Last month saw the launch of The Stable on the ground floor of the Admiral building on Bridge Street, Cardiff (opposite Barrack Lane). I went along with a friend, but I’m a bit late in blogging about it as I’ve had so many blog posts to write lately. Nevertheless, I was quite impressed by the food and drink I tried and so this restaurant is definitely still deserving of a mention!
Best-known for its award-winning pizza, pies and cider, The Stable has 13 locations throughout the UK including Bath, Bristol, Birmingham and Plymouth. The restaurant was established in 2009 by husband-and-wife duo Richard and Nikki Cooper, who quit their careers in the music industry in London and moved into a dilapidated hotel in Bridport, Dorset. The hotel had an old stable at the rear, which the Coopers renovated with the help of Richard’s school-friend, Martin.
Being in Dorset, there was no shortage of quality cider from independent, small scale producers, as well as fresh food from nearby suppliers (it’s no surprise that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall set up River Cottage just down the road!) When Richard’s brother Andy (who also happened to be a chef) returned from Australia, the trio began focusing on freshly baked pizza with a range of unique, quintessentially ‘British’ toppings. It was here that The Stable was born!
Inside, the restaurant has a casual atmosphere with wooden flooring, chalkboards and bench-like seating creating a relaxed vibe. All of The Stable’s restaurants are still built by Martin, the very same school-friend that helped to build the original stable.
Every branch has a different menu, depending on the produce and cider available locally. The focus is predominantly on pizza but there are also a variety of pies available, in addition to a handful of salads (although, I wouldn’t recommend coming here if all you want to eat is a salad!)
The Cardiff pizza menu includes tasty numbers like the Wooly Welshman (pictured below), topped with marinated lamb, mint, Y Cwt Caws goats’ cheese, feta, thyme roasted sweet potato, roasted onions, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella (£11.50).
The sourdough base is incredibly light and crispy, while the minted lamb and sweet potato tastes delicious laden with cheese. I’d never think of putting these toppings together on a pizza, but it really works!
Meanwhile, the Longhorn Jim was topped with succulent Longhorn ground beef, Trealy Farm chorizo and beech-smoked air-dried ham, field mushrooms, roasted red onions, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella (£13.50).
We also sampled a ‘roast dinner’ pizza topped with roast potatoes, sliced turkey, sausage meat and cranberry sauce, although this isn’t on the standard menu and so I suspect it was a festive special. Unusual to say the least, this actually tasted pretty good but I don’t think I could eat more than a couple of slices in one go; the topping was a little too rich and heavy for me.
To quench our thirst, we sipped on a glass of cider chosen from a seemingly never-ending selection available at the bar. Don’t ask me what it was called, but it was lovely – crisp, refreshing and slightly sweet.
Now, all that’s left to try is the pie – the perfect excuse for another visit to The Stable!
The Stable
Ty Admiral House
Bridge Street
Cardiff
CF10 2EH
(029) 2022 1721
I was invited to The Stable as a guest and our food and drinks were provided complimentary. However, I was not obliged to write a positive review.
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I’ve seen this restaurant and always wanted to go in there. The menu looks fab x
You should go there sometime 🙂 Food is lovely and not too expensive, nice relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff 🙂
Oh this looks nice, my Mum lives in Cardiff so might suggest this next time we visit! Love a bit of pizza!
I definitely recommend a visit, it’s pretty good value for money in there too!
The Wooly Welshman pizza sounds delicious. What a brilliant restaurant. I wish there was one local to me.
Thanks Tori; it was definitely one of my personal favourites!
I used to love pizza but can no longer eat it 🙁 these look really lovely though
Aww that’s a shame, I’d hate to give up pizza but it would probably do my health wonders.
I wish they did a quorn roast dinner veggie pizza that would be the best. Great review.
They do have a fair few veggie options if I remember rightly 🙂 Thank you!
Ooh Minted Lamb & Sweet Potato sounds a fantastic combination that I wish I had thought of!
That was definitely one of my favourite pizzas at the launch night. You should check out their menu, the range of toppings is great. I’d happily work my way through them all!
The roast dinner on a pizza mention in the title totally drew me in!! Looks like a fab place to dine, I want ALL the pizza
Just reading the post again makes my stomach rumble, lol. I will have to go back there some time soon I think.
sourdough base pizzas sounds good to me and roast dinner topping, double yes! R
The pizza bases were delicious – not too thin yet not too thick, crisp yet soft and fresh at the same time. Mmmm!
The food looks amazing and it sounds like it has a great laid back atmosphere, great for relaxing, etc
It’s perfect for just chilling out, definitely has a casual atmosphere about it 🙂
oh wow! those pizza look amazingly delicious!! making me really hungry!
Hehe me too. I know the feeling 🙂
Now pizza is not a food I love or often want, but these pizzas look lovely, freshly cooked and not botch job microwaved pizza hut ones x
I know what you mean. It’s even more important to me now as I’m trying to eat healthier, so if I’m gonna be bad and have pizza then I at least want it to taste good!
Ha roast dinner on a pizza sounds fun! I had Xmas dinner on a pizza once…it was weird!
Wow that sounds bizarre.. was that on Christmas Day?
Oh wow, I like unusual food like this. Looks gorgeous
Me too. I hate boring, plain-old pizza toppings. These are everything but boring!
The minted lamb and sweet potato pizza sounds so different but delicious! Why has it not appeared on more menus?! I’d love to try it! x
It is a delicious combination, I would be very tempted to order it again but I’d love to try something I haven’t tried yet too.
I would love to try the minted lamb and sweet potato pizza. Sounds delish.
I’d love to try it again 🙂 Just to make sure it’s as good as I remember 😉
This is so inventive, I love it! I wonder if I could have a veggie roast on a pizza.
I’m sure you could if you asked them, although I believe the roast dinner pizza was a festive option for the Christmas period, I can’t see it on their menu now. There are lots of other delicious veggie options though 🙂
Roast dinner pizza, sounds interesting. Sounds like a fun quirky place to eat.
Thank you Tracey! I really enjoyed my time at the launch night here… looking forward to another visit sometime in the near future.
Really cool looking pizza, I bet is tasty. Very interesting.
Thanks, it tasted just as good as it looks here. 🙂
Their Pizza’s look amazing and was meant to come a long to the laugh but couldn’t make it but cannot wait to try this place out – looks so yummy
Laura x
Thanks Laura. Shame you couldn’t make it, would’ve been lovely to see you there!
Ok, I’m literally drooling here. This looks so yummy and would love to chow down on this pronto. haha.
Hehe, thanks. I could eat it all over again 🙂
This looks amazing. I am a massive fan of roasts. I adore pizza – combining the 2, this would be my dream!
This was exactly how I felt when they offered me a slice – foodie heaven! 😀
Can’t wait to try this veggie pizza—it’s a feast for the eyes and the stomach!
Hope you like it! 🙂