The Grazing Shed (Burgers) – Cardiff, Wales

THIS RESTAURANT HAS SINCE CLOSED DOWN

While this pop-up branch in Cardiff has closed down since our visit, we wanted to share this review on account of the effort the brand has expended in sourcing “only the finest quality locally sourced ingredients”.

Despite this being the only venue which offered a fully Halal menu, The Grazing Shed does cater for Halal chicken (prepped and cooked separately) at its four other locations across the Welsh capital. The menu across all branches are the same. The one we visited on Clear Water Way opened in March 2018 near Cardiff City Stadium.

More uniquely, The Grazing Shed isn’t just built on burgers alone but “Super Tidy Burgers”, which are said to be made “in a fraction of the time” to similar such burgers, thanks to “pioneering production methods” that promise a “rapid dining experience”.

As such, while there’s only a few starters to choose from at this 50-cover venue, there’s nothing more, not even a dessert menu, to speak of.

Cherry Bakewell, Passionfruit & Jasmine, Root Beer – £2.95 each

These refill fizzy drinks are all exclusive to The Grazing Shed branch. Although less fizzy than expected, with most of the flavours being quite novel, Cherry Blackwell (also available in diet version) was for us the best one.

And while the rest, such as Strawberry & Elderflower and Orange Passionfruit & Jasmine, were all decent enough, there are far more satisfying drinks on the market.

Dirty Fries – Melted American cheese topped with smoked Turkey bacon bits, jalapeño infused sour cream and cajun mayo £5.95

As perfect as the sauces generously coating these rustic fries were, with plenty of gooey cheese covering a layer of sour cream and cajun mayo, these will certainly prove a heavy starter.

And though this’ll probably fulfil your daily calorie intake, we did enjoy the smoky aftertaste delivered by the Halal crispy bacon bits crumbled over the top. Quite delicious!

Cheesy Fries – Melted American cheese, £3.95

We’re guessing this is the lighter alternative to the above; and certainly the right choice if you don’t enjoy smoky Halal Turkey bacon.

Whatever you do choose though, you won’t be disappointed with either one.

The Grazing Shed offers two types of burgers. The first are those unique to their respective category: Beef, Chicken, Veggie, and Vegan; and the second are those consistent across each category where, aside from the patty, all condiments utilised are the same. Of course, we tried at least one from each section.

Hula Hula Beef – Mozzarella, caramelised pineapple, spicy mango sauce, smoked bacon, lettuce, £9.95

The Hula Hula Beef was one of those burgers unique to its category, with the thick, hot slice of pineapple and the mozzarella drooping over the side piquing our interest.

Add to this the freshness of the other condiments, including a sweet and mildly spicy inhouse mango sauce, which married really well with the smokiness imparted by the crisped-up bacon, and we had a burger that hit the high notes.

If there was a word of criticsim, however, it’s that the beef patty was somewhat lost in translation, perhaps owing to the fact that it was well done and, thus, not as juicy as it should have been.

Yokozuna! Chicken – Sesame and ginger infused teriyaki sauce, wasabi mayo, lettuce, £9.50

It was the ingredients of sesame and ginger-infused teriyaki sauce and wasabi mayo which motivated our choice of chicken burger here.

Let’s face it, how many burger joints do you know of that offer such a Far Eastern combo?

And this Yokozuna! Chicken was wonderfully cooked, being soft and succulent, with a beautiful dark glaze that offered a touch of heat and some sweetness courtesy of the teriyaki sauce.

A simple enough burger done very well, which allowed the flavours to do the talking.

Pritchard’s Dirty Vegan – Curry patty, garlic mayo, mango chutney, chilli sauce, dill and tomato tzatziki, red onion, beef tomato, £8.95

Always good to see any venture showing philanthropic support of charities while doing what they do best.

In the case of this Vegan burger, it’s actually named after Welsh celebrity chef and professional skateboarder, Matthew Pritchard. Not only is this Pritchard’s Dirty Vegan endorsed by him, but a percentage of the profits from this purchase go to charity. Happy days!

As for the burger itself, then it houses a big, thick curry-infused patty, which, while offering good flavour, was sandwiched in between a generous amount of sweet mango and chilli sauces, some garlic mayo, and topped by red onions that didn’t quite achieve that textural contrast this soft burger required. Nevertheless, one of the better vegan burgers we’ve thus far had this year.

Veggie Bunga – Blue Cheese fondue, cajun mayo, red onion confit, Boom Boom mayo, lettuce, £8.95

This quirkly named Veggie Bunga was arguably the barest of the burgers, visually speaking; and, we have to say, a tad dear too given its simplicity.

Nevertheless, it made up for things in terms of taste, with a few standout ingredients that had us going right until the end.

The blue cheese fondue was judged perfectly, being powerful enough to properly counter both the tangy heat of the so-called Boom Boom and Cajun mayos, as well as the sweetness of the caramelised red onion confit, while all the while adding a piquant edge to this burger’s flavour-profile.

As for the chunky patty, then this had a nice, delicate crispy exterior, which kept things interesting.

Super Slaw – Super crunchy slaw, £1.00

The superslaw was neither exciting nor super, if we’re being honest. While one Lion enjoyed its freshness, another would have preferred this with a little more sauce.

Perhaps the addition of apple slices might elevate this above the ordinary to match the innovative streak aimed for by the restaurant.

Avocado Mash, Spicy Caribbean Hot Sauce, Boom Boom Mayo (Lime & Basil) – £1.00 each

Can’t deny the quality of The Grazing Shed’s fantastic homemade sauces though. These were so good that we honestly couldn’t pick a winner. If we had too though, then the avocado mash was quite unique, and one we enjoyed with the fries.