Wondering what the best restaurants in Cardiff are? Every city has its cuisine, and Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is certainly no exception. If you’re unsure which restaurants are good to eat and when you’re out with friends, check out our recommendations. We’ve shared a wide range of restaurants, including British, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian, Thai and local Welsh food, so you can choose as many as you like or try them all. Grab our most complete food guide, try one every weekend and your whole school year will be busy!
Italian Food
1.Mia Porto Due
Some ask which country’s cuisine is the mother of all Western food. Most people may say French cuisine, but the mother of Western cuisine is Italian cuisine. Italian cuisine is elegant, noble, strong, simple, and concerned about the original flavour. Italian cuisine is so rich, with thousands of dishes, that the Italian nation is also known as a nation of gourmets. Mia Porto Due serves up cheap and tasty authentic Italian food. The menu features a wide range of speciality pasta dishes and the excellent steak, the StoneGrill Sirloin. Among best restaurants in Cardiff, their mussels are very fresh, and the sauce is specially made. The seafood spaghetti is also recommended, with a generous portion of seafood as a side and a rich tomato sauce! It is a trendy restaurant, so it is advisable to go early at lunchtime, or you will have to wait for a table.
Address: The Old Brewery Quarter, Caroline St, Cardiff CF10 1FG
Opening Hours:
12:00-22:00 Sunday to Thursday
24:00-1:00 Friday and Saturday
2.Diardini Di Sorrento
When exploring Cardiff best restaurants, you can’t miss this one. Diardini Di Sorrento is located on City Road, near the Yongjia supermarket. We suggest you order the recommendations written on the blackboard; crab pasta and olive dish pizza are good choices. Italian custard and cheesecake can be served as dessert. This Italian restaurant has very warm and attentive service. If the restaurant knows it’s your birthday, they will prepare a surprise for you, such as suddenly switching off the lights and serving you a cake and birthday wishes. The final bill will be put in an adorable music box.
Opening Hours: 12:00-22:00, Closed on Sundays
Address: 12 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3DL, United Kingdom
3.Valentino's
The restaurant is located in the city centre under the Windsor Apartments and offers excellent service. It could be called the Cardiff Top Restaurant. Their recommended dish is sirloin, a steak covered in tomato sauce. If you do not like tomato sauce, you can choose other flavours. Free marinara pasta is suitable for customers with light tastes. The reason why it is one of the best restaurants in Cardiff is their good service. Sometimes, the restaurant will give you a snack before or after your meal. Valentino’s is close to Cardiff University, a nine-minute walk away, and can be frequented by those attending the University. Be aware that the restaurant is closed on Sundays, so take advantage of it.
Address: 5 Windsor Pl, Cardiff CF10 3BX
Opening Hours: 12:00-21:00 closed on Sunday
Seafood
Santiago’s Tapas
As a Cardiff city centre restaurant near the St John The Baptist City Parish Church. Santiago’s Tapas has a beautiful interior decoration; you can take photos here. Mixta paella is a classic on the menu; the advantage is that the portion is substantial. You can also try their Calamari(fried squid rings) and prawns with bread, and you will not regret it.
Address: 3 Church St, Cardiff CF10 1BG, United Kingdom
Cost：Around £30 per person
Opening hours: Noon-23:00
British Brunch
Ground Bakery
Want to find the best places to eat in Cardiff? Ground Bakery might be the answer. Located in the famous Pontcanna, this is a traditional English breakfast where you get the restaurant’s homemade bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs and buttered toast. Ground Bakery is arguably the best restaurants in Cardiff that does English breakfasts, and not only do locals come to eat there, but many people from neighbouring cities will come to eat their bread exclusively.Their overnight bacon is delicious, with big chunks of fat and lean bacon, nothing like the usual thin and tough bacon. Recommended dishes include cinnamon rolls, pistachio bread, and seasonal fruit yoghurts.
Ground Bakery serves brunch all day, is open from 9:00-19:00, and is closed on Tuesdays.
Address: 15 Pontcanna St, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9HQ, United Kingdom
Best Restaurants in Cardiff: Chinese Food
1.Happy Gathering
Happy Gathering is the restaurant most Chinese students love to visit, which shows how genuine the Chinese flavours are. It is one of the best Cardiff restaurants. Here, you can eat Cantonese-style breakfasts such as delicious siu mai, shrimp dumplings, chicken claws in black bean sauce, and dry fried rice noodles and experience the real taste of Guangdong.
