Sommerin The City
With a Michelin star and ranked highest of any restaurant in Wales in the Good Food Guide Restaurant James Sommerin has won plaudits aplenty thanks to its wonderful, original fusion of modern British and French cuisine and imaginative mix of textures and flavours. But the food’s not the only thing that’s great.
Location, location, location. You’d be hard pushed to find a better situated restaurant within a stone’s throw of the capital. Located on Penarth’s esplanade, adjacent to the recently restored pier, it has a stunning, uninterrupted vista over the Bristol Channel and offers stunning accommodation too for customers. The ‘restaurant with rooms’ concept allows guests to enjoy their visit to Cardiff, knowing they can kick back, relax and savour arguably the best dining experience to be had in Wales assured that their bed is near to hand. This is one case where the location cried out for it. And with a jam-packed calendar of events in the Cardiff area over the summer it’s the perfect base for an extended stay or return visit.
As James puts it “You can come and pay from £120 per person for the room and a five-course meal. It gives the diner a different experience because they can relax, enjoy the wine and then just go and crash out upstairs.”
And when they wake up in the morning, there’s the view which can be fully enjoyed in five of the available nine rooms. But those staying in rooms without the view won’t feel too hard done by either since all of them are light and airy, have been designed to a very high spec and have a modern, chic and homely feel. All told, the perfect way to round off a night of fine dining.
Restaurant James Sommerin, The Esplanade, Penarth CF64. T. 029 2070 6559 www.jamessommerinrestaurant.co.uk
