I looked but can't find a thread specifically about restaurants across Cardiff. I thought it might be useful to have one just for recommendations, other than scattered across the threads?

I ate in Bill's today in Wyndham Arcade, after quite a few friends have said good things about it, and it lived up to expectations. Charming staff, good food (fish & chips, pork ribs & sweet potato fries, brown bread/Marmalade ice cream, Eton Mess), HUGE portions and a reasonable wine list. I was impressed. And to hark back to a previous discussion, the staff get the 10% service charge they add to bills. My only complaint is that the loos are tiny and cramped - if you wait till after you've eaten you may feel too stuffed to squeeze in!

Bill's is good but nothing beats the 1960s time-capsule that is The Louis. A large mixed-grill followed by jelly and blancmange - heaven!

I had a very nice meal in Casa Bianca, an Italian restaurant in City Rd. I doubt it will get a Michelin star but the food was good, the price was reasonable and the staff were top class.

Mcdonalds - little known restaurant and very difficult to find - you need to know where to look to find it.

friendly staff, quick service, great choice of menu. what more could you want from a dining experience

Mint and mustard is my favourite at the moment.

Bullys is nice too.

Ash, the Louis is unbeatable of its kind. I'm a fan of the steak pie and the roasts. And I swear the trifle is straight out of a Birds packet. Happy childhood memories.

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/reportage/the-louis-restaurant-cardiffs-only-true-retro-spot/

Its written by some w*nky student who thinks they are being oh-so-cool and irreverant.. but, some of the points are accurate. The Louis is like something from the 1970s or 80s...

I suspect the Louis might be Cardiff's oldest stand-alone restaraunt. It's mentioned in Dennis Morgan's book "Cardiff: A City At War" so it's been around since at least the 1940s. I can't think of any other restaraunts from that period still operating under the same name.

Talk here of Woods possibly leaving the bay after 14 years:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/woods-brasserie-considers-move-cardiff-4289346

They commit to staying in Cardiff, but say:

“With yet more expansion plans in the pipeline for the next two years, the decision is being taken to consider the relocation of Woods from Cardiff Bay – the dining culture there having changed since Woods opened 14 years ago.”

Interesting comment, I know Weatherspoons is opening opposite them but it was only a chip shop before... I know Woods aspire to a more classy dining experience, but was cardiff bay ever really like that?

Could of course be a play in negotiating a good deal with the landlords.

14 years ago, Woods was about the only decent place to eat in the inner harbour right? Now its probably still the premier place but there are many more choices - probably 20 restaurants. Visitors to the bay are up, but I doubt up by a factor of 20. So perhaps its not the "dining culture" thats changed, its the sheer level of competition they face.

If they go in the city centre or "immediate areas" (Pontcanna?) where do you think would suit them?

I would worry if Woods was my business with a weatherspoons next door. i see that part of the bay being dominated by them with beer swilling louts every time its sunny, and the thing about woods is that most of its restaurant faces the adjoining square with weatherspoon, there would be nowhere for their customers to hide. I just hope people are kept under control down there as i would worry that cafe rouge might want to move as well. Its surprising how many hen and stag do's are already in the bay, an area that's nice because you do see people of all ages and is not a binge drinking area. I was embarrassed last week when a group of 'women' were chugging beer on their hen night and an Asian family were trying to take a picture of their young children with the Pierhead building in the background.

I think you may be getting Wetherspoons mixed up with the Lloyds No 1 bars (which are also operated by Wetherspoons). The two Lloyds No 1 offerings in Cardiff (Greyfriars Rd and the Great Western) are as you describe. Hellholes pushing blue/green/red alcohol down the cakeholes of unfortunates with missing chromosones whilst pumping out loud, repetitive music designed to make people aggressive and/or sexually incontinent.

