Wales Halal restaurant food tour: Cardiff’s Wing Stack sets high bar

We love our community & care about it passionately, in the the past year we have contributed over £6k to charitable causes – Wing Shack

Wing Stack’s inclusion in FtLion’s Halal food tour of Wales was inevitable (sponsored by Harmony Farm in Torfaen who offer BBQs, camping, B&B, yurts, and more), not least of all because it happens to be the UK’s first Halal chicken wing restaurant to collaborate with a Michelin-starred chef.

Since launching in 2020, this particular chicken has crossed the road on numerous occasions to team up with world-renowned Chef James Sommerin and create some uniquely memorable chicken wings.

UK’s first Halal chicken wing restaurant to collaborate with a Michelin chef

During our visit, Chef James, who runs the fine dining restaurant Home in Penarth near the Welsh capital, had just finished working his magic with Wing Stack to produce what was called ‘Sommerin’s Wings’.

One of UK’s most exciting Halal restaurant brands

With seasonally-inspired ‘flavour of the month’ chicken wings regularly introduced throughout the year, these limited-edition items is what makes these guys one of the most exciting Halal restaurant brands we’ve encountered.

Well known for their participation in events and festivals, both locally and the rest of Wales, including a regular at Glamorgan Cricket Club, Wing Stack were preparing to take part in the annual Cardiff Food & Drink Festival when we visited.

With a delivery kitchen in Cardiff’s Rumney and a pop-up in Canton, this branch on Whitchurch Road is their first bricks-and-mortar site, with a semi-rustic interior and decor centring around a black and yellow colour scheme, and comfortable boothed-seating for 40 diners.

Sommerin’s Wings – July’s ‘flavour of the month’ by Michelin Chef James Sommerin

If these Sommerin’s Wings prove anything, they prove that Michelin chefs are cut from a different cloth.

When it comes to chicken wings, Sommerin’s were utterly unique in every respect, with a flavour profile that will long live in the memory.

Wing Stack x Michelin Chef James Sommerin (Credit: Wing Stack)

To get an idea of how exotically aromatic these really were, here’s the list of ingredients for their smashed panko batter: fennel, cumin, coriander, chipotle, dry birds eye chilli and white truffle.

The result were delicately crispy, deep-fried nuggets of perfection, taken to levels hitherto unknown with the addition of a deeply-flavoured roasted tomato chutney jam, all of which came together to deliver a startling revelation. “Michelin star magic” indeed!

Arguably one of the, if not the, best meal boxes we’re ever had…

And if things couldn’t get any better, we were presented with a Wing Stack Mega Box of epic proportions.

… everything was on point, period!

Just have a glance at the salad in the top right corner of the box. Any place which goes to the lengh these guys did in producing such an uber-crunchy, fresh and zingy salad inclusive of apple, carrots, and pomegranates, are serious about creating impressions.

What follows was just a foregone conclusion, leaving us with the formality of enjoying arguably one of the, if not the, best boxes we’ve ever had.

Nothing was left to chance here; everything was on point; these guys were not messing about with savoury Jerk on Fire Wings topped in red chillis; Dada Naga Wings, which delivered that signature Bengali naga spice; and Buffalo Solider Wings saturated in that rich tangy sauce – all of which we enjoyed with the inhouse blue cheese dip or the sriracha mayo.

In addition, there were Cauliflower Bites, lightly battered before being fried; perfectly executed Buttermilk Panko Chicken Tenders, which requires dousing in the maple syrup; and, of course, that unbelievable salad.

BBQ Wings – With chives & blue cheese, £6.95

Coming with crispy chips that were lightly seasoned, these BBQ Wings were covered in a beautifully sticky, barbecue glaze, with the smokiness coming through gently.

Wing Stack Burger – Buttermilk panko chicken fillet with American cheese, slaw, pickled beetroot, salad, sriracha mayo, £8.50

Extraordinary! This would be a prime example of the star of the show shining for all it’s worth.

You could have served this with minimal condiments, and we’d have been floored. Elevate it with homemade slaw and inhouse sauces, as well as slices of beetroot (pickled at that); and behold, their signature Wing Stack Burger.

With a buttermilk panko coating this light, delicate and flavourful, this turned out to be one of the best chicken burgers we’ve had in years. If this isn’t nominated for our end of year awards, we’ll retire.

Dirty Stacker Chips – Panko chicken bites, gooey cheese, herbs & spices drizzled with sriracha sauce, £5.50

Another example of how those seemingly small margins can make the difference between another tasty loaded fries, and one you’ll remember for those homemade sauces.

This Dirty Stacker Chips was dirty in all the right ways, with seasoned chips covered in cheese which, in being more saucy than gooey, allowed it to texturally complement the sriracha sauce, with spring onions, red chillis, and even coriander, to finish proceedings.