Personally I’ve always preferred street food as opposed to restaurant food and the majority of my Instagram posts are indeed just that @life_of_foods_

It’s a unique experience that’s relatively cheap and they always cook it fresh in front of you. It’s hard to get street food wrong as they always have to stand out from the crowd and specialise themselves in unique and quirky ways. I fell in love with the informality and social atmosphere around it which you don’t get in your typical restaurants. Sticky Fingers is a Street Food market in the Old Brewery Quarter in central town, Cardiff. It consists of five vibrant street food vendors and is open every Thursday to Sunday from 12pm till late. They’ve also got a happy hour with two for one cocktails and half price wine bottles from 4pm to 7pm. So without further ado and in no particular order:

The Original Goodfillas Company – If a pizza and a calzone had a baby

The Two Anchors – Fresh Seafood apocalypse

Hoof – Unique dirty burgers and hot dogs

Mr Croquewich – Specialises in innovative grilled cheese sandwiches

Makaish – Vibrant award winning Malaysian street food

Sadly, Cardiff isn’t really a hot spot for many regular street food vendors, which is why I was so excited to hear about Sticky Fingers new opening in October 2018. Sure, we’ve got the Depot and the yearly food festival events, but it’s nothing compared to London’s weekly street food complexes such as Box Park, Dinerama, Giant Robot, Pergola, Camden Market and many more.

With five vendors all selling different styles of food, I was riddled with choice. So here is just a little guide on what you could try and what it looked like. If you’re going with friends or a partner, it’s best to share so you get to try more! After all, it is a great street food tactic…

The following pictures are my own with all x21 dishes eaten by me and my personal review on them:

TWO ANCHORS

If you love Seafood, you’re going to love this place. They’ve got an extensive fresh fishy range and change their menu often which keeps it interesting. Their food consists of fresh king prawns, scallops and mussels to seabream burgers, curries, fish cakes and po’ boyo’s.

If you don’t like fish, they also do fantastic fries called Baller Fries. I normally steer clear of street food chips unless they’ve got unique toppings, but I’ve had these three times now because they are just that delicious.

They also give generous portions as my box has always been filled to the brim (£4). Ingredients include rosemary, sea salt, garlic butter and Parmesan and I always ask for extra garlic butter sauce… Rating 8/10

Price – The fish burgers (mackerel, seabream etc) are normally £6 – £7 and the various fries range from £3 – £4. The shellfish and King Prawns on the other hand are obviously more expensive, but also comes with fries and costs between £8 – £12 depending on what you get. They occasionally do smaller nibbles such as £2 per king prawn and beautiful scallops drenched in garlic butter sitting in its shell (£6).

Below we’ve got the Prawn Po’Boyo, Baller Fries and Fishcake;

The Prawn Po’Boyo (£7) was made up of spicy popcorn prawns cushioned in a white bun with tomato, lettuce and chipotle mayo. Overall? Absolutely scrumptious with a good hands-on portion size! The prawns were super crispy resembling popcorn chicken and the chipotle mayo was a wise addition. With a dash of squeezed lemon, this was definitely my favourite dish on their entire menu and a huge favourite with the crowds. Since trying this, they’ve brought the Po’Boyo out for a second time, but with a new soft pretzel bun. Rating 8.5/10

The Fishcake (£7/8) was also a meaty portion, but came out differently to how I envisioned it. When someone says “fishcake”, I always think bread crumbs or batter, but this one was an old-school fish patty. It had a nice blend of flavours, but personally I think the texture was too mushy. This one did however come with fries and a lovely salsa mix of vegetables on top.
Rating 6/10

MR CROQUEWICH

Who doesn’t love a good grilled cheese sandwich? These guys, like Two Anchors, change their menu regularly which I love because I can’t get enough of them. The first time I ever tried them was in the Sophia Gardens Street food festival in Cardiff and they were disgustingly good. Since then I’ve tried the following in Sticky Fingers: The Dirty South Slamwich, The Croque Madame, Dirty Spuds, The Italian and their classic, The Glamorgan. They do have a goat cheese one but sadly I don’t like the taste! Most of their menu items can be made as vegan too which is a plus.