Address：233 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff CF11 9AL
Cost： Around £20 per person
Opening hours: Noon-22:00
2.Ji Fried Chicken
This Taiwanese fried chicken restaurant has crispy and juicy chicken that can be seasoned with different flavours of seasoning powders, ranging from sweet plum, cheese and lemon to chilli powder and garlic. Of course, this Taiwanese fried chicken restaurant also has the most famous Taiwanese boneless chicken fillet, so get your buddies together to try it.
Address: 231 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff CF11 9AL,
3.Good World Chinese Restaurant
If you are looking for the best restaurants in Cardiff that make Chinese food, you can’t miss this one. This Chinese restaurant, with a secret menu and hidden location, is on the retail park in Lakewith Road. It’s well worth a visit as it’s packed with authentic Chinese food, including barbecued pork, deep-fried three treasures (aubergine, tofu, and chilli-stuffed prawn crackers), and whole sea bass with ginger, spring onion, and soy sauce.
Address: Capital Retail Shopping Park, Leckwith Road, Cardiff CF11 8EG
Cost： Around £15 per person
Opening hours: Noon-22:30
Fast Food
1.Fresh Baguette
Fresh Baguette’s sandwiches are often as sought-after as Martha’s strawberry tarts. They uniquely change their in-store specialities frequently to keep them fresh for diners. If you happen to be here on a Friday, you’ll be lucky to taste their speciality: the Indian spiced chicken baguette (£5.75) with mango mayo and onion fritters.
Address: 32 Royal Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1AE
Opening hours:10:30-15:00 closed on weekend
2.RomEats
There are a lot of best restaurants in Cardiff city centre, and if you love pizza, look no further than RomEats. Their refreshing slices of Roman-style pizza can be served with as many toppings as you like, such as butternut squash, mozzarella, bacon, and pepperoni (£4.50). If you want a simple slice of pizza, a large Margherita Cheese Pizza is only £3!
Address: 32 Royal Arcade,Cardiff CF10 1AE
Opening Hours:
12:00-21:30 on Friday Saturday Thursday
16:00-21:15 on Tuesday and Wednesday
Closed on Monday
3.Penylan Pantry
Penylan Pantry is a store, deli, and cafe on a residential corner on the outskirts of Cardiff. Its freshly baked cakes, homemade quiches, colourful salad bowls, and large sausage rolls are particular highlights.
Address :72 Kimberley Road, Cardiff CF23 5DN
Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 cloesd on Monday
Local Welsh Food
There are still more of the best places to eat in Cardiff, so why not have a look at the local ones?
For example, when it comes to traditional British cuisine, many people think of the national dish of fish and chips; on second thought, it might be fried chicken and burgers. Apart from these, some worthwhile dishes in the UK are good to eat occasionally. We have prepared a few recommendations for traditional Welsh cuisine for you to try, depending on your preference.
1.Cafe Castan
Among all these nice restaurants in Cardiff, Cafe Castan’s speciality is Welsh lamb soup. Walking into a charming shop on a cold winter’s day and having a mouthful of Welsh-style soup is guaranteed to warm your body, and paired with the shop’s speciality toast, it’s just perfect! The restaurant also has Bara Brith, also known as Speckled Bread, a cake made of fruit and tea topped with butter. It combines two different flavours and tastes fantastic.
Address: 5 Cathedral Rd, Llandaff Fields, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9QJ, United Kingdom
Opening Hours:
9:30-17:00
9:30-16:00 on Sunday
2.Las Lguanas
When it comes to traditional Welsh food, how can you go wrong with a Welsh cake? This kind of cake is widespread, and you can buy it in almost all supermarkets in Cardiff, but the best one is Las Lguanas. The soft and sweet Welsh cake is super delicious!
Las Iguanas is a vibrant restaurant in Cardiff that brings the flavours of Mexico, Brazil, and Latin America to Mill Lane and Mermaid Quay. Its focus is on fresh and authentic cuisine and that make Las Lguanas one of the best restaurants in Cardiff. Additionally, it is known for its happy hour cocktails, which add a refreshing touch to your dining experience.
Address：14 Mermaid Quay, Bute Street, CF10 5BZ.
