Before Hadramowt, I had never really had Middle Eastern food much apart from the basic shawarma, kebabs, baba ganoush, and vine leaves. On a random day in January earlier this year, I decided I wanted to venture deeper into the world of Arabic cuisine. With the help of Google Maps, I found a well-rated Arabic restaurant on City Road and just went for it. I remember one distinct review that convinced me, it said something along the lines of: “Hadramowt doesn’t have a big menu but if you’re someone who truly knows food, you will love it.” So, after a long day of work, I dragged my boyfriend along and we went for dinner.

The Yemeni restaurant is located towards the end of the busy City Road. It has a small entrance, and the inside is equally humble, but a decent size for a cozy, family-run store. The interior is far from ‘Instagram-worthy’ but it is clean and well-maintained. A beautiful red, traditional patterned Arabic Majlis (a communal sitting area that is a carpeted, elevated platform) adorns the middle of the restaurant and is perfect for seating large parties.

The menu is quite short, featuring only a few choices for mains, a few options for small breakfast plates, and two grilled meat options. We ordered both the lamb and chicken mandi, along with home-made fresh lemon and mango juice. Before we got our mains, we were each served a bowl of complimentary lamb broth as well as a small side dish of tender potatoes that had been cooked in a lamb stew. Both were rich with bold lamb flavour and deeply infused with aromatic spices that lingered after each spoonful—perfect as a starter to warm up your whole body before the main feast

Our mains came on two massive plates, the biggest bed of rice I’ve ever seen with huge chunks of lamb and two whole legs of chicken on top. To go with it, we were served two dips, a fresh tomato and chili salsa-like dip (which I believe is zahawiq) and a creamy, cooling yogurt-like dip. The lamb was perhaps one of the best lambs I have ever tasted. It was perfectly seasoned with various spices, intensely flavourful, and gloriously fall-off-the-bone. It had a perfect ratio of melt-in-your-mouth delicious fattiness and lean meat.

The chicken was grilled to perfection, a black charr covered most of the chicken and brought a rich smokiness and slight crisp to the dish. Despite the charred exterior, I was met with succulent and juicy meat with each bite into the chicken. The rice was also full of flavour, having been soaked and cooked in the juices of the lamb for hours as well as seasoned and coloured with spices like cumin and saffron. The dips also complemented the dish perfectly, adding depth and freshness to the rich, meaty flavours.

When it comes to pricing, Hadramowt is extremely affordable, especially for the massive portion sizes. The lamb mandi cost £12 while the chicken cost only £8. The only downside to the restaurant is that they only take cash, but this does help them to keep the prices low. The staff were all very friendly—especially the owners, we talked to them for a bit and they were very smiley and kind.

Since my first time there, I have been back five times—mind you, I was not even in Cardiff for the entirety of May through to October. I brought my whole family there for a meal while they were visiting Cardiff, and I have also brought many friends. I truly could not recommend this place enough for authentic Yemeni food and some blow-your-mind soul-food lamb.

Price: 5/5

Food and Drink: 4.8/5 (only because I am a harsh food critic)

Atmosphere: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Words by Eiriana Zhou

Featured image courtesy of Eiriana Zhou.