The Croque Madame (£7) consisted of reblochon (french cheese), welsh dark ale rarebit sauce, cured ham, cheddar, mozzarella, pickled onions and a runny egg on top. This sexy sandwich was very appealing to the eye as well as the taste buds. The dark ale rarebit topping was a treat because of how creamy and flavoursome it was. Bravo Mr Croquewich for style! Rating 8.5/10

The Glamorgan (£6) is one of their main dishes and it’s all about cheese, cheese and cheese. Ingredients include leeks, garlic, onion, bechamel sauce, dijon mustard Caerphilly cheese and mozzarella.

I’m all about the cream sauces, so I was very happy to hear there was bechamel inside. This was actually my favourite sandwich because of the sheer amount of cheese that oozed out of it after ripping it apart; nothing says “grilled cheese” more than a classic, messy, gooey cheese sandwich; simple but delicious. Rating 8.5/10

The Dirty South Slamwich (£7) was unfortunately my least favourite. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted really good, hence the high rating and a lot of my friends said it was their favourite, but personally I prefer my grilled sandwiches to be more cheesy rather than meaty. This beast was a double decker sandwich filled with their own hot smoked Cajun chicken. It also had spicy bacon sauce topped off with cheddar and mozzarella. If you like sticky cheese and meat, then this bad boy is definitely worth a try and you won’t be disappointed. Considering it’s only £7 for a double decker sandwich, it’s a bargain! Rating 8/10

There is a special place in my heart for the Italian Job (£6), as it was my first encounter with Mr Croquewich a few years back in Sophia Gardens.

It has all of my favourite toppings: sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, pesto and prosciutto. The red, white and green toppings representing the Italian flag, is so versatile and can be used with anything from pasta to pizza, sandwiches and potato salads; a pleasant summer dish.Rating 8/10

Dirty Spuds with sweet chilli sauce and crispy onions (£6). These cheesy potatoes were seriously good, but perhaps a bit over-doused in sweet chilli sauce which made it a tad sickly. Rating 6/10 They do however have an ever changing menu of Dirty Spuds such as sun blushed tomatoes, capers, olives and a tomato dressing and Tartiflette which has pancetta, reblochon, rarebit dressing, cheddar and mozzarella.

Overall, I really do love Mr Croquewich’s never ending innovative menu. Other interesting items include The Chutney Champ (cheddar, mozzarella, caramelised red onion chutney), Smokey Croquey (home baked beans in smokey BBQ sauce, cheddar and mozzarella), The Hell Raiser (roasted squash, red onion, coriander, sweet chilli jam, cheddar, mozzarella, feta) and Duck A L’Orange (12 hour confit duck, Toulouse sausage, cheesy potatoes, orange and red wine sauce, crispy onions.)

Unfortunately whilst I was about to finish writing this blog, I was informed that Mr Croquewich had left Sticky Fingers as of last week. Despite this, I thought it would be nice to include them in my review, since they’ll still be featuring at local markets and Cardiff streetfood events.  So don’t worry cheesy fans, you’ll still be able to try the above menu items around Cardiff.

HOOF aka Horn to Hind

Although it’s not the best burger I’ve ever had, it’s definitely the best beef I’ve had in a burger.  Their burger meat is insanely soft, feathery and equivalent to moist pulled beef. As a result of their great quality butcher meat, I’ve tried every item on their menu, except the chips. Their main menu usually stays relatively un-changed, however they’ll occasionally bring out limited edition dishes, and boy are they good! Featuring below, we have The Hoof, The Dirty Hoof, The Dirty Dog, Flat Iron Steak, Peppered Fried Chicken Wings and the Giant Pork Loin Sticky Rib.

The Hoof (£7) had welsh beef featherblade, teifi cheese, pickles, cultured cream and sweet chilli herb sauce in a Gooch’s organic potato bun. The Dirty Hoof (£9) on the other hand, had the same ingredients as the Hoof but with additional slow cooked beef ragu and french fries inside the bun.

