out. What should be a real jewel in the crown of the city has long felt lacking in personality and has become synonymous with a real sense of unfulfilled potential. I could sit here and lambast the various chains and tourist traps as a primary cause of its palling nature but to do so would be a major disservice to what is actually an ever growing list of independents who are acting as beacons of hope in and around the smog of uninspiring outlets and bang average bars that take up the prime real estate that looks out across the barrage and beyond.
The latest independent to step up to the plate is one of the more high profile openings in recent memory. Picton & Co, a new salon-cum-deli/small plates restaurant/cocktail and wine bar/deli and perfumery isn’t exactly the combination of industries you’d expect on most given days but a quick gander online ahead of its opening back in April tells a story much more akin to passion project than vanity piece with its inception reportedly more than a decade in the making.
Outside, the entrance to Mermaid Quay has received a stylish facelift: a new all black exterior punctuated with rows of massive windows providing passers by with a peek in to what the makeover is all about. Inside, those windows do their best to allow in whatever natural light that is able to find its way down Stuart Street. The walls are dotted with shelves of produce ranging from gourmet popcorn, olives, oils and sauces to huge bags of cashew nuts and pasta. There are perfumes and aftershaves, a wine cave and a deli counter. Its centrepiece is a 360 degree bar where we’re invited to pull up a pew to spend a few hours and with the promise of chefs in the kitchen from a michelin starred kitchen and alumni from the likes of Lab 22 and Dead Canary behind the bar, there’s plenty of reason to feel optimistic even if its wide array of varied produce does feel a little busy.
Our first visit, a few days after its initial opening leans heavily on the booze. The wine list, at least to this novice eye, seems well curated with my pick of the bunch coming in the form of a particularly jammy Tempranillo. The cocktail list presents itself with all the fancy pants nature you’d expect considering the pedigree behind its creation. The theme is seemingly a twist on the classics with caramel butter espresso martinis and a chai scented negronis catching the eye. The 360 degree bar is a fantastic feature that works wonders in helping to facilitate some excellent conversations ranging from our cocktail bars in Barcelona, Chartreuse based conspiracy theories and swapping recommendations on which bitters we prefer to use in our old fashioned’s.
The food menu, as you’d expect, develops significantly across our two visits. The first iteration is a big one and as we make our way through a few of its dishes there’s a sense that it might be trying to run before it can walk. There are eleven separate small plate dishes. There’s turbot, cote de beouf, mackerel and lamb chops amongst them. Then there’s a separate section for oysters, an array of snacks, some sides and desserts to top it off. With so much on the go, it’s unsurprising that there are some inconsistencies: Cornish Kern croquettes are comforting if a bit one dimensional. Truffle Arancini are lacking when it comes to its star billing, while a set of pork belly croquettes overwhelm with smoke.
We try one each of the oysters and while the tabasco option is a little heavy handed; a ponzu, citrus and coriander number feels expertly balanced.
On the other end of the scale, the small plates we do try do enough to demonstrate why I was right to be optimistic in the first place. The beef tartare is up there with the best I’ve had in the city, a dish so often let down by poor seasoning or poor quality ingredients there was no danger of that here with the kitchen showing a real deft touch all round. Similarly, a sea bass ceviche is equally as well executed with a jalapeno granita turning out to be an inspired addition full of zing, texture and heat. Finally, a big ball of burrata with marinated tomatoes and basil is a huge crowd pleaser that has you reaching for the fork and taking way more than your fair share… no regrets.
When we do return a few weeks later, the menu has been refined. The oysters are replaced by flatbreads (though they’re seemingly back on the menu beginning today) and the small plates menu is reduced by two or three dishes. It’s still a bit busy with various proteins but ultimately reads as a more focussed affair compared to its predecessor. Those flatbreads? Absolutely phenomenal: the smoked mozzarella and nduja is a spectacular combination that will tempt you towards ordering another… and maybe one more for good measure. The smoked pork belly croquettes which are now listed simply as jamon croquettes, are much more balanced and as a result are infinitely more scoffable. A pair of pork belly skewers come out with compliments from the kitchen as they accidentally made a portion too many. They come with a sweet and sticky glaze but are a little on the chewy side and could use an extra few minutes on the grill to really crisp up the fat.
It’s around 8.30pm as we put an order in with the intention of taking the menu properly through its paces but as we’re sat dreaming of the likes of some more of that burrata, Korean chicken bao, grilled monkfish tails and rib-eye steak we’re given the news that the kitchen has shut early thanks to a mixture of a quiet evening and the fact it had been a busy bank holiday weekend and had run out of some dishes anyway. While understandable, it is disappointing that we hadn’t been given more of a heads up so we could get some orders in. They do offer to knock us up a larger plate of lamb koftas and flatbreads which we gladly accept. It arrives as four thick koftas which are heavily spiced with all of the usual suspects and come with a mixed mezze that includes a cous cous which I could’ve eaten by the dessert spoon-ful. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword really because this plate was promising enough to make the fact that the kitchen had closed early all the more disappointing.
So, where are we at with Picton & Co? The truth is, it’s still a work in progress but there’s one important distinction; I don’t doubt for a second that they’ve got all they need to get to where they want to be. Yes, the communication between the kitchen and the wait staff needs to be better and the space itself, while impressive, could do with cosying up during the transition from daytime to evening service but for me these are largely superficial issues that will naturally improve as the place continues to find its feet and identity. I’d feel comfortable in saying that it’s clearly already the best bar in the Bay and most importantly I can’t help but get the impression that its heart is in the right place and considering how many places down the bay are devoid of that one, crucial characteristic then it’s all the more reason for me to root for it.
