Heaney's - fantastic food without being pretentious

Heaney's in Pontcanna

Last night Anne and I ate at Heaney's in Pontcanna. Tommy Heaney is the owner and head chef, and the best way to describe this restaurant is this, taken from their very own website

Opened in October 2018 in the heart of Pontcanna we wanted to bring a fun, relaxed and accessible dining experience created around the way we ourselves enjoy when eating out. From our lunch menus to our evening tasting menu we concentrate on the season in hand, sourcing only the freshest of local ingredients we can get our hands on, and more importantly grown in our ‘Chef’s Garden’. Tommy works very closely with all our suppliers to ensure we get the best quality in produce. We try our best to offer a style of food, drinks and service unique to our personalities.

Hope you can enjoy our journey with us, Big Love X

It's not Michelin starred (yet), but it is certainly a cut above, and can be described as "elevated dining". We went for the 10 course taster menu, declining a wine pairing option or cocktails but settling for a lovely Australian Shiraz to accompany our food.

I didn't take any photos - would have felt rude to, although the ambience of the place is low key enjoyment, with music playing and no dress code required, so I might have got away with it!

We can both honestly say, that the food was without exception, delicious. Portions were a little on the small size (it was a taster menu after all), but we were both about done by the end. It's not cheap either, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and the food was in our eyes certainly worth every penny. It's a place we'll undoubtedly happily visit again.

The staff were to a person, pleasant, chatty without being overly so, attentive without being on our shoulder, and knowledgeable about the food they were bringing - as one server said, Tommy is always in the kitchen  and always testing them so they know what they're taking out to diners.

Highly recommended!

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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Delightful Dorset

We’ve just spent a few days on the Dorset coast, a stones throw (literally) from the mighty Chesil beach, an 18 mile long shingle bank extending from the mainland to the isle of Portland. We stayed right at the Portland end where it stops and the Isle of Portland rears up. We shared a new build holiday home with my brother in law and his wife who’d hired it for the week.

I’d holidayed in this general area a couple of times with my family, too many years ago to remember (think late 60's) but bar a short break to not so far away Bournemouth last year, haven’t been here since.

The first day we arrived at lunchtime and quickly decided a short walk around Portland Bill was our plan. With one of our party struggling to walk far, a gentle 3 and a bit mile stroll on mostly level ground with a coffee and cake stop at the end proved ideal. The walk took in the spectacular red and white Portland lighthouse, and the coast where evidence of the massive amount of Portland stone quarrying had taken place.

Portland Bill lighthouse

An old derrick for loading boats with Portland stone

Day two started dull and soon became rainy, but we ventured inland in vain hope of visiting some gardens.  Driving through murk that might have been very low cloud, we quickly gave that idea up and retuned to the house. As the afternoon cleared we went up a short way onto the Isle of Portland and the Tout Quarry and Sculpture Park where there were many sculptures cut into stone in an old quarry. At the top we also had fabulous views over Fortuneswell where we were staying and Chesil Beach.

One of the many stone sculptures. The other side of this one depicts a T- Rex head, a nod to the  historic Jurassic coast that this part of the country is famous for

Fortuneswell and Chesil Beach with Weymouth in the distance

An added bonu s(if you like this sort of thing) was the arrival/departure of a couple of American Military V22 Ospreys from the helipad about a quarter of a mile away. Noisy or what? They’re the new Chinook.

A V22 Osprey

The afternoon cleared up beautifully to provide a stunning sunset as we ate out in a pub right on the beach front 

Dorset sunset

Day three started bright and windy. We’d already planned to drive 40 minutes or so to Lulworth Cove and walk to the famous arch at Durdle Door. Arriving we noted the steep incline as we paid for the expensive but well marshalled parking (£5 for up to 4 hours, £10 if you’re there for the day). It WAS a steep climb up the first hill, and then a steep descent down towards the twin bays of Man 'O War bay and Durdle Door, but it was worth it despite the inevitable busyness of the place even thought it was midweek and term time. Apparently in high summer it’s horrifically busy. People may remember the national news about crowds here when the end of the COVID lockdown was announced in England.

Anyway, it was worth the mile and a half trek for the views.

Durdle Door
It’s 144 sets down from the coast path!

Man 'O War bay (Durdle Door the other side of the promontory)

Man 'O War bay

Lulworth Cove

Near the top after climbing up from the car park at Lulworth

We’re back home tomorrow, but I have to say it’s been a wonderful few days down in this part of the country, and there’s so much to see and do. I’d love to come back next do some more exploring.

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

Instagram: simon_hiscocks

North Yorkshire Wedding

Last weekend my niece got married in Helmsley, North Yorkshire where my brother lives. It’s not a place we’ve visited before (my brother only relatively recently moved there), so as well as the event itself, there was an opportunity to visit somewhere new.

Helmsley lies on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, about 10 miles east of Thirsk and a 50 minutes drive further east to Scarborough. For us it was an almost five hour drive from Cardiff.

As we drove up the day before the wedding, we took the opportunity to stop and explore Fountains Abbey near Ripon. As an aside, Ripon, a place I’ve never been to before looks a lovely place to visit when we have more time based on what we saw as we drive through. Fountains Abbey consists of ancient Abby ruins and an awe inspiring water garden according to its National Trust website page. Indeed the abbey ruins are magnificent and huge. The water garden was certainly impressive too, and a place I’d love to visit and spend more time at if we’re ever up this way again.

Fountains Abbey

Part of the water garden

Fountains Abbey Mill

And so to Helmsley, a quaint small market town. Most of the town is centred around its main square, although houses are now starting to spread the population slightly further. There are a plethora of pubs/hotels, coffee shops, bakeries and butchers and a micro brewery. It’s clearly a hot spot for tourists with bikers, cyclists, walkers, car enthusiasts and more abounding.

We stayed at the excellent Feathers Hotel which as luck would have it, was also the hotel for the wedding reception. With the church literally a 2 minute walk away, it was a perfect setting.

The hotel was friendly and well furnished, and deceptively large, housing 23 rooms whilst looking no more than a two up two down pub from the front. The staff were to a person helpful and friendly, and I’d have no hesitation in staying there again.

The wedding was brilliant. It was so nice to see all our family together for the first time in a few years, the bride looked gorgeous and everyone had a great deal of fun. The sun even shone, against the forecast cloud.

All in all, we had a tremendous weekend, and will definitely be back to this delightful part of the world.

The Feathers Hotel, Helmsley

Helmsley market square