Prison restaurant run by criminals named the best in Cardiff

One of Britain's biggest cities has voted for its best restaurant - and chosen its prison manned by criminals as the top.

The Clink Restaurant at HMP Cardiff staffed entirely by prisoners was ranked number one out of 946 eateries in the Welsh capital.

It was voted top restaurant by diners on website TripAdvisor who said the "friendly and informative staff" put other waiters to shame.

One happy diner wrote on the website: "The standard set by everyone at this venue would be hard to match in any other restaurant we have been to in recent times." 

Another left a five star rating with the comment: "The waiters were great with perfect service - better than we have had in some starred restaurants - and also attentive to your needs."

The 96-seat restaurant serving breakfasts and lunches opened to the public in 2012 with 30 inmates being paid £14 for a 40-hour working week - but no porridge on the menu.

The prisoners who work in the restaurant are training to gain national catering qualifications so they can leave jail with the skills to land jobs in luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

Jason Lawrence, general manager at The Clink Restaurant, said: "The whole team is delighted to have made it to the top spot on TripAdvisor, and to be ranked so highly against almost 1,000 restaurants in the city is a huge achievement for us.

"The recognition we have received from so many of our diners for the atmosphere we've created, the effort we put into sourcing our ingredients, the high standard of front of house service offered by the waiters and the skill our menus is incredible.

Source:http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Prison-restaurant-run-criminals-named-best/story-25907654-detail/story.html