Bryn Williams to open Touring Club bar in Penarth

Bryn Williams is set to open the doors of a 28-cover bar near Cardiff in May.

Set off the high street in the seaside town of Penarth, the Touring Club will offer plates and snacks alongside a curated drinks menu.

Williams and three partners – Rowen Hobbs, Dylan Griffith and Grant Maunder – will open the bar next month, with the chef heading up the food and beverage side of the business, while brand design, finance and building management will be looked after by the three other owners.

“Myself and my three partners we’ve all travelled quite a bit and what we want to do is bring the very best of everywhere into one place,” said Williams.

The chef also owns Odette’s in London and Bryn Williams at Porth Erias in North Wales and runs a restaurant at the Cambrian hotel in Switzerland which is owned by fellow Touring Club partner Maunder.

“Think of those bars you get on the continent, it’s not a pub, it’s not a wine bar – like in San Sebastian, you can get a great glass of wine and a plate of food and off you go. At [the Touring Club] you will be able [to order] a simple plate of ingredients sourced well, and you can stay for a couple more drinks if you like.”

Williams said the Touring Club will give a “little nod to Patagonia”, a country known for its Welsh heritage after a colony of Welsh people settled there in the mid-1800s.

Dishes will include steamed mussels and cockles from South Wales with wild garlic and local bread; Welsh rarebit on sourdough; and pasta with truffles, while the wine list will feature ten white and ten reds, all offered by the glass, alongside a small selection of spirits and cocktails.

“It’s plates of food – not small plates or tapas – as well as a few snacky things and a decent glass of wine,” said Williams.

The Touring Club will open from midday until 11pm, serving takeaway coffees and food until 9pm.

There will be two chefs in the kitchen and two or three front of house staff.

The ground floor space at 4 Washington Buildings, Stanwell Road, covers 900 sq ft with a log burner and a large glass frontage which can be thrown open to access the terrace and create an inside-outside space. There will also be space for eight or so customers to enjoy a drink standing at the bar.

Willams said: “The design will be stripped back, with great lighting and the hardest thing in all of this is holding back and not over complicating things – we question everything ‘does that need to be there, if not, then why are we doing it?"

The Welsh chef, originally from Denbigh, said he has had numerous opportunities to open a venture South Wales over the years. “But when it comes to Cardiff, I didn’t know the city well enough – I’d just go for the football or the rugby – so this opportunity where the four of us are equal partners gave me that chance where I can concentrate on the food and the others can focus on their bits.”