The Potted Pig

Incredible food, good value and great surroundings. Make sure you get reservations.

Arched, exposed brick ceilings and walls, a former bank vault turned restaurant. Contemporary touches make the space warm and inviting. Patrons are boisterous and jovial, all enjoying honest food and drink. Chicago’s Avec in Cardiff Wales?
One of the few restaurants in the city to make the Michelin guide and for good reason. Fresh ingredients, well prepared, and paying homage to Wales. OK, I’ll come clean, I chose it because they had Welsh Rarebit on the menu.
To start, the namesake potted pig, not as over the top as the US counterpart. This one with very little clarified butter but lots of pork, liquefied pork fat, with cinnamon, anise, and thyme overtones. Perfect on toast with the accompanying pickled veg. Braised beef cheek with caramelized onion and thinly sliced roasted beef cheek on toast, outstanding. Deep beefy flavor. Nuff said.
For mains, the roasted half rabbit, and rabbit sausage with fennel in a cider, mustard sauce is very good. Clean flavor of the rabbit (it doesn’t taste like chicken), its moist but slightly chewy meat with a bite of the rabbit offal sausage is brightened by the acidic sauce. Fennel heightens the slight gamey edge.
The star, the whole, mustard and honey glazed ham hock with coleslaw, roasted cauliflower and new potatoes. Huge (easily feeds two). Fall off the bone tender, the fat, melting, the outer surface, sweet and tangy, the ham with the perfect salinity. The aroma, screams fall. This isn’t your typical large production, ham hock in the States. Sorry to say but another food international travel has laid waste to.
Prices are very reasonable, with all starters £7, mains average £20.
Very nice selection of UK gin, local craft beer, and old world wines. Very reasonable prices.
Extremely friendly service but understand this is a pour it yourself kind of place. From water to wine, don’t be a snob.
Advanced booking a month in advance for dinner recommended.
A worthy, contemporary dining experience less than 100 yards from the 1,000 year old Cardiff Castle.

Really wonderful food and service. The ham hock salad was amazing, as was the roasted tomato bruschetta.

Decent food but the service was incredibly SLOW. 40 minutes between starter and main on a fixed price lunch menu. No apologies or recognition of the length of time (and the restaurant was not even half full).

Environment is great, the food is wonderful, and service was attentive.
The place is like underground, so you are quite removed from the noise outside.

The most amazing, mouthwatering food. Book early for a 6 – 8 time to ensure you get the dish you want. My boyfriend and I both wanted the rabbit but because our reservation was at 9, it all ran out :(Also be aware that you have to wait a long time for the food.

I tried the Potted Pig for lunch having read the great Unilocal reviews and was impressed at the great value set menu (two courses for £12) which was so full of choices I could barely decide.
I was recommended the cockles starter came with laverbread and toast. I should have realised that if both bread and toast are mentioned the thing called bread probably isn’t wheat based. I actually had no idea what it was until writing this review — seawood and a Welsh speciality — how cool! I liked the unusual flavours, which were a great balance, very much.
I had the beef sandwich for my main and only when it arrived did it occur to me I’m not that keen on that type of cut of meat (I prefer steak or minced) nor am I wild about bread. Despite that, I really enjoyed this tasty and generous sandwich, and the chips were good too.
What’s great about the Potted Pig is I can imagine having enjoyed any number of variations from the menu — the broccoli starter and pork belly main for example. Too bad I didn’t have room for multiple lunches.
Asides from the food service was very patchy — very nice initially but drink took ages to arrive, water was warm, and then I couldn’t get the bill which is always really annoying when you have the rest of your day to be getting on with. I also would not at all recommend the Potted Pig for any kind of working lunch as there is no mobile reception or wireless so couldn’t access internet at all. To be fair it’s clearly not set up as that kind of place, but considering it wasn’t that busy in the early afternoon maybe they should think about making it a bit more business-​friendly. Otherwise though it’s really a great place to eat. It’s not the most beautiful restaurant, being in a basement, but it’s rough-​around-​the-​ages feel definitely has appeal and really doesn’t matter when the food quality is this good.

