Gorse is a Michelin starred modern Welsh restaurant by chef owner Tom Waters at 186–188 Kings Road in Pontcanna, Cardiff. The small, intimate dining room takes limited bookings and places the attention on a carefully paced meal rather than a large conventional à la carte selection.
The kitchen works closely with Welsh growers, farmers, fishermen and artisans, using ingredients at their seasonal peak. Lamb, farmhouse cheese, cockles, leeks and seaweed are among the products that regularly express its sense of place, although the exact dishes evolve as produce changes.
A short choice menu is offered at lunch, while dinner follows a set tasting format. The cooking uses modern technique with restraint, balancing richness and acidity so that the main ingredient remains clear, and the compact menu also helps the restaurant reduce food waste.
Wine pairing advice is available from the sommelier, and the drinks programme follows the same attention to provenance and balance as the food. Gorse is designed for diners who want to give an evening to a sequence of precise dishes and experience a contemporary interpretation of the Welsh landscape and coastline.
Address: 186–188 Kings Road, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9DF, Wales
Gorse Menu
Signature Dinner Menu
£135 per person
Warm infusion of seaweeds from Pembrokeshire
Giant kelp, laver and wrack
Wild mushrooms gathered in the Vale of Glamorgan
Pickled organic beetroot, juniper and lovage
Lobster from St David’s
Pickled chamomile and trout roe
Bara Brith and Mature Caws Cerwyn
Pickled walnut and truffle from Monmouthshire
Trout cured in lemon verbena and smoked over hay
Horseradish cream, hen gymro and buttermilk cake
Bass landed in Milford Haven with Pontcanna quince
Smoked cream and Cardiff Salad Garden marigolds
Organic swede from Abergavenny baked in honey
Blend of roasted and puffed grains and chestnut sauce
Roasted monkfish and new season morels
Sauce of preserved elderflower and smoked pork fat
Cod gently steamed in unripe juniper berry oil
Roasted onion and a broth of local pheasants
Breconshire fallow deer and wild bilberry
Spiced beetroot, elderberry and Brussel sprouts
Pear and Earl Grey
Montgomery Solaris and a jam of caramelised egg yolk
Toasted oat llymru and smoked cherry jam
Apple caramel and blackcurrant wood oil
Warm honey cake
Afon Mêl honey syrup and dried meadowsweet
Apple Valley apple jelly
Wild chamomile sugar
Seven Course Lunch Menu
£95 per person
Warm infusion of seaweeds from Pembrokeshire
Giant kelp, laver and wrack
Wild mushrooms gathered in the Vale of Glamorgan
Pickled organic beetroot, juniper and lovage
Lobster from St David’s
Pickled chamomile and trout roe
Bara Brith and Mature Caws Cerwyn
Pickled walnut and truffle from Monmouthshire
Bass landed in Milford Haven with Pontcanna quince
Smoked cream and Cardiff Salad Garden marigolds
Organic swede from Abergavenny baked in honey
Blend of roasted and puffed grains and chestnut sauce
Roasted monkfish and new season morels
Sauce of preserved elderflower and smoked pork fat
Breconshire fallow deer and wild bilberry
Spiced beetroot, elderberry and Brussel sprouts
Pear and Earl Grey
Montgomery Solaris and a jam of caramelised egg yolk
Toasted oat llymru and smoked cherry jam
Apple caramel and blackcurrant wood oil
Warm honey cake
Afon Mêl honey syrup and dried meadowsweet
Apple Valley apple jelly
Wild chamomile sugar
Four Course Lunch Menu
£60 per person
Warm infusion of seaweeds from Pembrokeshire
Giant kelp, laver and wrack
Wild mushrooms gathered in the Vale of Glamorgan
Pickled organic beetroot, juniper and lovage
Bara Brith and Mature Caws Cerwyn
Pickled walnut and truffle from Monmouthshire
Bass landed in Milford Haven with Pontcanna quince
Smoked cream and Cardiff Salad Garden marigolds
Roasted monkfish and new season morels
Sauce of preserved elderflower and smoked pork fat
Breconshire fallow deer and wild bilberry
Spiced beetroot, elderberry and Brussel sprouts
Toasted oat llymru and smoked cherry jam
Apple caramel and blackcurrant wood oil
Apple Valley apple jelly
Wild chamomile sugar
Seven Course Vegetarian Menu
£95 per person
Warm infusion of seaweeds from Pembrokeshire
Giant kelp, laver and wrack
Wild mushrooms gathered in the Vale of Glamorgan
Pickled organic beetroot, juniper and lovage
Apple, radish and turnip
Pickled chamomile and hazelnut
Bara Brith and Mature Caws Cerwyn
Pickled walnut and truffle from Monmouthshire
Gently poached celeriac with Pontcanna quince
Smoked cream and Cardiff Salad Garden marigolds
Organic swede from Abergavenny baked in honey
Blend of roasted and puffed grains and chestnut sauce
Hen of the woods and new season morels
Sauce of preserved elderflower
Roasted beetroot and wild bilberry
Elderberry and Brussel sprouts
Pear and Earl Grey
Montgomery Solaris and a jam of caramelised egg yolk
Toasted oat llymru and smoked cherry jam
Apple caramel and blackcurrant wood oil
Warm honey cake
Afon Mêl honey syrup and dried meadowsweet
Apple Valley apple jelly
Wild chamomile sugar