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La Fosse
9-11 The Hayes, Cardiff City Centre, CF10 1AH [Map]
Tel: 029 2023 7755
La Fosse is a brand new restaurant that has opened in the centre of Cardiff. It is located underneath Habitat in the Hayes.
As you enter you walk down the 2 flights of stairs and are greeted by style. At first it almost looks too clinical to be a restaurant and would be more suited to a poncy wine bar.
This is chrome heaven and there are lots of floor standing up-lights surrounding a centre glass cauldron with dry ice bellowing from. We took our seats and what first strikes you is that the design. Which is very open plan, you can see the kitchen and from the bar you can look down on the diners below. The food is in the style of the Brassiere and Champers but it lacks the coziness that the darkness provides. The difference with this is it is very modern and very chic and great place to impress a date or to treat a loved one.
The service is excellent and you almost feel that the staffs are waiting for tasks to complete, but at least you feel you are getting looked after, as they are very polite and extremely friendly. When I arrived there was no atmosphere! All you could hear was the clinking of cutlery and mumbled voices but as the restaurant filled, the hubbub of people’s conversations filled the space and the restaurant almost came alive. Enough of the atmos and the décor, we will take that as read, lively joint when it is full and a great place to impress the ladies.
What about the food? Obviously the most important part of a restaurant’s reputation, La Fosse did not disappoint. The difference between the brasserie styles was that you chose your dishes from the Menu at the bar before you took your seats. There was a wide choice of fish and meat dishes ranging in price and culinary tastes from the Lobster to the steak. I cannot comment on what I did not order but it all looked very appealing indeed. There was 2 people eating and we went for it, if you wanted to you could spend thousands in this restaurant, with the wide selection wines and champagnes however you are able to budget if you require.
For starters we were treated to pan fried scallops with leeks and bacon. These were caramelized and served with a light sauce, I had the deep fried calamares, which were to my surprise, melt in the mouth. Rather than the normal elastic bands in breadcrumbs you get served up. A nice aspect of La Fosse is that the portions are quite substantial; sometimes when you go to a restaurant the breadsticks are bigger than the main course.
As for the wine I went for the Siglo Saco a very mellow & fruity Rioja that is very easy to drink and you can still walk home without the aid of Zimmer frame. So I didn’t want to be rude I had to have 2 bottles and at £10.95 a bottle it is not an outrageous price for a very nice wine.
Onto the main course, the love interest went for the fillet of Lamb with a rosemary and garlic sauce, which was tender and cooked to perfection. I personally went for the honey glazed breast of duck which was very tasty and the sauce perfectly complemented the chipped potatoes I had to order, why go for a jacket potato when you are scoffing more meat down your throat than J Lo’s butt cheeks. You are out for a meal you might aswell enjoy yourself. Dessert was a no no, I was fuller than Linford Christies Y fronts and was happily content with what I had eaten.
My final thought a very nice meal, in very nice surroundings. A meal for 2 including 2 bottles of wine, 2 jack Daniels and coke & 2 Jim beams & coke, 2 starters and 2 main courses came to a grand total of £76.45, so for each of us it cost £38.23, not that we split the bill. Quite expensive but I feel the price is justified and you do have the option of eating for a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive depending on the depths of your pockets and who you are trying to impress. Obviously being a gent I picked up the check and hopefully I would get lucky, incidentally I did. So a big thumbs up for La Fosse from me
Posted by thawk 26th February 2003