The Flora

If you’ve ever ventured into a Lidl that is reminiscent of a war zone, it’s quite likely you’ve been to Cathays.

A vibrant neighbourhood and student hotspot in Cardiff - 63% of the population are aged between 20-29 - famed for gigs at the Cardiff Students Union, pubs lining Crwys and Woodville Road, inconspicuous takeaways, and cardboard cutouts occupying ground floor bay windows.

One of those aforementioned pubs, is The Flora.

A simple Google search of ‘the flora cathays’ reveals a link to their website as the first hit: ‘The Flora: Sports Pub in Cardiff’ - which is a modest description of themselves.

They blend in well on Cathays Terrace, seemingly just another unremarkable student watering hole boasting a beer garden where I ended up in some serious states and - on more than one occasion - with my head in a urinal.

However, with what’s going on in their kitchen, the term ‘unremarkable’ is wider of the mark than reports of a Horizon system functioning smoothly in a Post Office.

It’s no secret that Steve Bennett, formerly head chef at Michelin Guide mentioned Heaneys in Pontcanna, took over the kitchen at The Flora in summer of 2023 and completely flipped the pub food game on it’s head.

Steve had two spells at Heaneys spanning 4.5 years in total, most of those years as the head chef. His first tenure ended following the passing of his mother, when Pasture offered him the chance to clear his head and recharge his batteries. After a brief period with Lanelay Hall which didn’t go according to plan, he returned to Heaneys for a year.

When back at Heaneys, Steve had a realisation he was at a stage in life where he wanted a reduction in hours and change of pace. Ben, the Landlord at The Flora, is a long-term friend of Steve’s. They often discussed Steve running the kitchen at The Flora, which Steve attributed to classic beer chat over the bar. Once the decision was made to leave Heaneys, he spoke to Ben and made it a reality.

“I love Tommy and have so much respect for him and what he has achieved, but I had to put myself first. ”

A recently refreshed menu aligned with me being in Cathays pre-You Me At Six gig. When it comes to discussing affordable quick bites in Cardiff, no one does it better than Steve and The Flora.

You’d expect to find burgers in a student pub, but nothing like these.

A buttermilk chicken burger is enough to tempt a typically vegetarian friend and dining companion, into ordering. It comes with spiced onion, katsu mayo, wakame, and sesame.

I get my own hands on the ex dairy cow which is sandwiched between a necessarily sturdy nori bun stuffed with the sloppiness of brisket, soy mushroom ketchup, and kimchi.

The burger mince is sourced from Meat Matters, dry aged for 36 days to intensify flavour. Brisket is brined for 24 hours to improve texture and retain moisture when cooked. The cooking process involves chargrilling to caramelise the outside of the meat, half covering in beef stock - which is made with bones from the Sunday gravy - covered, then cooked at a low temperature for 10 hours, turning twice during and resealing the foil to act like a pressure cooker, locking in the juices. Stock is strained, reduced by half, meat is broken up, then reduced liquid is poured back over and stirred by hand to help mix the fat through the meat, flavouring and keeping it moist.

Buns are prepared fresh every day, using beef fat rendered from the Sunday rump. Furikake (blended dried seaweed, sesame, yeast flakes) is added to the dough for flavour.

Even the kimchi is made fresh, which takes a week to ferment and requires - amongst many other techniques - hand massaging sea salt into each Napa cabbage leaf to draw out the impurities and ensure softness.

Soy mushroom ketchup is made by salting sliced button mushrooms overnight, combining with caramelised onions and cooking until dry. Soy sauce, truffle oil, vinegar, and sugar are added then it’s boiled and blended to a ketchup consistency.

This is the kind of attention to detail you’d expect from a chef with a CV containing several Michelin star restaurants, including: L’ortolan, Flitch of Bacon, and The Wild Rabbit.

“We always wanted the food here to be special, and I don’t think I could say it was if we were serving the same group menu as others do. ”

This isn’t just another pub that buys in boxes of frozen processed product, this is the real deal and the standards are exceptionally high.

Buttermilk chicken tenders are a staple on the menu: served with a Thai green curry mayo on a visit back in spring on 2024, and most recently hot honey and miso mayo.

The Asian influence in Steve’s cooking is clear, which is simply the kind of food he likes to eat.

“I am also very much into Middle Eastern food right now so that is something I’m hoping to bring to the menu soon as well, as long as it fits in with the rest of the food offering. ”

Steve says that he’s always been slightly against places that mix cultures through a menu, but seeing as most diners at The Flora only eat a single dish, as opposed to a 3 course meal/tasting menu, offering options with differing influences running through them works.
The recipes used are often directly from source with Steve’s own adaptations/tweaks, some of the Indian recipes from an old friend who worked as an executive chef with master Indian chefs in hotels. The kimchi recipe is from someone he worked alongside who spent a long time travelling around Asia.

Butter chicken curry bites and mango chutney.

Although the hours and pace are now more manageable, that’s not to say things are plain sailing at The Flora. Sundays are booked for weeks in advance and cooking in the small kitchen can be a tight squeeze. Steve was used to having 6 or 7 on a service at Heaneys, whereas he’s now a 1 man band. Young man Toby sometimes helps out on a weekend with prep and washing up.

Japanese dirty fries.

The same level of care and precision goes into all dishes on the menu, from the homemade fried egg mayo which comes with the salt and pepper fries, to the Asian braised lamb flatbread.

Lamb flatbread, ginger, and miso.

So what are the main differences between working at The Flora and Heaneys?

Well, Heaneys has a structured booking system, whilst The Flora does not. The Flora only take bookings on a Sunday, which means during the week, staff need to be prepared for anything. This means prep levels are tricky to predict when they have no idea how many will be eating on any given day.

My buddy, Chris, moved from Bristol to Cathays several months ago. He was aware of The Flora’s existence as a drinking spot, but not the excellence of their kitchen. If you’re in the same boat, I urge you to discover them for yourself.

This isn’t just a student pub. This is a pub with one of Cardiff’s finest chefs cooking from it.