The burgers aren’t that big but trust me when I say it’s all about the flavour. I highly recommend trying their burgers, the featherblade beef is to die for; it has several connecting strips running through the meat (shoulder blade), which when slow cooked is said to break down and release an incredible mix of flavours. Rating 8.5/10

The Dirty Dog (£8) was also delicious with its dirty beef ragu, crispy onions, potato chip sticks, mustard, ketchup, sauer kraut, pickles hot dog sausage and Gooch’s baker bun. I love potato chip sticks (crisps), but I don’t know if I liked it with the hot dog and probably could have done without. I like my hot dogs to be simpler and soft rather than crunchy. The beef ragu however, did pair well with the sausage, giving it a very wholesome meaty taste. On another note, it was an absolute mess to eat, but tasty none the less. I love eating with my hands, so no harm done there. Rating 7/10

The peppered Fried Chicken Wings (£5) with wild garlic sauce and a dash of red chilli was immensely satisfying. Being a visually appetising dish, it’s safe to say it was very popular on Instagram. It had a lovely cracked black pepper flavour with crispy skin, but was succulent and moist on the inside. There are no words to describe the sauce except that I want a tub of it… not to mention the price is fantastic for three wings. Rating 9/10

The Flat Iron Steak (£12.50) was pricy, but alluring and distinctive. Cardiff Butcher’s flat iron steak marinated in coffee and black pepper, doused in salsa verde (green sauce) sitting on a bed of fries.

I was excited to try this in Cardiff after having a few of them at London Street Food events. Brownie points for being inventive in terms of marination in black coffee, this luscious rare steak was quite a treat. The meat was soft, and the Salsa Verde complimented it oh so well. Rating 8/10

The Giant Pork Loin Sticky Rib (£5) was my favourite item on the menu, along with The Hoof Burger and fried chicken wings. It was stunningly crisp and sticky on the outside and had that perfect “crunch” when biting into it. On the inside, it was dripping with moist fatty juices bursting with flavour. Personally I love fatty meats (especially steak) because I think it amplifies taste, but just as a pre-warning, if you only like lean meats, I wouldn’t suggest buying this.

Interesting ingredients include brown sugar, black pepper glaze, burnt sesame, fried kale, spring onions and cream dip. There were actually two variations of these ribs over the last few months. The one I had was a singular giant rib, however I noticed they brought out a smaller version, but you get two and it came with cream and jalapenos.
Giant Rib Rating 9/10

THE ORIGINAL GOODFILLAS COMPANY

What is this intriguing food creature you might ask? These guys do what I can only describe as a cross breed between a pizza and a calzone. A satisfying large pocket full of hot cheese that comes with a vast choice of fillings. It looks like a calzone, but doesn’t have the same bready base or consistency of one and tastes like a pizza. Goodfillas call it “fried artisan pizza dough.” They have an extensive menu that doesn’t change because they’ve pretty much covered all variations of pizzas toppings on the chalk board. They do however do a sweet one filled with Nutella or Nutella & Peanut Butter which I hear is delightful. 

The first time I tried this ‘pizza-calzone’ was years ago in the Depot Cardiff, when the company was new to the scene. I remember the entertaining and confusing conversation I had with the vendor who tried to explain to me it was neither calzone nor pizza. I loved it back then and I still love it now.

I have only tried The Carlos (£7.50) and The Don (£6.50), just because once you’ve had it, you’ve had it and then it’s all the same. The ingredients for The Carlos were: Spanish chorizo, garlic, onion, chillies, oregano, mozzarella, mature cheddar and tomato paste. The Don had ham, mozzarella, mature cheddar and tomato paste.  It’s a great comfort food loved by all, but perhaps generically limited in what you can actually do with it. Rating 8/10

MAKASIH

If you fancy something alternative to grilled sandwiches, artisan pizza, dirty burgers or seafood, you should definitely try Makasih. Vibrant Malaysian street food with their award winning crispy chicken paratha roti. Being a big fan of Thai, Indian and Swedish Roti dishes, I was curious to try a Malaysian version. Brother Thai is another great award winning streetfood vendor who do a sticky beef and siracha mayo roti which is sublime.

