It is very rare for any restaurant to gain a Michelin star within less than a year of opening. It’s even rarer in Cardiff. Tom Waters and his team have, however, done so – at Gorse. The Welsh capital now has its first starred venue. The recognition is deserved, as a recent visit confirmed.
Guests could easily miss Gorse. Unlike the yellow-flowered evergreen shrub after which the place is named, the restaurant is unassuming. The building’s exterior as well as its interior walls are painted in a pale blue. The tables and chairs are wooden and the décor minimal. The only signs of promise are the fact that it’s located in the trendy Pontcanna district of Cardiff and that the red Michelin tile to the left of the door advertises its pedigree. Do not be put off. This is intentional. Head Chef Tom is a modest man. He’s clearly very good at what he does (as a CV which includes stints working with Heston Blumenthal and Philip Howard would attest) and wants the cooking to speak for itself. To the right as diners enter is the open kitchen where the cooking team have no place to hide. There are 30 covers and each guest is treated as special by the team. The servers present each dish with a flourish and passion, and Tom himself even brought some to our table.
This mindset of modesty (or skill that appears effortless and is not something to brag about) prevails across the menu. Some of the dishes – particularly the amuse-bouches and petits-four were masterpieces of art, whereas others were almost totally unadorned. Gorse’s starting point is seasonal, local and sustainable. Wales has an abundance of wonderful produce, which Tom and the team use to full effect. They want you to taste the product and experience its provenance, regardless of how the food may appear. The element of suspense is maintained throughout. A printed menu was placed in an envelope on the table, but our server politely suggested that it would be more enjoyable were the team to deliver and describe each dish in turn.
And what enjoyment it was. With each small dish included across the tasting menu, the Gorse total reached 17. No one went hungry and everyone was accommodated. Our group of six included one vegetarian member and another who was gluten free. Wherever possible, Gorse tried to come up with an alternative that mirrored the omnivorous original. My vegetarian dining comrade appreciated, for example how fallow deer shoulder – one of this reviewer’s personal highlights – was switched out for a piece of roasted beetroot. Back to the beginning and we all revelled in an infusion of native Welsh seaweeds to begin. Another opening offering of local truffle and cheese atop a piece of ‘bara brith’ (a native speckled bread akin to a tea loaf) showed homage to tradition plus genius in its composition. Tom and his team seemed equally competent when handling vegetables, fish, meat and sweet items. There were no fails. Even a simple dish such as gently steamed white cod was elevated with class and a sense of place by adding roast onion and a flavoursome pheasant broth. For £125/head, this is a phenomenal value tasting menu too.
Apart from an initial service fail where we were signalling desperately for attention – just to order water and aperitifs – we were impressed by the whole Gorse team. The Sommelier deserves special praise for her suggestions and the order in which she proposed we ought to drink the wines we had chosen. The Gorse list is short but has some gems. Mark-ups are consistent with industry norms. The best sign of a good night is not simply the value for money or just the sheer quality of the experience but how much time we spent at Gorse. Despite arriving early at just after 7, we were the last table to leave.