'I left my career to open my own restaurant, and it's the best decision I've ever made'

Ex-chartered surveyor Rhys Williams said despite his complete lack of experience it's the only job he's ever had where he doesn't have imposter syndrome. Jonathon Hill reports

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RHYS WILLIAMS doesn't do boasting. The ex-surveyor sits hunched over a table in the window of his new Cardiff restaurant reflecting on a whirlwind year during which time he has hit the headlines for all the right reasons.

Yet trying to get him to be anything other than modest is like getting blood from a stone.

“I’m just happy to be here,” he says of Mesen, which he plumped for in June 2023 after he decided to quit his 17-year career as a chartered surveyor in London and “scratch an itch” he’d had for a long time. The rustic eatery sits in the heart of the bustling suburb which has gone from strength to strength in recent years.

Asked whether that was the reason he chose Rhiwbina for his stab at owning a restaurant, he replies in typical fashion: “It’s not that deep - just a bit lazy. I live round the corner and didn’t want to travel far every day.”

When he came across the place it didn’t appear it had a lot going for it. It didn’t even have any gas to cook on - but that’s become the restaurant's USP. Deciding to ditch the gas, head chef Jake Holcombe - previously of the Potted Pig and Bacareto - cooks on an open fire in full view of the punters instead.