cave of delights

Ogof is a new restaurant and natural wine shop in the Pontcanna/Canton neighbourhood of Cardiff. It opened just before Christmas, on the 18th of December, and is the brainchild of my son, chef Alex Vines, along with natural wine expert Siôn Iorwerth and creative partner Zanna Clarke. 

(Left to right) Alex, Siôn and Zanna, outside Ogof

Why Ogof?  In Welsh, ogof means cave – so it’s a play on the French cave, meaning wine cellar. Alongside a range of beautiful natural wines, Ogof offers a regularly changing menu centred around seasonal, organic and local produce. Alex has had considerable experience as a chef in London prior to coming back home to Cardiff, notably at the Rochelle Canteen and the wonderful 40 Maltby St (who are one source for Ogof’s natural wines). During Lockdown Alex was head chef at Lighthaus in north London which was listed in the Guardian’s 50 Things We Love in the World of Food Right Now (2022). Having done a Masters in Food Policy, Alex is passionate about the importance of sustainability, not only in the sourcing of his ingredients and working with local Welsh farmers, but also in reducing waste, such as by writing menus on blackboards and reusing bottles. The ambience at Ogof reflects the team’s ethos.

Last summer, just as we were about to depart for our annual sojourn in France, Alex asked whether I could find some old French plates for the Ogof venture. What a responsibility to be given! I thought my best hunting ground would probably be in branches of Emmaüs, a charity shop found throughout France. Emmaüs was founded by Abbé Pierre in 1949: people give belongings surplus to their needs, which are sold to raise funds to tackle homelessness and poverty. A knowledgeable friend advised me that the best choice would probably be the Montauban branch – and we were not disappointed. There was a lovely selection of charming old French plates, in good quantities. I took photographs of each design and WhatsApp’d them to Alex and Zanna in Wales for their opinions: ‘No, the pattern mustn’t to extend over the bottom of the plate, it will interfere with the presentation of the food’ … ‘That one’s good!’ … ‘And that one!’ …  Quite quickly I gathered a splendid collection. The lady on the till was thrilled to know that they would be used in my son’s restaurant in Cardiff.

The selection of vintage plates I gathered in Emmaüs.

When Ogof finally got the go-ahead in late October, Alex, Siôn and Zanna leapt into action transforming the space they had taken over into a strikingly elegant wine bar and restaurant. First, much to the delight of the Kings Road locals, the outside was painted a delicious yellow and the enigmatic name ‘Ogof’ appeared. Inside, our fantastic local builder Andy and his sons created a hatch through to the kitchen so that diners would be able to see Alex and his fellow chefs at work.

Alex, standing beside the newly plastered serving hatch (left) and the gorgeous handblown pendant lights.

In the downstairs room a locally designed and made bar takes centre stage, with a superb range of natural wines stocking the shelves alongside it.  Beautiful handblown Canadian pendant lights glow softly over the tables. Three kegs of natural wine are ready on tap to be sold by the bottle. Upstairs it’s tables for dinner.

Cabbage leaves stuffed with celeriac, buckwheat and ceps (left), grilled radicchio and mature Teifi cheese salad (right)

Ogof reopens, after a short break on New Year’s Day, on the 2nd of January – book a table here.