Cardiff steak house, Pasture, had some famous diners this week as metal powerhouse Metallica stopped by for dinner
13:37, 03 Jul 2026Updated 15:16, 03 Jul 2026
Metallica totally blew away fans at their Principality Stadium gig on June 28 and made a huge impression on the city of Cardiff.
The LA metal gods donated to foodbanks, homelessness charities and teamed up with the Welsh Blood Service. And one member also took time out to sample and support some proper Cardiff hospitality.
Metallica’s bassist Robert Trujillo popped into Pasture and sampled some of its finest dishes. The rocker’s group ordered a mix of fillet steaks, fresh fish and fire-roast chicken. Of course, they also took on some of the venue’s famous beef shortrib croquettes.
Assistant general manager, and a huge rock fan from his teenage years, Marius Sakaliunas told WalesOnline that Trujillo and his group turned up on the off chance they could get a table for dinner in the busy restaurant.
“We had no idea they were coming in, but I guess I had hopes that at least one of them would come in!” said Marius, who has worked at Pasture for three years.
“Funnily enough, I had a chat with my barber the day before about how cool it would be if any of them showed up while they were here in Cardiff, and the next thing you know, as I am walking back into the restaurant after checking on the terrace, I see Robert as part of group of four by our host desk, about to ask for a table.
“We were extremely busy at the time, and I had something else to do so didn’t have a chance to make sure our hosts know who just walked in through the door, and while we did not have any tables at the main restaurant, one of the bar tables had just departed so that’s where we accommodated them.”
Pasture Restaurants, which has branches in Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff, bring the theatre and flavour of fire-based cooking together with incredible local ingredients. Cardiff’s restaurant was ranked 48th in the 101 World’s Best Steak Restaurants. They also have been awarded the highest ranking – three stars – by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
All the meat is hand-picked from the restaurant’s own raised cattle and their organic fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs comes from Pasture’s ButterCliffe Farm near Bristol.
Marius added: “They had a few questions about our food and ended up going for a couple of starters which they shared: Beetroot tartare, smoked beef carpaccio, and beef shortrib croquettes, and for mains a couple of fillet steaks. Robert’s wife Chloe had our fish of the day, which was monkfish with panzanella salad. And Robert himself had our fire roast chicken.”
Pasture, Cardiff(Image: FayditPhotography)
Marius added: “I checked back on them a couple of times and they asked if our DJ takes requests. My response was ‘I’m sure there’s something we can do’ and as it turns out they love disco and funk music.”
As well as a the high-profile visit, which Metallica fans were told all about on stage at the Principality Stadium during the band’s two-hour set, Marius said that the rock star was “quite chatty, and just an all around very pleasant person”.
He said: “The shoutout provided me with an incredible feeling. As a team we take a lot of pride in what we do, and having someone like that give a shoutout in front of 76,000 thousand people, is crazy, and provides me with great joy [that] I’ve played a part in making his experience memorable.”
Asking if the group left a tip, Marius gave a very classy response; “When it comes to tip… more than anything I am very happy that one of the idols I had as a teenager – Robert was the person who inspired me to play bass guitar – did not ruin the image that the 13-year old me had in his head. I would definitely be more than happy to serve him at our restaurant again.”
A cracking picture of Skindred’s Benji with Robert from Metallica(Image: Matt Higgs)
Eating dinner at one of the city’s best restaurants wasn’t the end of Trujillo’s Welsh night out. He also popped across to the Castle to take in the first ever Blackbird Festival, where friends, Skindred were on the bill.
Acts like Newport’s Skindred, as well as Alter Bridge, Mammoth, Florence Black and Cardinal Black were the perfect Metallica-eve treat for rock and metal fans.
A summer of music continues in the heart of Cardiff with Pitbull at Blackweir Live and Bowling For Soup at Cardiff Castle. For more places to eat near the Principality, click here.