Front Room — Restaurant in Wales

Following positive feedback from friends about Front Room, my partner and I finally recently took the plunge and went for a lateish sitting on a Friday evening.

As the former home of Hangfire, it was slightly strange to be back in there after a number of years, but in fairness, the decor had been done well, and actually, it felt like it's own place. Light, airy, and a chilled environment - all which I applaud for a communal pizzeria.

Unfortunately, that is where the positives largely ended for us. While I wouldn't say it was a particularly bad experience, I would say that Front Room flattered to impress in any reasonable way - and that was a huge disappointment.

The highlight of the show was undoubtedly the side of Mac and cheese bites which arrived pre-pizza. A really delicious consistency, flavourful, they really were very good. Four stars. However disappointingly, for the price, they came with no dip, and therefore realistically necessitating a purchase of the on-menu dips at close to £3 each for a very meagre portion.

My partner went traditional and ordered the margherita, while I took a different approach and went for the Front Room recommended combination of nduja, pepperoni, red peppers and hot honey. A combination that is quite prevalent now in top end pizzerias such as Pizza Pilgrims and Slizza in Canton and Cardiff respectively.

Unfortunately, that is where the comparison to those two pizza-behemoths ends.

The pizzas themselves were decent in size and quantity. But what was apparent quickly was the poor quality of what is claimed to be a four-day process of creating the dough base, using high end flour. I don't doubt the quality of the flour, but I do question the method and process taken to produce the bases. The base itself felt extremely devoid of complexity; akin to something you could definitely put together at home within a few hours - and frankly, it felt like there was very little proving based on the outcome. Also, while I appreciate with the abundance of pizzerias knocking around everybody needs a differentiator - but the idea that a flat edge is a good one on a pizza needs serious rethinking. Absolutely bonkers.

The tomato bases were decent but lacked any depth; not much more to say regarding that: while the toppings of pepperoni and nduja were solid if unspectacular - the big leg down what was effectively a very sweet hot honey that missed the balance of heat.

It's not often I would leave half a pizza on the table, but that was the outcome.

There were a few frustrating points that really frustrated beyond this however.

Firstly, price for location. This reviewer is more than willing to spend well on gold quality food - and for me, pizza is a favourite. However, looking comparatively, it's hard not to look at the competition locally and more widely and be frustrated. £16.50 for a pizza is high end, even if it were in Cardiff. That is comparing directly with the likes of Pizza Pilgrims, and is significantly more spenny than Ffwrnes and Slizza, both which are more well established, and frankly, are significantly better. Comparing locally, Rwcola of Goodsheds is better value for money.

Secondly, quality of ingredients. I question the claims made in terms of the product itself. And if indeed the process is as labour intensive and prohibitive as is claimed, then they should definitely review it and look at substituting out some of the intensiveness in favour of lowering costs - the product does not currently justify the cost.

And lastly, a painful footnote to the meal can in the form of a 50p box charge. Yep. That pizza I had endured for the evening, rather than leave it on the table, I thought I'll take it home and find a use for it. Lo and behold however, for the first time in my life I think, I witnessed a box surcharge being applied for taking that same £16.50 pizza away. Absolutely cracking, thank you.

All that being said, on a Friday evening, it was a bustling place, so it clearly has appeal to locals. I wonder how long that...

Had a meal this evening, arrived early and was told our table would be cleaned. Sat down next to the entrance inside, whilst we waited nearly 20 minutes to be seated. Kindness of a staff member gave us drinks on the house to start with as a thank you gesture for waiting, which was a lovely gesture. Took around 10 minutes to receive the water for the table and a further 5/10 to take our order. Large amount of used glasses all over the bar, and lack of service was evident. Fries arrived earlier than the pizza’s, and waited a further 45 minutes for the pizza’s to come out. Sat waiting for drinks orders to be taken multiple times, and felt like there was a lack of staffing which created a dampening environment. The atmosphere was lacking. We were not advised prior to our visit that it would be a cashless establishment. Nor this is advertised on the website.

All in all - Pizza not overly incredible for the high price of £16. Lack of service on a busy day, should have been top priority and cleanliness around the establishment. Wouldn’t be coming again...

Very cool pizza joint with excellent customer service. All of the staff are on the top of their game, and genuinely friendly and happy to help. It’s American standard. A well-oiled machine and great team. We hadn’t made a booking (I will do next time) but the gaffer was incredibly accommodating. So refreshing in the UK to experience A+ hospitality. To put it into context, we’d tried to get into another pizza place in Barry 10 minutes earlier who made me and my 10 year old daughter feel like the dirt on their shoe and were giving it the big one like they were Dorsia from American Psycho. The Front Room is how it should be done. Red carpet treatment by comparison. It must have been written in the stars because the food was world class as well. Stylish interior, great location, wonderful bush tucker, excellent staff and tasty beer - what’s not to love? Turn it up to eleven. We will definitely be back. Keep up the...