If you’re looking for a great, pretty guilt free takeaway then look no further than The Lazy Leek’s wooden clad shack in Cardiff Pontcanna’s King’s Road Yard, a Londonesque cluster of small independently owned cafés, restaurants and businesses. It offers a unique community feel only found in small city centre residential areas and their high streets. The Lazy Leek is an independently owned vegan street food shack, opened in 2018, offering some remarkable sounding plant-based burgers and sides. These burgers are remarkable sounding not only for their whimsical names like “The Italian Job” and “The Beetmaster General” but for their exhaustive list of ingredients; you can’t help but be enticed by their buns.
I had been aware of The Lazy Leek since last year, with plans to go dashed by probably one of the worst hangovers in (at least my own) history. Deciding that I had far too much alcohol in my system to drive we deferred our plans. Sadly, COVID-19 hit and our plans were dashed, the shack shutting up shop. Then came the glorious weekend of the 3rd of July, when finally, I got to taste those oh so impressive burgers and have my first taste of anything remotely resembling eating out in around 4 months.
The Lazy Leek decided to re-open for takeaway only, to salvage our taste buds from the brink of boredom. Home cooking, while delicious, cannot replace the saliva inducing expectation of food made by another’s hands. The procedure: customers have to ring up to pre-order their burgers; select a time slot for collection; and pay contactless on arrival. The stage was set. Sunday was to be my day of rest from the kitchen, ready instead to hold in my hands a juicy bean burger.
Sunday came and there I sat on the edge of my bed ready to ring with my order on a sticky note in front of me and a list of my friend’s many allergies (who knew there were so many kinds of nut). I rang at precisely midday on a Sunday and no answer to my call, the line was busy. Panic set in, but I finally got through at 12:03. A sigh of relief was breathed but not for long. Alas, they had already run out of the beetroot burger and only had slots available for collection before 1. An order of “The Italian Job”, a “Cow-less Boy” patty with “Beetmaster General” toppings and no bun and a side of sweet potato fries was placed (the restaurant having been extremely accommodating of the allergy notices).
Now, the race was on. Picture me shoving my shoes on, jamming my keys in the ignition and whizzing off to Pontcanna, bypassing Castle Street, panic parking on Cathedral Road and a last-minute sprint to show up at 12:40 on the dot, gracefully poised in an unflustered manner to collect my steaming hot food from the shack window.
The lesson here ladies, gentleman and non-binary: get your orders in quickly!
Once the food was safely in my possession we wandered (or rather sped walked from hunger) down to Llandaff Fields to commence this eagerly anticipated picnic. All the food was wrapped in brown paper which, when unravelled, revealed foodie treasures: bright orange and crisp sweet potato fries; a golden bun enveloping a crispy mushroom risotto patty on a bed of vibrant green salad topped with luxuriously creamy aioli and pesto; a bean patty topped with all that beetroot burger goodness of hummus, gherkins, root vegetable crisps and carrot chutney, enshrined in a takeaway box. This last item was generously created for us due to the crushing disappointment of their lack of “The Beetmaster General” and my friend’s obsession with anything topped with or accompanied by hummus.
The shack, it’s location and the dreamy food served here make it well worth a visit. Often, I find plant-based food bland, with not enough seasoning added to make those beans or veggies sing. The opposite could not be truer of The Lazy Leek’s risotto burger. Possibly the perfect burger for me, having a love of carbs on carbs on carbs. The risotto was rich and silky with soft decadently garlicy mushrooms, sticky enough to form a stable patty but not stodgy. The lemon and basil aioli added the necessary fresh zing to cut through the fat of the fried breadcrumbed patty. The addition of simple salad items like leaves and sliced vine tomatoes complimented the burger while allowing the star of the risotto to shine (and the award for supporting actor goes to).
During lockdown I have realised how much we, as consumers, rely on chain restaurants and large brands for our eating out options. Instead, I would like to discover and champion local food places in all their forms, be that restaurants, cafes or shacks and The Lazy Leek seemed and proved to be a great place to start. I also want to step out of my comfort zone and try foods I wouldn’t at first glance fancy, such as plant-based foods which I’m afraid to say I assume are full of pulses and not much flavour. If you also share this assumption then go to this vegan burger palace to be proven wrong and even if you don’t share this assumption and love vegan food then go anyway to be proven right. It’s great to see stylish tasty vegan food play a role in Cardiff’s food scene and be sure to see me chowing down there again but, this time those dirty fries are in my sights.
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