A review of Alium in Barry, Wales - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Food Tom Parker Bowles Alium review By Tom Parker Bowles - August 14, 2022 Tom gets a tipoff about a Welsh gem and is wowed by the faultless flavours and prices. Review Alium It’s been a while since I’ve been back to Barry, that small, rather handsome Welsh seaside resort a few miles outside Cardiff. More than two decades, in fact, when I was doing unit publicity for a film called Rancid Aluminium (the less said about that, the better), in the then deserted Pleasure Park. These days, the flume is splashing, the waltzers twirling and there’s rollercoasting once more. Barry, too, is thriving, especially for those with lunch on their mind. There’s Goodsheds serving up various street foods (including Tukka Tuk from that Cardiff legend Anan George), beardily crafted beers and, best of all, Alium, the new place from the hugely talented Antonio Simone, best known for his gutsy cooking at the Humble Onion in Dinas Powys. Sitting on the site of the late and much-lamented Hangfire Southern Kitchen, Alium has big boots to fill. The starter of wild prawns, which arrive ‘swimming in spiced butter’ But from our very first bite – cool, briny Porlock oysters, wearing a rich, lustily spiced Bloody Mary dressing – we know we’re in good hands. Not that I doubted that for a second, ever since Jonathan Swain (the man behind the essential Plate Licked Clean blog) told me I had to get down here. Quick. And when Jonathan calls, I drop everything, stopping only to pick up fellow eater Mark Taylor along the way. Lamb sweetbreads, all sweet, spongy, easy-loving lusciousness, sit on sourdough toast, drenched in a hazelnut burnt butter. I’d travel three hours for this dish alone. There’s more, though, much, much more. A Mars bar-sized block of beef cheek croquette, where crisp panko struggles manfully to contain a mass of soft, savoury slow-braised cow. Punchy sriracha mayonnaise provides heat, while slices of pickled turnip add bite and crunch. Three vast wild prawns, swimming in yet more spiced butter, are deliriously undressed, their heads sucked dry, their succulent, sea-scented bodies devoured in two great bites. This is one of those lunches that simply cannot put a foot wrong. A rectangle of pork belly, the fat rendered deep into the piggy flesh, the crackling as brittle as stained glass; bavette steak, cooked rare, with grunt and chew. And chips, dear lord, those chips – golden, craggy and glorious. A salted caramel panna cotta wobbles, while lemon tart has both bite and beauty. Oh, and did I mention the price? Two courses for £22. For cooking of this level, that’s not so much value as a downright heist. £22 for two courses. Alium, The Pumphouse, Hood Road, Barry; aliumrestaurant.co.uk RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Kids can eat for free at these restaurants during October half-term How to make the viral negroni sbagliato with prosecco at home 7 Halloween recipes with serious hex factor Popular in Food Gabriela Peacock 14-day plan Anytime baked eggs May 23, 2021 Joe Wicks’ maple-glazed chicken thighs with Asian slaw June 6, 2021 Mary Berry is returning to TV screens for a brand new June 15, 2021 Eleanor Maidment My summer taste notes July 4, 2021 Uyen Luu’ s sticky mustard marmalade ribs July 25, 2021 Annie Bell’ s white peach bellinis recipe August 8, 2021 M& S has launched a new crunchy Caramilk-inspired golden chocolate spread August 24, 2021 Deliciously preserved pickle and jam recipes September 19, 2021 Gordon Ramsay’ s bang bang cauliflower October 3, 2021 Wow right now Clodagh McKenna’ s speedy family dinners October 24, 2021 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved