Firstly, if you started following my blog because of my daily Veganuary posts, I apologise. I reverted back to my old non-vegan ways pretty quickly. I promise I learnt a lot and I do try to cut down my animal product intake, but cutting it out once and for all was not for me. Oh, and you may also not want to read this review, it’s about beef.

Anyway, with outdoor dining finally becoming an option, it was only natural for me to pop over to one of my favourite restaurants ever. As a huge fan of beef, Pasture has quickly taken my top spot for favourite restaurant (well nearly, there’s a great yakiniku restaurant in Nagoya that really holds the place, but its not exactly somewhere I can get to easily).

By declaring my love for a restaurant so early in a review, I guess we can assume that this review is going to be mostly me gushing over it. This is true, perhaps this won’t be the most objective review you’ve ever read. That said, reviews are a pretty subjective form of writing, even if they claim not to be.

Nonetheless, on Friday 30th April, I popped over to Pasture’s Cardiff venue – if you’d like to hear my thoughts on Bristol’s Pasture you can click here – and settled down for a hearty, beefy meal. Of course, we were seated outside, and while I was a little chilly (of course, no fault of the restaurant) the outside area provided a nice environment for people watching; after all, Pasture is situated on the High Street, nearby Cardiff Castle and it was the first Friday night since the bars opened. This made for an absolutely brilliant atmosphere and was also kind of nostalgic of pre-pandemic Cardiff.

To start, I opted for a cocktail, as it would’ve quite simply been a shame not to. While the main focus of the restaurant is the beef, it’s clear that the cocktail menu has also been carefully crafted and boasts a selection of tasty cocktails. After a difficult decision and a bit of time spent analysing the menu, I chose a Strawberries & Cream, while my boyfriend opted for an Archies Swizzle. Both cocktails were visually pleasing and tasted even better than they looked. Now, I’m no expert, but to me the cocktails seemed and tasted very unique. I’d definitely say that even though the first drink on my mind is red wine when it comes to beef, it’s definitely worth getting a cocktail to start at Pasture, otherwise you’d be missing out.

Now it was time for some starters (look, it was our first meal at a restaurant for quite some time, so we went all out). I am a huge fan of the short rib croquettes with gochujang aioli, so naturally I couldn’t resist getting them again but we also wanted to branch out a bit, so we decided to try the crispy fried chicken wings in a soy & bourbon glaze with pineapple kimchi dressing. The croquettes were perfect as usual (I am a huge croquette fan!) but the wings were very much the star of the starter show, despite being a little messy (though wings are rarely considered clean!). Thankfully, to combat the messiness, we were provided with a little finger bowl. As for the wings themselves, they were possibly the crispiest wings I had ever eaten, the texture and the flavour was pretty amazing.

While filling up on a starter is often a concern for me, as I let my boyfriend finish the majority of the wings (he never fills up) I found that my appetite had only been whetted – ready for the main event.

The menu at Pasture offers a range of items, including chicken, a burger and fish, and even a vegan steak. However, I personally believe that you can’t beat a good steak, and as ‘good’ doesn’t even begin to describe the quality of the beef at Pasture, it is, in my opinion, essentially criminal not to give one of their sharing house cuts a go. Last time I had a house cut, we opted for the Porterhouse, so it was only natural to decide on one of the other house cuts this time. In the end, we settled with a Tomahawk, cooked medium, as our waiter suggested.

With the house cut, we were able to select two sauces and two sides. However, while we were adventurous with selecting a starter we hadn’t tried before and a different house cut, when it came to sides, it was time to stick to our old favourites: Truffle Chips with Cornish Gouda Cheese and Spinach Gratin. Then, for our sauces we ordered the Garlic Butter (tried and tested favourite) and the Bearnaise sauce (something new). And, of course, we didn’t forget to order two glasses of red wine (large, obviously) to accompany our meal.

When all had arrived at the table, after snapping a few photos (has to be done) we settled in to start eating. Now, it has to be mentioned that the Tomahawk is quite a fatty cut, which is why our waiter suggested we got it slightly more cooked than we would usually go for. This was definitely a wise suggestion, and while we would’ve preferred something rarer, it was cooked perfectly for the cut and I enjoyed it just as thoroughly as the Porterhouse last time.

Now, as I’ve mentioned once or twice, beef gives me a bit of a stomach ache. Is this some form of intolerance? Maybe but I prefer to persevere through the pain for that which I love: Beef. And is it worth it? When it comes to Pasture, it’s worth it every time.

Away from the steak though, because we mustn’t forget it’s co-stars, the Truffle Chips and the Spinach Gratin. Last time, I did find that the truffle flavour wasn’t as strong as I had hoped it would’ve been, but this time it was just about right. As well as the chips, the spinach gratin, which was chosen as some form of green for our plates, was equally as tasty.

With our food eaten, we fancied a little something to end the night. However, we couldn’t quite commit to a dessert, so my boyfriend settled with a coffee and I went for something a little more exciting, the Raspberry & Pistachio Espresso Martini.

As a fan of any espresso martini, the addition of raspberry instantly caught my eye, however I didn’t think that it would’ve been an appropriate starter drink. Thankfully, it served perfectly as a stand-in dessert, with the raspberry adding a hint of sweetness and tartness to an already delicious drink.

As always, I left Pasture feeling full of outstanding food and drink, one of the best feelings in the world. I feel like I’m perhaps not the most critical restaurant review writer, as I can’t help but be incredibly positive when I leave a place feeling as happy as I did on leaving Pasture. Overall, Pasture receives a glowing review from me, as it always does and has cemented itself firmly in my list of favourite restaurants, not just in Cardiff, but in the world.