Park House

Once a private club, Park House is one of the Welsh capital's finest pieces of architectural extravagance. Designed by William Burges, one of the premier practitioners of the gothic revival, it overlooks the gardens of the National Museum of Wales. The architect is celebrated in the name of the restaurant, which is done out in gently clashing tones of pinks and peaches against a background of solid oak panelling, and offers the added bonus of a pianist and singer at the weekends. Chef Jonathan Edwards offers an ambitiously lengthy menu that features much prime produce. A mastery of contemporary technique is exhibited in a classic pairing of scallop and black pudding which gains depth from seared foie gras and a sparse swipe of treacle-rich PX caramel. Meanwhile, peas and butter beans form the base for a composition of oriental mushrooms, apple and crispy konbu with beetroot jelly and dashi consommé, and top-quality Shorthorn beef fillet appears with St Brides Bay lobster alongside a mound of vigorously spiced tarka dhal and mushroom and sherry sabayon. Desserts like buttermilk ice cream and honeycomb with sherry caramel and puréed apple round off a polished act.