There is no doubt over the last few years, and certainly in the last few months, we've had to say goodbye to our fair share of beloved boozers. The sad decline has seen pubs across Wales having to ring the bell for the last time and close their doors for good.
But the Royal Oak pub, plonked right in between the Splott, Adamsdown and Roath areas of Cardiff, has undeniably stood the test of time. This public house near Newport Road is a Grade II listed building and has been serving pints as far back as the late 1800s.
It was given listed building status in 2006 as a "well preserved late 19th century purpose built public house". To this day, you'll find that it has preserved much of its original planning in the bar areas, but what is particularly unique about this pub is its rich boxing heritage.
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In the early part of the 20th century, the Royal Oak was run by a man called Tom Burns, who was the cousin of the Cardiff-born British featherweight boxing champion, Jim Driscoll. Driscoll famously used the pub for training purposes ahead of winning the coveted Lonsdale Belt in 1910. A boxing ring and gym were located above the function rooms.
Sadly in 1925 however, Driscoll passed away with tuberculosis at the young age of 44. His Lonsdale Belt was bequeathed to the pub in his honour. With its family connection to the sport, over the years the Royal Oak developed a boxing theme to its interior.
As you enter the pub, pictures of Jim Driscoll can be found dotted across its walls alongside other boxing memorabilia. In 2010, the Royal Oak made it onto the list of Top 100 Famous UK pubs. Compiled by the whiskey maker Famous Grouse, regulars were asked to nominate their favourite 'unique and quirky' famous pub, with the Royal Oak successfully making it onto that list.
While this traditional pub has a lot to be proud of, it has something new to shout about these days. Recently, the pub has opened its kitchen and is now home to Hench Burger. Although relatively new to the scene, Hench Burger has already made its mark on Cardiff’s food scene in a matter of few months.
Its packed-with-flavour burgers as well as its hearty Sunday roasts have been garnering raving reviews online. The brains behind it is Penarth-born chef Josh James, who over the past decade or so, has made quite a name for himself in the culinary scene of Cardiff, Bath and London.
The chef has also been travelling and cooking all over the world, refining his craft and skills in places such as Vietnam, Japan, Sweden and even the Arctic Circle. But it was his trip to New York when he was 19 years old, he says, that kickstarted his passion for street food and more specifically the smash burger - a loosely packed ball of ground beef that's been placed on a hot pan or grill before being pressed firmly into a thin patty.
"I was on my way to the old Yankee Stadium and I was walking through The Bronx," he told me. "I wanted to grab something quick to eat ahead of the game and there happened to be a little convenience store along the way.
“They had a hot plate and were serving all kinds of stuff - hot dogs, chilli chopped cheese and smash burgers. At first, I thought it looked a little bit sketchy, but I wanted to try one. I went for the smash burger and when I tasted it I thought, this is not sketchy, this is wicked."
From then onwards, whenever Josh returned to Wales from his travels, he would be out in the garden, cooking smash burgers on a hot plate and serving them to his friends. Little did he know back then that his love for the smash burger would develop into something a lot bigger in years to come.
Following his return to the UK for good, Josh wanted to start his own business venture, in which he would combine his love for street food, and of course, the smash burgers. The idea of Hench Burger was born.
While considering getting a truck for his new business, as fate would have it, Josh was at his local boozer, The Royal Oak, when a barmaid told him that they were opening their kitchen and looking for a chef. The rest, as they say, was history.
When you take a look at the menu, you immediately know that Josh takes his passion for the smash burger very seriously. Long gone are the days of the boring, bland burgers. Here you’ll find burgers accompanied by Bovril mayo or Lebanese slaw or mirin pickled cucumbers. You can order a side of skin on jerk fries, or red cabbage and dill slaw, or even truffle and chive Mac ‘n’ Cheese if you’re feeling adventurous.
Each burger, named The Mighty Cardiff, it’s Banging!, The Kiwi, New Yorker, Beirut Badboy, Mexico City Life, I Left My Heart in Tokyo to name a few, are a nod to the places Josh has visited and worked, but more importantly, a culinary love letter to those places that sparked his creativity and passion for cooking.
"It's about learning," Josh said. "As a chef, you reach a point where you know your basic technique, you've gone through those stages and you're now a competent chef. But it's time to build that knowledge, the most brilliant thing about being a chef is that you never stop learning.
"I've moved around an awful lot, but I've always gone to places that I wanted to go and that's how it came to this. All these smash burgers remind me of these places. One reminds me of the time I was in Tokyo eating a Katsu curry at 6am in the morning with my mate Andy, another reminds me of Paris where I tried this amazing brie. We've built the menu from there. It's a personal thing and I enjoy doing it."
What's Hench Burger's food like?
Sunday Roast
First, we tried out their roast dinners on what seemed to be a very busy Sunday. The pub has different function rooms - the bar, sports room and the snug. The snug, which is probably the quieter part of the pub but not too far from the bar, is where they serve food.
There was a pleasant atmosphere in the snug, staff members were friendly and accommodating. Old friends, families and university students were all gathered around various tables enjoying a drink and feasting on a good portion of food.
We went for the chicken roast dinner and the three meat mixed roast, which consisted of beef, pork and chicken. It did not disappoint. The plate had everything you needed from a roast - roasted vegetables with a good amount of seasoning, buttery and herby stuffing, a big pillowy Yorkshire pudding drenched in a lashing of gravy, fluffy and crispy roasties and a perfectly spiced bread sauce.
The meat was especially good. The chicken, wrapped in bacon, was succulent and soft. The beef had the perfect pink centre and melted in the mouth, while the pork chop was beautifully cooked.
Even though we were full, we couldn't resist a dessert. We had a cookie stack as pudding to share, which rather generously came with a scoop of ice cream and custard. The sweet, soft centred cookie was just what we needed after our savoury meals.
Burgers
On our second visit to the Royal Oak, we went for The Mighty Cardiff, It’s Banging! and The Londoner. Each burger came with two 4 oz patties in a potato based buns. As they came out from the kitchen, it immediately became apparent that they were Hench by name and hench by nature.
The Mighty Cardiff came with juicy double cheese, pulled Welsh pork burgers, topped with vinegary brains beer pickles, fresh baby gem lettuce, crispy red onions, and smothered with Perl Las blue cheese and cracked pepper mayo. Meanwhile, The Londoner was also a double cheese burger, which came with beautifully smoked streaky bacon, baby gem lettuce and red onion, tomato chutney, pickle and Bovril mayo.
Although the burgers were brimming with fillings and sauces, it felt like each bite was offering something new, a different flavour, a different element to the meal. With The Mighty Cardiff, the creaminess and the saltiness of Perl Las complimented the meatiness of the burger very well. While the sweetness of tomato chutney with the beefiness of the Bovril mayo in The Londoner was a match made in sauce heaven.
We ordered skin on jerk fries, which were a good portion size, crispy on the outside with a hint of Caribbean spice and fluffy on the inside. The Mighty Cardiff, It’s Banging! came at £11.50, The Londoner was £9.50 and a regular portion of jerk fries was £3. Pints of Birra Moretti and Carling came at an impressive price of £8.50 in total.
If you want to try out these fantastic burgers (as you should!), the kitchen is open from Wednesday to Friday from 5pm to 9.30pm, as well as 12pm to 9.30pm on Saturdays. Their splendid Sunday Roasts are served on Sunday 12pm to 5pm.
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