Bar 44, Cowbridge

Today, my mother and step-dad came to visit with the intention of heading to the Vale of Glamorgan to see where her Auntie Bunny used to live. Then it was off to lunch in Cowbridge. I already had Bar 44 in mind to eat, but when I saw their tweet this morning with their specials featuring razor clams it was a must. 

Pissed Patagonian

We did walk straight past the entrance to Bar 44 and had to turn back to find it, it’s not the most obvious of doorways if you don’t know it’s there. But once in, we waited at most 5 minutes at the bar and then were seated at the table. Mother and I had decided on our drinks by then, a Pissed Patagonian for her and the special Celtic Warrior cocktail for me. 

Celtic Warrior

The latter being a charity cocktail supporting @markllew's CD http://welshguardscd.com It was delicious, a sourer cocktail than the Pissed Patagonian, but slipped down very well. The Pissed Patagonian was very good too, unusual using Merlot as an ingredient, but delicious.

Then it was onto choosing our food. The biggest problem was whittling it down to 6 items, there were so many tempting options. We’d decided to choose 2 tapas each and then share everything. I knew my choice was going to include the razor clams with chorizo from the specials menu. Then it got harder.

Step dad started the decision making process with the crispy squid with alioli and the Whitebait dusted in Spanish frying flour, smoked paprika mayonnaise. So we had 3 fishy dishes decided upon, now to mix it up. Mother went for the tempura of white asparagus, aubergine, red pepper and bravas dip. So 2 more to choose, meat this time. These were the Grilled fillet of iberico pork (med rare) smoked paprika, sea salt and another from the specials menu; Cecina, mahon cheese, micro basil, red amaranth.

Artisan Breads

We also ordered the Artisan breads with hojiblanca virgin oilive oil and PX sherry balsamic. Favourite with step dad was the nutty bread (walnut included?), the white bread was fab to dip and I kindly let mother and step dad have the olive bread, not being an olive fan.

Razor Clams

Then the plates started arriving, razor clams first, which were sweet, juicy and tasty. They were smaller than I expected, but I’d never seen them in real life before, just on TV. But that didn’t matter, it was a great plate of food.

Crispy squid

Then more food arrived from the squid, which was a touch chewy, to the whitebait, which I braved (not a fish fan either, it’s the bones) but they were lovely and not too salty as my step dad claimed. 

Whitebait

The tempura of vegetables were the only disappointing dish, we couldn’t find the aubergine and the batter was rather too greasy for us. The bravas dip went down well though!

Tempura of vegetables

Then it was onto the stars of the meal. The grilled fillet of iberico pork was certainly medium rare, but that wasn’t a problem, I imagine it could be for some, don’t let it put you off, try it. It looked really good on the plate and just melted in the mouth. 

Iberico pork

The cecina was a cold dish, so was left until the end. It looked very pretty with the micro herbs and reminded us of bresaola in appearance. But looks was where the similarities ended, the meat was delicious, generously sliced, full of flavour and a great texture. 

Cecina and Mahon cheese

As you can see, every plate was wiped clean.

All gone

I used to go out for a meal when I was little and dread the savoury courses, except the bread and butter and just sit through torture until it was time for the puddings. I’m much better now with the other courses, but I rarely say no to dessert. Today was no exception. Just what to choose, the ice cream, the churros? I went for the churros, guessing I could share them and it was served with chocolate. Why is it everyone else says no to dessert but always end up eating some of mine? Anyway the churros arrived, not sure I could taste the cinnamon, but that didn’t matter the chocolate dip was divine, the churros were crispy, light, sugar coated and very good. It was also confirmed that the chocolate did have sherry in it, as I guessed, and it seems a very generous quantity.

Churros

I’d definitely recommend Bar 44, the service was great; attentive, friendly and informative, the fact that you can buy things from their deli were a bonus,  even if they were from the chef’s secret stash and the quality, preparation, flavour and presentation of the food was very good. Mother’s already planning to go back with a friend, no higher praise needed.

Bar 44, 44 High Street  Cowbridge, CF71 7AG