October Social at Head of Steam, Cardiff!

I have been organising my social events free of charge and whilst some are a general drink or coffee catch up, I am open to collaborations too!
Drop me an email on thelittlecardiffblog@gmail.com if your restaurant/pub/cafe is interested in hosting one of our 2020 events, or if you want to enquire about getting involved (local bakers, local photographers, etc.) or to discuss any other ideas you may have.

Head of Steam were absolute superstars this week as the hosts for my second Little Cardiff Socials event! A couple of months ago, I came up with the idea to bring together the people I interact with on a regular basis on 'the gram' into one room and just put a drink in everyone's hand and see how it went. I'm not a naturally confident person and have struggled with anxiety most of my life, so going out of my comfort zone in this way and testing my organisational skills has been really rewarding, and I've got to meet so many fabulous people too.

The team at HOS were just brilliant and they have been every time I've gone in. Really friendly and laid back, easy to deal with, knowledgeable about the menu and just a delight. Big shout out to Assistant Manager, Luke, who was an angel, and also to the head chef and kitchen staff for putting on such a feast.

I wanted to make this an extra fun event so I had a chat with the venue about a little collaboration and arranged for them to host our group in return for my social media coverage. So, we had the upstairs area to ourselves for the night, plus a showcase of dishes to sample from their new menu. I mentioned to guests that they were welcome to tag the venue if they enjoyed the food. From the amount of posts I saw popping up it was a definite hit :)

If you, a friend, or your office are looking to host an event I HIGHLY recommend booking out this area. It's spacious and as you can see from the images it has it's own very cool style with the decor; love the Welsh-inspired wall! It has enough of a buzz from a bit of music to not be irritating and as a bonus, the toilets are located upstairs which is handy! They're taking Christmas bookings now too.

For large parties they can sort out a buffet (even a fully vegan buffet), help you host beer tasting events and can always offer a variety of drinks packages for other events.

Click here to find out about private hire.

One of the best parts of Head of Steam as a venue is the fact you can bring your dogs with you. They offered cute little water bowls for our canine guests. Now, I don't even own a dog. But I know a couple of the girls from IG have some adorable ones and I wanted an excuse to spend time with them. Being quite a big event and the dogs being pretty energetic, their owners did comment ‘never again’ afterwards, which I begrudgingly respect but secretly hope they change their minds...

When the food came out we were all so peckish and couldn't wait to dig in :)

I have to begin with discussing the vegan dishes. Vegans of Cardiff - you need to go here!!!

So much appreciation for the fact their options are so varied; they’ve made a really strong effort to not just have one token mushroom burger. They use 'Moving Mountains' plant-based alternatives for their meat substitutes. I never even knew vegan duck was a thing! If you don’t like meat substitutes there are options with vegetables or jackfruit too.

Beer battered veg were so lush! I have had tempura veg before and this is similar, but I preferred the taste - less greasy and just more flavoursome. Amazing paired with that smoky mayo.

Selection of vegan dishes

I also really liked these crispy chicken vegan bites. At first I didn't even realise they were vegan. Proper impressed as someone who usually doesn't go for fake meat.

Trio of vegan sliders

Back to the rest of the menu. I absolutely loved the lamb kofta kebab, which is weird cos I always thought I hated lamb kofta. The halloumi one was also lovely. It was hard to share the kebabs so we just got stuck in, pulling off bits of bread and scooping bits of the filling up. My absolute favourite was the chicken burger, the brioche bun was just heavenly, it was like eating a burger wrapped in a fluffy cake. I really rate their food and urge you to pop in and try it for yourself!

If you're wondering about the drinks, HOS specialise in craft beer and real ale from across the globe. A few people bought the cherry beer which they all loved. They have some great deals in their happy hour (above) as well.

Click here for the drinks menu

It was especially wonderful to see people made some effort with the Halloween theme!!

Events with this many people can be a bit daunting cos of course it is impossible to speak to everyone. What tends to happen is people go into little groups and then mix more over the course of the night. We had a few more people than at my first social so I was a bit nervous but I think it all went well and I hope everyone enjoyed the night. Every time we do one it means we get to know each other a little more in a low key, relaxed environment, and it's always great to see new friendly faces too. Cardiff is a small city and I just think it's nice to be creating good vibes.

Thank you everyone for coming, thanks for all your posts and tags and thanks again to Luke and the Head of Steam Team!!! x