Carluccio’s

Might have caught the chefs on a bad day here, but I really wasn’t impressed by what they had to offer. A nice enough looking place, but then no different from every other generic Italian chain, the one thing I did like about this place was the small shop at the front where you can buy reasonably priced wines, meats and other foodstuffs. I’m sure I will go back if only for that.
The service was good, and I have no complaints there, but the food was distinctly average. For starter, I ordered the bruschetta which, albeit fresh tasting, didn’t have much going on. It was good, but no better than what you expect to get in a restaurant these days.
For mains, I went for the ravioli. I am a fan of all things that involve spinach and ricotta cheese so I was looking forward to this. My advice would be don’t bother — there wasn’t a great deal of flavour and the amount of salt in the dish’s butter/​sauce was staggering. As much as I wished it was a good dish, it really was disappointing.
On the upshot, we had a bottle of red which was staggeringly nice so that does earn some points back.

I’ve been to Carluccios a couple of time’s before and after a long day at work, I wanted some good pasta and I knew Carluccios could deliver this over, say, Jamie’s Italian where I’ve had some mediocre wine and GF pasta that wasn’t cooked well.
My seafood GF pasta was lovely — the waitress had mentioned a potential 20 minute wait as it was GF and cooked fresh but this wasn’t an issue. I ordered a glass of red wine — again, decent and reasonably priced.
So far so good but I made the mistake of ordering dessert and this is where Carluccios goes down in my estimations. The menu showed lots of gluten free options and this is rare on a dessert menu so this is why I ordered, rather than leave after my pasta. Not good. Within about 30 seconds of ordering, my chocolate fondant arrived, clearly microwaved and not a chocolate fondant, but just a rather lousy GF chocolate sponge with ice cream. Fine if I had this as a supermarket option at home, but not paying about £5 in a restaurant which prides itself on it’s food.
Service was friendly and attentive so no issues there but only 3*‘s due to the lousy, nuked GF pud. Carluccios — could do better…

This is a really lovely restaurant with great staff and a generally upcalss air to it all.

Wow, this is a great place. The design of it is just lovely inside and with all the sunny weather of late we could sit outside and enjoy all the bussle of Mill Lane while enjoying a great meal.
I can’t say the food was as good as it is over in Jamie’s Italian but it works out a little bit cheaper. The service is very attentive and you are made to feel very welcome. I also think this would be a really good place to bring the kids as it seems pretty geared up to having them there, just like all restaurants in Italy are.
If you fancy something different they also make up picnics for you, and well the deli was what first attracted me to the place. The cakes are bellissimo!

As someone who has been a massive fan of Carluccio’s, I was horrified to discover yesterday that Carluccio’s had already been open for three weeks without my knowledge (I’m meant to be the Cardiff insider after all)!
The Cardiff Carluccio’s is located by the new library on the Hayes, and together with its neighbours Gourmet Burger kitchen and Wagamama, turns a once downtrodden area of Cardiff into a buzzing metropolitan spot.
The moment I entered Carluccios I was greeted by a friendly Italian waitress who was more than happy to answer my many questions about the restaurant, and seemed as excited as me that Cardiff finally has a Carluccio’s.
For those unfamiliar with this Café, Carluccio’s specialies in good Italian food such as pasta, Panini’s, salads, and seafood at not too high a price. The atmosphere is relaxed but still retains a touch of class, and I was pleased to see that the Cardiff branch already appears to be quite popular. I had Pasta Con Funghi, and was surprised to find it to be even more delicious than when I last ate it at their South Kensington café (Cardiff obviously has a very good chef).
The café isn’t particularly large, but neither is it too small, and there are tables outside which I imagine will become increasingly popular as summer approaches.
If you unfortunately don’t have time to sit and eat, there is a takeaway option for Panini’s, cakes, coffee and croissants (these in particular are very yummy).
What’s more there is a small shop, where you can purchase cookbooks, oils, Italian biscuits, and the most incredible pasta (I usually mass buy it when in London, so this is very handy for me). In addition to this you can also buy fresh cheeses, oils, fish, breads and many other deli items (does this place get better?).