Local residents Alex Vines, who has spent more than a decade cooking in London kitchens including 40 Maltby Street and Rochelle Canteen as well as his Vines pop-up in venues across Cardiff, Siôn Iorwerth, a Carmarthenshire-born wine specialist whose experience includes opening one of Vancouver’s first natural wine bars, and Zanna Clarke, who has worked for charities including Cancer Research UK, will open Ogof on Kings Road in the city this autumn.
Located on the site that was Poca restaurant, Ogof will have a focus on seasonal, ingredient-led menus shaped by close relationships with local farmers, growers, and winemakers. Working in collaboration with Wright’s Wines and other independent UK importers, it will offer wines sourced directly from the UK and Europe, with an emphasis on distinctive, natural wines produced with good farming practices.
“Cooking for me has always been about place; drawing on what’s in season, the growers we work with, and the cultural tapestry of Wales,” says Vines. “We are thrilled to have finally picked up the keys and can’t wait to get started on our vision for Ogof - a space that celebrates all of that.”
The restaurant will draw inspiration from the cave à manger tradition in France - part wine shop, part restaurant, with seasonal food and natural wines at the heart of the experience, with the name Ogof taking inspiration from the Welsh word for cave.
“We want Ogof to be a casual space where good food and real wines are at the forefront; a place customers return to regularly - be it for lunch, a bottle of wine to take home for dinner, a glass before going on somewhere else, or for those wanting to bed down and eat the entire evening menu with us,” adds Iorwerth.