Had dinner at The Potted Pig and it was absolutely amazing. You decent down the stairs into this modern cellar type room (a former bank vault) with a simplistic and chic décor and you are immediately greeted by the very polite and nice staff.
What really impressed me was the quality of organic and seasonal ingredients. They managed to pack an incredible amount of flavor to each dish, everything was perfectly seasoned and looked beautiful. The menu had great choices and I will definitely be going again to try other things.
The service was very nice, professional and polite. On top of all this the prizes are very affordable so you really get a lot for your buck. The Potted Pig was easily one of my favorite restaurant experiences in Cardiff!

We had the lunch special at The Potted Pig and it was amazing really great service and knowledgable staff, food was 5 star and being lunch time they run a really reasonably priced lunch menu. The atmosphere is really special since it is based in the old bank vaults under the city. Highly recommended a place to try in Cardiff for sure.

Quick glance:
+ seasonal menu
+ hidden gem
+ bargain set menu for lunch
The Potted Pig, although located on the High Street of Cardiff, is an easy-​to-​miss restaurant due to its underground location. It occupies a former bank vault and sits underneath Zizzi restaurant, with a fairly unassuming entrance that leads you to the basement. If you weren’t looking for it, you could easily pass by it.
The restaurant offers seasonal menu and the food are beautifully seasoned and plated elegantly in a modern-​British/​gastro-​pub style. The restaurant offers a set lunch menu where you get two courses for £10, absolute value for money. The establishment also has local ales and ciders (in bottles), as well as a selection of wine to accompany the tasty food it offers.
I highly recommend this little gem for those looking for a casual and tasty lunch with friends when you’re next in Cardiff!

Took my mum for lunch on good Friday. 2 Courses for £10 was great value for money. The service was very good, waiter really pleasant and efficient and the food was simple but very tasty. Would be a nice evening venue for a romantic meal. Would recommend!

Heard so much hype we were prepared for a let down. No. This was the best meal we have had in Cardiff. Ever. Great friendly relaxed service, mind blowing food off a wide and varied menu. If you like gin, then you’ll love this place. Toilets were a tad small, although you can’t have everything. We have tried to rebook although been told there is an 8 week wait!

Ate here on a Saturday lunchtime, with a large group of family. Must saw the service was excellent and the staff were very friendlly and accommodating. Don’t think they could have done any better to make us feel more welcome and comfortable. Food was very good, and very reasonably priced. Would definitely eat here again if I was visiting Cardiff. A hidden gem in the heart of Cardiff.

I first went to the Potted Pig a few months ago on a Friday night and was really impressed. Located in the old Lloyds bank vaults it’s very atmospheric. The walls are stripped bricks and there is a lovely wine cellar. Also, being able to choose from a vast number of gins has it’s benefits in enabling you to view everything with a warm, hazy glow!
The food is fab, apparently the belly pork is a wonder of the world. I had some chicken which was beautifully roasted and the chargrilled squid was excellent. Service is great and I thought the bill was reasonable considering the quality of the food. We need more places like this in Cardiff!
Just to note, I went in recently for Sunday lunch and had to say I was a little disappointed. Only beef or belly pork and a veggie option to choose from and the beef was pretty chewy. However, I’m willing to put this down to a poor cut of meat which can’t always be helped. The yorkshire, potatoes and vegs were cooked really well so it’s not a major complaint however I think it’s more of an evening meal venue than a Sunday lunch location.

Superb food, only went for lunch, 2 courses for £10. Really good value. Also 18 gins to chose from

In an old bank vault under the high street a modern dinning place is miles apart from the chain venues near by.
Greeted by friendly helpful staff who have a good knowledge of gin
Nice cocktails and wine from budget to bankrupt.
Food pretty good and tasty, all cooked Greg and at a relaxed but not too long pace.
Not cheap, but not too expensive, definitely give this place a try!