For those of you who don’t know what Roti is, it’s basically a round flatbread made with wheat flour and can be cooked in different ways. I’ve tried ones that have been flat and pampered in oil whilst others are crispy and flaky. You can have them with both sweet and savoury toppings.

Their menu is relatively set with three main items, but they’ll occasionally bring out a new rice bowl, curry or paneer that stay on the board for a while. Also, good news for all you veggies out there, as they do fried cauliflower vegan roti’s and curries too.

The Tandoori Chicken Roti (£6) is their award winning item and what they’re famously known for. It was also the first dish I ever tried in Sticky Fingers because it wildly intrigued me. It’s colourful, light and the chicken is extremely pleasing and non-greasy. Not to mention it’s complimented very well by its surrounding vegetables such as mango chutney, pickled red cabbage, coriander, sesame seeds, cucumber, chilli and a raita dressing. Their paratha (Indian) roti on the other hand, was deliciously tender and flaky. The only slight downfall was that it was a bit small, so I wouldn’t call it a ‘filling’ dish per-say, but what it lacks in size makes up for it in taste. I’m going to give it a well-deserved score:Rating 9/10

The Beef Rendang Curry (£7) was okay, but personally didn’t hit the spot for me. The rendang sauce itself had a nice flavour, but I think the meat was too tough and the dish was slightly lacking. Rating 6/10

This being said, make sure to hold your horses folks because Makasih has recently brought out a new updated version of this dish. The beef chunks (in the picture below) has been replaced with shredded moist beef which I will have to try next!

The Crispy Tandoori Chicken Rice Bowl (£6) came with the same chicken and veg as the above, but with rice instead of roti. They also let you choose which sauce you want to fragrance your rice with; tandoori or rendang. I chose the tandoori curry sauce because I had already tried their Beef Rendang dish previously. I love the chicken roti but definitely preferred the rice bowl’s portion sizes in comparison. A generous serving of six chunky mouth-watering pieces of chicken, submerged in a glorious bundle of vivid vegetable toppings and sauces. You can also add paratha for 50p or paneer bites for £2.50 to your Malaysian feast! Rating 8.5/10

Paneer (£2.50) is a non-melting cheese curd that originates from India. It’s said to be a highly versatile and can be made in or with wraps, curries, grilled skewers and naans. This delight comes crispy coated with a drizzle of chilli and mango dressing. I liked the crispiness and firm consistency of the paneer, which I found similar to the praised halloumi, however without the mango dressing I found it somewhat bland. This is not a case of the cooking on Makasih behalf, but rather my personal taste preference towards the paneer itself. Paneer is also said to be an effective absorbent cheese, meaning it goes well with aromatic Indian curries; I’ll have to give this a try next! Rating 7/10

DIRT POP UP

DIRT is a vegetarian vendor originating from Pontcanna, that uses all locally grown ingredients. They specialise in vegetarian cuisines with a main aim to show people that vegetarian food isn’t ‘bland’ and that it works stunningly well with fine-dining. They did a weekend appearance in Sticky Fingers recently, and I managed to try some of their exciting and colourful food. On their menu they had the following;

Grilled Cauliflower: crispy kale, cheddar sauce, rose harissa and hazelnut (£5)

Triple Cooked Potatoes: wild garlic mayo (£4)

Wood Fried Leeks: grilled ciabatta, feta, pickled beetroot, pumpkin seed (£6)

And last but not least…

The Ale and Cheddar Croquettes (£4) came with chive cream and garlic mayo. These charming tots had marvellous crunchy skin and was crammed with hot oozing cheddar.

The Triple cooked potatoes were equally delicious; however I preferred the gooey taste of the croquettes because I am a cheese addict. On the other hand, I loved the cream and mayo so much that I took the leftovers home with me in a pot! The Wood fried leeks were nice however I didn’t manage to try enough to be able to comment on it.
Cheddar CroquettesRating 8/10