About Gorse
Gorse, a modern Welsh restaurant, opened in Cardiff’s Pontcanna neighbourhood in May 2024 and was awarded the city’s first Michelin star in February 2025. The debut solo venture from chef-founder Tom Waters, Gorse began as a series of acclaimed pop-ups before taking up residence on Kings Road. Named after the evergreen shrub, it draws inspiration from Waters’ childhood journeys to Tenby and his fond memories of bright yellow gorse-lined roads. Drawing on this connection to the Welsh landscape, guests at Gorse can expect an intimate, multi-course experience from the open kitchen, celebrating the country’s abundant larder from native seaweeds and Perl Wen cheese, to Gower Salt Marsh lamb.
About Tom Waters
Originally from South Wales, Tom Waters honed his craft at some of the UK’s most prestigious restaurants before returning home to launch Gorse in 2024. He began his career under acclaimed Welsh chef Bryn Williams at Odette’s, before moving to Phil Howard’s two Michelin-starred The Square. Senior roles followed at Mayfair’s Michelin-starred Bonhams and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, where he spent three years before realising his lifelong ambition of opening his own restaurant in 2024. That same year, he was shortlisted as a ‘Chef to Watch’ at the National Restaurant Awards.
About The Menu
At Gorse, the regularly-changing tasting menus — available in four (lunch only), seven and 10 courses — take inspiration from the surrounding landscape to offer a dining experience that is uniquely Welsh. Working with a close network of local fishermen, growers, and farmers, Waters combines precise technique with a flavour-centric approach, to create dishes that showcase the finest produce available in a given week. Paying tribute to Waters’ culinary heritage, native ingredients like seaweed from Câr-y-Môr, form the backbone of the menu - from a kelp stock used across the kitchen to the laver butter that accompanies his signature Parkerhouse roll.
Other key suppliers include Paul’s Organic Veg in Abergavenny, Welsh Venison Centre in Brecon, Matt Simms Welsh truffles and Gower Salt Marsh Lamb. Sample dishes include:
Bara brith, Perl Wen and Welsh truffle
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Turnip tartlet , smoked pike roe, fig leaf and hazelnut
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Parsnip roasted in yeast, mature Caws Cerwyn, pickled
seasonal mushrooms and whey
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Breconshire fallow deer with roasted celeriac and pickled
elderberry
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Toasted oat llymru, smoked raspberry jam and Topaz apple caramel
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Penderyn whisky cannelé
About The Drinks
The drinks menu reflects Gorse’s dedication to Welsh producers, showcasing local spirits with signature serves including the House Martini (Dyfi Pollination Gin, Still Wild Vermouth, Kelp); Sloe-groni (Da Mhile Sloe Gin and Still Wild Vermouth) and New Fashioned (Penderyn Sherrywood Whisky, Acorn Liqueur, Oloroso Sherry). A carefully curated wine list features labels from around the world, as well as a selection of UK and Welsh producers such as Ancre Hills, White Castle Vineyard and Mountain People Wine. Wine pairings are available to accompany the tasting menus, and guests can also choose from a selection of Welsh beers – Polly’s, Wye Valley and Drop Bear – which sit alongside soft options.
About the Interior Design
Welsh designers Karna have transformed the former coffee shop into a contemporary dining room, offering guests a front row view of the open kitchen. Seating 22 guests, the intimate, light-filled space features earth tones throughout, from the wooden tabletops to its green walls and tiling. Artwork includes gorse flowers from Gower cast in plaster by Kate Bowen, alongside works by Sera Wyn Evans. Crockery is supplied by local ceramicists Matt Jones, Anwen Pegrum, George Akerman, and Sian Reese-Williams.
