Benedito’s

There are shops you shop at for the food. There are shops you shop at out of habit. There are shops you shop at for the staff (admit it; the guy/​girl behind the counter at Starbucks is the reason you spent £150 on frappachinos that one summer…). And then there are shops you shop at because the experience of being there is so completely alien that it is fascinating.
Bendito’s is that last one.
The shop is, ostensibly, a Portuguese deli, offering a huge selection of meats and other gourmet food imported for your pleasure. However, it is also much more than that. It’s a meeting place and a hang-​out joint for the local Portuguese populace, which you’ll find down in the cellar or lounging out the back enjoying the coffee and the atmosphere.
If you’re ever in the area, pop in and experience it for yourself. I guarantee you’ll leave with a new favourite food.

Benedito’s is the only Portuguese deli in Cardiff.
Open for the last 8 years it offers a mouthwatering array of speciality Portuguese food stuffs. These include salt-​fish, olives, Portuguese cake and wine. I popped in for some Lupini beans. Since Matt’s deli on Clifton street closed I’ve been hard-​pressed to find these salty delights anywhere in Cardiff. And I love them — they’re like posh peanuts and are perfect with a beer!
Beneditos has got a rustic, friendly feel to it, it’s packed from ceiling to floor, even its faux wooden beams drip with salted and smoked garlics and meats.
For foodies this is heaven and it’s open when many other shops are closed.

Benedito’s has to be my all time favourite shop in Cardiff. There are a few close contenders, but I think that Benedito’s wins my affection by a fraction. It’s things like the massive oven in the enclosed courtyard out the back, fuelled by gorgeous lumps of wood, used to smoke the hams and joints of meat until they are cured and delicious. And it’s the fact that they have a micro arcade in the cellar, boasting a mini pool table, several slots and table football… the incongruity of it all appeals to my sense of quirkiness like a charm… Remember this is a delicatessen!!! Brilliant!
All of these things are typically Portuguese of course, and only appear to be mismatched due to the fact that they are in Cardiff. And that’s another thing that I love! They have brought a little slice of Portugal to these Celtic shores, and have erected it like a beacon, unapologetically undiluted, celebrating all that it is, regardless of its locale. Joy!
Then there’s the food, the Segafredo coffee, and the tables out the back, accessed by a set of steps where you will find at least a couple of Portugese men in a state of repose, sitting silently drawing on cigarettes that deliver thick slices of smoke to their sturdy lungs… it’s all entirely exquisite! I love nothing more to while away a peaceful hour with my latte in the yard, or under cover in the purpose built gazebo if it’s raining, before returning my cup to the shop, and picking up my basket of goodies that I collected up whilst I was waiting for my coffee to be made. This place offers me a little slither of peace in a congested, fast-​paced world. Thank you!
In their own words…
«We are suppliers of gourment food and fine wines and beers from around the world, with Portuguese produce being our speciality».

I absolutely love this treasure trove of gob-​watering goodies. As a resident of Splott, finding this little deli-​style shop was like a light being switched on in the sky! Floor to ceiling shelves laden with all kinds of food stuffs and drinks, a cheese and meat counter, freezers full of exotic seafood and meats and an interesting and varied collection of imported wines and beers, Beneditos is the type of shop you would expect to find in one of the arcades in the city centre, not a street in Splott. But thank goodness it is there.
The last time I visited, I had been wandering the area in a fruitless search for Parmesan. I popped in and asked the main man, ‘any Parmesan?’. He looked at me and said, very slowly, ‘Parmejjjjjjaaaaaann’. I nodded, ‘yes, parmejjjjaaaaann — have you got any?’. He shrugged. ‘How much you wan?’. We hit it off immediately.
He was great, actually. I told him I needed enough for my pea and pancetta risotto and a bottle of white wine also, but I only had £8 left to spend and he sorted me out with exactly what I needed.
I am going to make a conscious effort to shop there more often. I want to give Beneditos as much custom as I can to ensure it stays open (now obviously I don’t eat and drink THAT much, so I’m writing this in a sly ploy to get others to pledge the same thing and support this wonderful local gem — hint hint!).
Full marks.

As a Portuguese living in Cardiff this is a very good place to go when saudade attacks. You can find pretty much everything that come from Portugal there, they even have (even if frozen) Pasteis de Nata (delicious custard tarts). I often go there to get shoe string potatos (in order to make Bacalhau com Natas) that I can’t find anywhere else.
The owner classifies the shop as an off license, which makes it even better, since it is open till late (that is very usual in Portugal, here in the UK everything closes early). This is a very nice place to go to discover some Portuguese food, they have Nestum, Sumol, Sagres, Super Bock, among many many others.
The only reason I didn’t give it full marks is the neighbourhood it is on, Splott isn’t known for its niceness of inhabitants. But still it is pretty safe to go there, as it is in most Cardiff. So don’t let that put you off.
P. S.: I have heard bad things about the owner, that he wasn’t that pleasant but today I went there and he was good as gold.