Opening hours:
11:00-22:00 on Monday to Thursday
11:00-23:00 on Friday
11:00-23:30 on Saturday
12:00-21:30 on Sunday
Barbecues
1.Viva Brazil
Brazilian barbecue is the number one choice for meat lovers, and as the top restaurant in Cardiff, Viva Brazil offers the most authentic Brazilian barbecue. Viva Brazil’s dishes include classic beef, grilled chicken, grilled sausage, grilled pork chops, grilled bacon rolls, grilled lamb, grilled cheese, and more. In addition, the restaurant offers a variety of salads, fruit bread, other side dishes, cocktails, and drinks. After all, it’s easy to get tired of overeating meat, so having something different is excellent.
All the meat is cut off on the spot at the table right after it is roasted, and when you cut it, you can choose the portion size according to your preference and the amount of food you want to eat. The portions are enormous.
Cost: per person: around 20-40
Address：Ground floor, Maldron hotel | St Mary’s St, Cardiff, WalesCF10 1GD
Opening hours: 12:00-22:30
2.The Potted Pig
Address：27 High Street, Cardiff, CF10 1PU
Opening hours:
12:00-14:30/18:00-21:00 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday
12:00-15:30 on Sunday 18:00-21:00 on Tuesday
Closed on Monday
The people of France have always been known as good at eating and fine dining, so to date, French cuisine is still at the top of Western food and is famous worldwide. The French have also been known for their romance, so the specialities of French cuisine also fully highlight the romance of the French. Each dish is made with fresh seasonal ingredients, plus the chef’s personal and unique seasoning, which gives birth to this unique art of culinary excellence, an unparalleled enjoyment in sight, smell, taste, touch and sympathetic nerves.
The name The Potted Pig sounds cute for a restaurant specialising in pork, but it’s a romantic French restaurant. This restaurant is English French because it fully displays French cuisine in its food but incorporates English dining habits in its details. Since the menu keeps improving with the change of seasons, everyone who goes there every season will have different dishes. Of course, apart from pork, the restaurant has many other good choices, the most recommended being Rib Eye Steak and Sirloin Steak, and the restaurant’s most popular Chips are to be noticed.
Speacial Food
1.Mowgli street food
When going through the list of “best restaurants in Cardiff”, Mowgli street food will appear. This restaurant is exquisitely and beautifully decorated, with beautiful clear glass jars and star-like strings of LED lights all over the store. Some of the seats are designed with swings, which must be booked in advance, so if you’re a walk-in, you may miss the chance to experience it. The signature dish here is Peru, an Indian speciality with a soft texture and curry sauce. The restaurant’s snack, Angry Bird, is also perfect. It is grilled chicken thigh meat and salad. The chicken thigh is juicy and tender and marinated with unique Indian spices, which is very relieving.
Address: Unit C, 5, 10 Church St, Cardiff CF10 1BG, United Kingdom
Opening hours: 11:30-22:00/22:30/23:00
2.Thai Asian Delish
Tucked away in Cardiff Market is a Thai food stall, where Thai Asian Delish offers a great selection of inexpensive Thai meals. Pad Thai is just £5.50, while Massaman curry with rice, fries or other mains is just £5.60!
Address: Cardiff Market, St Mary Street, Cardiff CF10 1AU
Opening hours: 12:00-15:30/17:00-21:30
FAQ on Best Restaurants in Cardiff
Culinary Excellence: The quality and creativity of the food served significantly determine a restaurant’s rating. Factors such as taste, presentation, and dish innovation are crucial considerations.
Service Quality: Exceptional service provided by attentive and knowledgeable staff members contributes to a positive dining experience and influences restaurant ratings.
Ambience: The overall atmosphere, decor, and ambience of a restaurant can greatly impact how patrons perceive their dining experience, leading to higher ratings for establishments with inviting settings.
Value for Money: The balance between the quality of food, service, and pricing is essential. Restaurants offering good value for money tend to receive favorable ratings from diners.
In Cardiff, the vibrant area of the City Centre is renowned for hosting many top-rated restaurants that cater to diverse culinary preferences. Whether you’re craving international flavours, traditional Welsh dishes, or innovative fusion cuisines, the City Centre of Cardiff boasts a remarkable concentration of the best restaurants awaiting to delight your taste buds and elevate your dining journey.
The culinary scene in Cardiff celebrates a rich tapestry of tastes, from hearty Welsh dishes like cawl and Welsh cakes to fusion creations that reflect the city’s cosmopolitan character. What truly makes Cardiff’s cuisine special is its ability to showcase the region’s cultural diversity through food, inviting diners on a flavorful journey that highlights both tradition and innovation.
