The North Star - North Road, Cardiff

A few days ago I went for dinner with some friends in The North Star in Cardiff. I've been a couple of times before and could not stop thinking about their pizzas for the few weeks before we went. The menu is quite varied, from said pizzas to classic pub dishes - there is something for everyone. Although it is, essentially, a pub, there is a restaurant feel to it as tables are served by waiting staff and the food is much better than a bog-standard pub. Its a relaxed place with great decor and a really good atmosphere.

Both times I've been before I have had a pizza, so I felt like I should have something different, and there was plenty on the menu that caught my eye, but seeing as a had been suffering from a pizza craving for about a month, I gave in and ordered a Margherita with mixed peppers and grilled chicken as extra toppings.

I was not disappointed when it arrived.

It was massive! It was larger than the wooden board it was served on!

I much prefer thin and crispy pizzas to deep bases, and this one was deliciously thin and crispy. The sauce was great, a perfect amount of cheese, and there was plenty of toppings too. A very yummy pizza. So good that I ate it all even though it was huge and I was pretty full towards the end.

Two of my friends had pizzas too. They both had the Four Seasons, but one substituted olives for red onions and the other substituted the mixed peppers for red onions too.

They both enjoyed their pizzas as much as I enjoyed mine and were really pleased they could swap toppings at no extra cost.

Another friend had the fish and chips.

She said the batter was really good and the chips were delicious - a great standard fish and chips.

My other friend had a cheeseburger which she said was really yummy.

You can't really see the burger that well - soz, I didn't take the photo, blame my cheeseburger eating friend

Another friend came to join us after we had finished our main meals, and as she wanted to order pudding, it would have been rude not to join her!

I've given up chocolate for lent and I've found it surprisingly easy not to give in this year. However sitting across the table from this brownie was quite challenging.

It looked so good and my friend really enjoyed it as it was not dry but not too moist. I think warm brownies and ice cream is one of my favourite desserts, and after lent is over I'm sure I'll find an excuse to make some (the stress of exams will be enough of an excuse).

Four of my friends had sticky toffee pudding.

I've never really tried sticky toffee pudding and I've never really been that bothered to give it a go but I wish I asked for a little taste of one of my friend's puddings as the more I look at this picture, the more I want to try it. They all enjoyed it though, apparently it wasn't too sickly and it was very spongy (whatever that means?!).

I thought I'd try something I hadn't had before - key lime pie - but seeing as I love limes I was pretty sure I was going to like it.

It was so creamy and had a wonderful lime flavour. The base of the pie was made from ginger biscuits (I assume anyway, it tasted gingery) and went really well with the filling.

We all really enjoyed our food and the whole menu is really reasonably priced. I spent under £14 and got a drink, main and pud that were really, really tasty. The service was a little slow at times but it really didn't bother us as we were in no rush to leave, I think we chatted away for well over three hours. I love The North Star and I will definitely return sometime in the near future, and maybe next time I'll choose something other than a pizza. But then again they do some of the best pizzas I've had in the UK so maybe I won't!