A delicious new food tour promises to introduce locals and tourists to a true taste of Cardiff’s historic Victorian arcades. Taking place over a leisurely 4.5 hours, the City of Arcades Tasting Tour offers a mouth-watering new way to explore the city centre, taking in the historic arcades and some of the city’s most iconic landmarks along the way.
Cardiff has become known as the ‘City of Arcades’ because of the seven Victorian and Edwardian arcades that nestle amongst the city’s high streets. Home to more than a hundred mostly-independent shops, cafes, restaurants and bars, the arcades are a unique shopping and leisure destination, with a wealth of history and culture to discover in a truly beautiful setting.
Incorporating an eclectic mix of cuisine and culture, the new City of Arcades Tasting Tour – which has been created with the help of funding from FOR Cardiff – aims to highlight some of the delicious independent businesses to be found in these arcades; earlier this month, I was one of the first people to give it a go.
My place on the City of Arcades Tasting Tour was gifted for the purposes of this post.
Under Loving Welsh Food founder Sian’s guidance, our small group of intrepid foodie explorers nibbled and grazed in a few of the best indie cafes, delis and restaurants in the city – from independent tearoom to an Austrian delicatessen, and an artisan gelato parlour to a contemporary wine bar.
Over the course of the tour we sampled a wide range of cuisines, and whilst I don’t want to give too much away, my favourite tastings included Waterloo Tea‘s still-warm banana bread with espresso spread, Swoon‘s incredibly creamy tiramisu gelato, and Tukka Tuk‘s crispy samosas with curried chickpeas, yoghurt, tamarind chutney, pomegranate, and crispy vermicelli. There were even a couple of glasses of wine to wash it all down with.
The tour also offered plenty of opportunities to learn new things about Cardiff’s varied and lively history – even for someone born and raised here, like me!
Sian Roberts, owner of Loving Welsh Food said:
“The City of Arcades Tasting Tour is more than a food & drink tasting – it’s a culinary tour with stories, trivia and facts that give visitors a true taste of Cardiff. Thanks to funding from FOR Cardiff, now more people will get to discover Cardiff’s beautiful – and delicious – arcades.”
If you fancy getting to know a different side of the Welsh capital, the City of Arcades Tasting Tour costs £72.50 per person and can be booked here. For those interested in extending their stay in Cardiff, Parador 44, Park Plaza and Hotel Indigo Cardiff are offering exclusive discounts to anyone booked onto a tour (subject to availability).
More information can be found here: https://thecityofarcades.com/city-of-arcades-walking-tours.
