Sôs pop-up, Cardiff: You had me at helô
In which Ri Meredith and Rhodri Davies deliver a Welsh education
Huge thanks to Issy Cox for taking the time out of making deliriously good looking sandwiches at Harts to share with us her experience of a recent dinner at Sôs in Cardiff. This certainly sounds like one to watch. But before we get into the meat of it — an update from Meg:
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I come to you from a vegan bakery in the student ends of Cardiff. Not somewhere you would typically expect two bright, young chefs (you’re welcome Rhod) to be hosting their first ever pop-up, celebrating all things Welsh.
Sôs (pronounced sauce) is the brainchild of Rhodri Davies and Ri Meredith, two chefs that found each other through the modern wonders of social media and their united love of good grub. Isn’t it lovely when two chefs join forces? It would almost be criminal if they hadn’t started a pop-up. Imagine if they had just kept all their excellent ideas to themselves — a catastrophe some might say.
Wales is lush, there’s no denying it. The celebrated scenery of the Bannau Brycheiniog (that’s the Brecon Beacons to you uneducated English), to the stunning beaches of Pembrokeshire, Wales is known for its beauty — and maybe also rain. The real beauty, however, is in the produce that comes from these parts, and in turn makes some fucking great food. We all know Wales is known for its sheep (insert joke here), but it isn’t only lamb that this country has to offer, and boy did Sôs give me a good Welsh education.
We kicked things off with snacks, which set the tone for what’s to come. If a snack is good — there’s hope. If it’s a shite snack, you better buckle in for the long treacherous road ahead. Luckily, it was sardines to start, and I fucking love sardines. An ex-fishmonger myself, I understand the gore of gutting and filleting a tonne of sardines. They are tiny little buggers, and it takes a lot of patience to do it well.
These pickled delights were served to us so perfectly symmetrical, that I honestly thought John West was round the back handing out tins. Swimming in lemon and bay, these bad boys were light enough on the palate to let the accompanying ‘green crisps’ take centre stage. What makes the crisp green? Laverbread, a Welsh delicacy. Its deeply umami flavour complimented the thick hand-cut olive oil crisps stupidly well.
Next up, we had fan favourite — the pork belly. Paired with a lovely bottle of Picpoul (that our server was not shy of topping up for us, thanks for the hangover), this was a nice little surprise. I always get swayed by pork belly; I can’t refuse it if it’s on a menu. Often, with this comes the substantial risk of being underwhelmed. But not this pork belly — not today.
I was devastated I had to share this tasty piece of meat, bathed in a rich tarragon-infused broth. But the real star of the show was an ominous pot of unidentified sôs that came alongside. I couldn’t fathom how this dish needed anything else — I was wrong. This stuff tasted like the best brown sauce I’ve ever had, but turns out it was simply a jar of pickled walnuts, whizzed up. Utterly magical and something I plan to add it to most meals moving forward — thanks chefs!
It would not be an autumnal meal without a ceremonial squash on the menu. This one was roasted and stuffed with milk curds and chestnuts. The best part, though, were the dinky, pickled shimeji mushrooms sitting in an accompanying broth made up from the stock of the squash itself. It was as earthy as a stomp through the Beacons themselves, and I couldn’t get enough.
Having consumed more than my share of squash, I almost forgot we’d ordered the lamb leg. Rhodri and Rhi are doing proper nose-to-tail cooking, buying the whole beast and butchering it down themselves — something I really respect. It’s resourceful and suggests there’s nothing these two can’t do.
Desserts for me are usually a wasted affair. Most of the time I’d rather have another glass of wine, unless you can offer me something cheesy. Luckily these two got the memo and created their own take on the humble Mini Cheddar, but with Crwys cheese which is made from a blend of cow’s and ewe’s milk. Characterised by a unique tanginess, it paired beautifully with the plum chutney. If it were sold as a multipack I’d eat the lot, and I should like to know the recipe please.
I beg you to visit a Sôs pop-up near you, should you get the chance. We were served superlative grub from two of the best only three weeks into their new venture.
I once worked with Ri and I absolutely adore her; there’s no denying that. But casting any bias aside and thinking about what her and Rhod have created with Sôs, I can’t help but admire them. Rhod’s a total force of nature when it comes to his cooking. He could talk the hind legs off a whole herd of donkeys about his love of food, and quite frankly it’s infectious. These two are the real deal.
Rumour has it, Sôs is headed to Bristol in the new year. You heard it here first.
All words and photos by Issy Cox, edited by Meg Houghton-Gilmour and Meg Foulk
Information about Sôs pop-ups can be found at instagram.com/sos_with_a_hat
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Interesting that this was inside a vegan bakery.
Any chance you could skip the swearing? I stopped reading at the second “fucking”. Totally unnecessary.