90 St Mary Street has seen businesses come and go over the years, the last incarnation was just another fast food restaurant whose unique selling point, as set out by the huge sign in the window, was ’We sell WKD’. They didn’t last six months.
The premises have been derelict for over a year and has now been bought by a franchisee who is turning it into Wok to Walk, a trendy noodle bar that started life in Amsterdam and has become renowned for their quick and tasty meals to eat in or to take out in traditional noodle boxes, packaging that is commonplace in LA, Paris and Hong Kong, but until now Cardiff has firmly held onto the plastic tub that burns your hands if you try to take it out of the carrier bag, if the lid hasn’t already popped off and left the contents congealing at the bottom.
Cardiff is set to become one of only 8 other cities to have a Wok to Walk franchise. Others can be found in the bohemian capital, University Place in Greenwich Village, New York, the only store in the USA and SoHo in London, the only other location in the UK.
The 3-step menu at Wok to Walk is evidence of their claim to serve “fresh, nutritious, tasty food that is cooked in front of your eyes and served to you in minutes.”
But, what will set Wok to Walk apart from the other fast-Asian takeaways that have been set up in Cardiff, like China China, which is just down the street, or the Tasty Wok, around the corner on Wood Street? Granted, the concept is quite different, the others being buffet restaurants and not noodle bars; but will the new kid on the block be able to deliver the ‘fresh, nutritious, tasty food’ that they boast? InsideCardiff has been invited to take a look around before the grand opening, so hopefully we’ll be able to take a taste and answer that for you.
Wok to Walk are aiming to have all works finished soon and to open in the first week of September.
The Road House takeaway on Caroline Street was abruptly boarded up this morning in what looks to be a dispute over rental arrears.
The relatively new food bar that only opened last year had been closed until recently while a new license was obtained from Cardiff county council to secure later opening hours. Previously the Road House only opened until 11pm, but this was extended to 4am, Monday to Sunday, last month. This morning the premises were taken back by St James’s Place UK plc, a financial consulting and services company.
A spokesperson for Road House 1 Ltd was not available to comment when we tried to call.
The premises has been host to a number of businesses since the unit was opened up as part of the Brewery Quarter development. In 2004 it traded as vegetarian cafe ‘The Crockerton’, but for only a few months before they were also forced to close.
This is what can be seen of the new Cardiff library which has been in the works for more than a year. The scaffolding is starting to come down in preparation for the handover to Cardiff county council for the fitting out which is due to begin in early 2009.