However as far as I am aware the new Wetherspoons is going to be a pub with a food offering which is an altogether different beast. Most of the Wetherspoons I have been in are frequented by those approaching the autumn of their years, people after cheap food or the after work crowd. I imagine it will be popular because after spunking £4.50 on a pint in the Terra Nova your average punter will desperately be looking for somewhere cheaper to re-gather their thoughts (and count whats left of their money).

I doubt it will be very popular as a stag/hen do destination. I'd be mortified if my best man arranged a session in Wetherspoons as my stag do and would wonder if I hadn't made the wrong choice. I think the pub will bring people over to that side of the Bay a bit more and may even encourage people to go a bit further afield than the Mermaid Quay drag. On balance I don't think it's a bad thing for the Bay and it's certainly better than an empty unit.

The last time that I visited Terra Nova (about 2 months ago), I was not only startled by the relatively expensive prices, but by the fact that the place did not justify the premium on the price.

The place was overflowing with empty uncollected glasses (on every shelf and every floor corner)and was pretty dirty and smelly. The cleaning routine appears to extend to merely swishing a skanky mop (caked in the remnants of the previous days' spilt beer) over the tiles every morning. The toilets were atrocious to boot.

I thought that Brains usually run a tight ship with their outlets (if you'll excuse the pun in this case), but this place has endured a mutiny since it first opened.

My Place is a very good Polish Restaurant but usually empty (being a bit out of the way doesn't help) so sadly it may not last long:

http://myplace-cardiff.co.uk/index.php/en/

Broadway is indeed a shithole. I grew up near there and it was never one of Cardiff's premier thoroughfares but I was startled when I was down there last to see just how far it had declined. It needs comprehensive redevelopment ie. demolition.

There's good Wetherspoons and there's bad Wetherspoons. Cardiff unfortunately seems to have more of the latter than the former.

However I think The Mount Stuart (at least that's what I think it is going to be called) will be a benefit to the Bay, at least in the short-term, because it will force the pubs near by to improve. Terra Nova, as mentioned above being one, but the Eli Jenkins and Salt also need to vastly improve their service, cleanliness (and prices!).

There is an application for a restaurant called Barbucci at the old Pizza Hut unit in High Street. It sounds Italian but I think its an Indian restaurant if its the same as the Barbucci in Tenby and Llanelli.

I think there is a lack of curry places in central cardiff so if this is a good one then this could help.

Juboraj and Mango House are the only ones I can think of in the city centre. Spice Merchant in Park Place is now closed I think. Other than that it's a walk to either Canton or Roath for a curry.

I think a major European capital should have more than two curry houses in town.

Spice quarter in the brewery quarter is still going I believe.

Im so sad that la fosse has closed down, i loved the food there especially the venison and of course the fish.

Why do we even have saturation zones?

It was a joke. I'm sure a curry saturation won't happen. I'm just making a sniffy comment about SWP's Taliban complex.

The trick with Tripadvisor is to look how many other reviews the reviewer has done. Restos trying to pad their reviews seldom if ever bother to manufacture reviews of other places first to look genuine. There was a certain place in the Bay (still going strong, sadly) that got itself almost to number one in Cardiff by dint of an enormous number of reviews from people who'd never posted another one before and never did after. Once you see the pattern, though, you know where to avoid.

Out of curiosity, which restaurant was this exactly?

This looks rather promising. It's certainly an improvement on the old Victoria Club. Vic Park is getting a bit Pontcanna-esque what with Fablas and now this. At least there's still a pie shop!

http://www.duckeggbleu.co.uk/

I went to The Crispy Duck on Whitchurch Rd last night, lovely food! I had a Malaysian beef curry, would have liked a bit more chilli in it but great taste and nice presentation too. A friend had sushi to start which looked really food, spare ribs were nice too! If you like far Eastern food then go there!

It better be good or they'll look like idiots. It's strange. Looking at Victoria Park from Cowbridge Road it doesn't seem a great area, truth be told. Perhaps I'm missing something.

I feel for anyone who goes that far over the top with their menu and then consistently mis-spells "recommended" throughout.