Can Zaman

I tried Can Zaman last night whilst looking for something different. As it was Friday and pay-​day the wife and I fancied a takeaway and I needed a change from Chinese /​Indian /​Vietnamese (Phở Bac is excellent!), so I had a look around the web and saw one of my friends had raved about Can Zaman. With no baby-​sitter we were tied to a takeaway and I nearly didn’t bother as it’s the wrong side of town for us (they deliver, but not as far as Canton!).
But, if ever a drive to collect was worth it, it was this one.
The food was delicious and plentiful. We went for the meze starter; about 8 different offerings including tzatziki, couscous, hoummous, salsa and various other dips and sauces that were lovely with the Lebanese bread (‘wraps’) that were meant for our mixed grill main. All of the meze’s are made on the day and the freshness was palpable.
The main was incredible; lamb kofta, chicken kofta, lamb shish, chicken shish, 2 (admittedly slightly overdone/​charred) chicken wings all on a bed of nicely done rice. The meats were tender and well, if not overly spiced.
I am looking at our diaries today to see when we can go along to have a proper sit down meal; the real shame from last night for me as the restaurant looks stunning, with ornate tiling and décor, it really is a step above almost every Indian /​Chinese restaurant I’ve been to in Cardiff.
One thing to note is that alcohol isn’t served, but please don’t let that put you off; this is top quality cooking at really reasonable prices. Our food was more than enough for 2, in fact I’m just finishing off the last of the hommous as I type :)
See you soon, Can Zaman.
Cheers,
Steve

Me and my husband took a wander down City Road last night looking for somewhere different to eat. As there are new places popping up all the time we figured we would find somewhere. I knew of Can Zaman but was a little worried the food would be too spicy for me as I can’t eat anything to hot, but after reading the menu figured we would give it a go. It is Lebanese speciality food. First the décor is lovely, very colourful and lots of intricate looking painted panels and heavy dark wood tables. It was fairly busy, with a mix of ethnicity’s (I always think this is a good sign!) We were seated as soon as we entered so no waiting around and were served by a lovely young gentlemen who was very helpful when I asked about spice levels and suggested we order the cucumber and yogurt salad to help cool if anything was too hot. But he said most of the menu was only very mildly spiced (he was right!) We ordered 2 fruit juices, the pineapple and the Mango which were beautiful (they only serve soft drinks no alcohol). The starters are like Meze dishes so very small (so we were informed) so we ordered 2 portions of the lamb meatball and 2 cheese pastries (cant remember the real names sorry) which are £1.25 and £2 a portion respectively. We then both ordered the Mix Grill as I had read reviews saying it was good and we wanted to try a few things. At £11 each I figured it was reasonable I now change that view to incredibly well priced as the portion size was huge! There was so much meat that we ended up taking half of it home for our housemates to try! The Mix Grill consisted of 2 chicken wings, 1 large lamb Kofta (cut in 2 to fit on plate), 1 large chicken Kofta (cut in 2 as well) 1 lamb shish and 1 chicken shish. On a bed of rice (or chips of half and half as we did) and a salad of cucumber, tomato and onion. It was all delicious and cooked perfectly! I will say the Kofta’s were a little spicy for me (it has chili flakes in) so I had to add the yogurt but the Shish were beautiful. I would probably have that next time we go. The only little criticism I would give is that the wait between finishing our starters and getting our mains was a little long compared to other restaurants, but when i saw how much meat there was and how well it was actually cooked I forgave them. So I would definitely give it a 4 star and advise anyone to try it if they like Lebanese or Greek food or fancy trying Lebanese. In total we had 4 starters, 2 mains, 1 yogurt side, 3 juice and 1 can Pepsi. which came to £38. Which I think was pretty good considering the quantity of food we had.

You can find my review of Can Zaman here

Visited Canzaman recently after purchasing a deal through KGB– £16 for £40 worth of food. First and foremost, do not buy a ‘deal’ or ‘voucher’ for Canzaman– prices are very cheap in any event (most expensive starter is £4, most starters range between £1.50-£2.50). Even the most expensive main course (a mixed grill) is only £11. Therefore, we were disappointed to discover that the £40 voucher we had purchased entitled us to a starter, main and dessert each that did not, and could not, amount to £40. They had obviously received many complaints/​comments in this regard, and we ready with an argument when we commented on it. However, the majority of the food at Canzaman was good. The salad I had to start was very good (even if the olives were no pitted) and the hummus was the best I have ever tried. The main of mixed grill was plentiful and of a good quality, although I had asked for me meat well done and had to send my lamb and chicken back because they were underone. No apology was made and the meat was re-​cooked with bad grace by the surly waiter. Dessert was a disaster– I opted for the Canzaman ‘special’ ice cream– the special thing about it was that it had a large stick of plastic running through it! It was clearly an ice cream lolly that they had put in a bowl, without removing all the stick. The pancakes and cream were cold, stodgy and unappetising. I sent the ice cream back (on account of the stick in the middle) and again no apology was offered. All in all, although the food is cheap and relatively good– Canzaman fails on its lack of atmosphere. Mezza Luna (a restaurant serving similar cuisine up the road) is slightly more expensive but the staff are warm and the atmosphere lively. The same cant be said for Canzaman. I wont be going back.

What a find! I’d give this place five stars but for the most uncomfortable chairs in Wales. The portions are HUGE, the food is good and it’s great value for money.
The amazing juices make up for the lack of wine (the lemon and mint was my favourite) and the staff are very amenable and happy to explain the dishes.
They don’t take card payments, so go with cash, although you don’t need a lot of it to eat really well here.

I went there with 5 friends and we had lots of different dishes. Very impressed. One of the few restaurants which cook meat so well! Fantastic!
Service was good but we went there during a quiet time.

What a amazing restaurant, the styled exterior is matched by the mediterranean interior styling with large ceiling space and beautiful marble stone work the tables and chairs are top notch and it was a delight to sit at some of the more comfortable seating of all the restaurants in the area. The style is very mediterranean with palm styled plants and all authentic décor and artwork from the marble tapestry and deep mahogany décor.
Some things that this place could improve on is the outside could advertise the menu and contact information. The restaurant could do well to contact Mina on albany road and have a word about the menu as Mina seems to be generally better in the speed of delivery of the food. The style of menu is cooked heavily involving olive oil based and lemon spiced with cooked fish and meat of the lamb and goat variety, you should also like humous with side baked breads. The place can seem slightly cold due to the open space and a jumper is recommended.

This place is just across the road from us and we love the smoothies there. Been there once for a meal and was very pleased with the service and food.

I didn’t know what this place was from outside. There’s no menu in the window and the doors were shut making it very inaccessible unless you know what you’re looking for. I thought it was a mosque at first because of the décor. One I’d established it was indeed an open restaurant, we gave it a go.
The staff were friendly, but very slow. We had chicken shawarma which was really good and a mixed grill which was ok. There was loads of food, Too much even and I struggled to find anything particularly authentic about it.
However, THE most amazing smoothies.