Seren

I felt like I’d hit the jackpot when we found this little Turkish restaurant in Canton. The queue in another eatery had been so long the kitchen had shut by the time we got to the counter so we just headed for the nearest place.
We were a relatively big group and so we were ushered upstairs into what became an almost private room. The food all looked great and the next thing we knew it was three courses later, we’d all had a great time and were all stuffed. And vowing to come back.
I’ve been back a few times since. The food is really good, very authentic Turkish food, with Turkish beer and wine also. It is only small, so downstairs it can be a bit impersonal as waiters and waitresses bustle around you, but upstairs is, as a I say, almost a private room.
The only real shame is that it has always been pretty empty when we’ve been, which just seems wrong when the food is so good!

Went there for the other half birthday with high hopes. Unfortunately didn’t really met them.
At first I really liked the café look and feel, found rather strange we were the only ones there though. When the waitress came along I found it very homely and cosy as she was really nice but after the ³⁰⁄₄₀ minutes the food took to arrive it was just plain food… nothing really special. The mrs had a veggie moussaka that half of it looked like mashed potato (not even bechamel) and I had boiled veggies in broth.
All the good reviews we heard from friends went down the drain. It has indeed a traditional feel about it and apparently they even have a private room upstairs for big groups and it’s free… but all that didn’t really reel me in.
Sorry.

I love Turkish food, and I really like this little Turkish restaurant in Canton, which has been running for a few years now. The food is fab, prepared using fresh produce; the service is friendly and efficient; and personally I think the prices are reasonable — although another reviewer thought it was expensive, so I guess it depends where you usually eat out (as a guide, starters are between about £3−6, mains range from about £8.50 to £15).
They serve up all the classic dishes you’d expect on a Turkish menu. Cold starters include dips, olives, dolma (stuffed vine leaves) and kisir (which is similar to tabbouleh) served with homemade breads. The main dishes are generally served with rice and include classics such as moussaka, meatballs, tasty chicken kofte (one of my favourites), many grilled meat dishes cooked on the charcoal, and choban kavurma (diced lamb cooked with tomato, onion, peppers, and herbs), amongst others. The only part of the meal I think may be potentially overpriced, but I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure of the portions, are the desserts — I’d want quite a few pieces of baklava for £4.50.
Their wine list includes a couple of Turkish choices alongside French, Spanish, Portuguese, Australian, Chilean, South African and New Zealand wines.
The décor is fairly functional rather than creative, but the food and friendly service more than make up for this — and It’s great to see this local restaurant quite often busy even on nights earlier in the week when bigger chain restaurants in the city centre are relatively quiet.

Seren is a well run, popular Turkish restaurant on Cowbridge Road East in the Canton district of Cardiff. It serves great food, that could well be authentic, as claimed, but not having been to Turkey I couldn’t concur or deny! All I know is that I really enjoy eating here. I’m a great lover of Mediterranean food, and to my mind there’s plenty of dishes on the menu that is Mediterranean in style, including roasted and stuffed vegetables, vine leaves oozing with flavoursome fillings and olive oil, flat breads and delicious fish mains that look pretty good too. Everything is very colourful, suggesting that it’s good for you too! There’s also things like halloumi. And humus on the menu, which I know to be more Eastern in origin, so I guess we are getting the best of both worlds at Seren!
And there’s a thing! Seren means star in Welsh, (I only know this because a good friend of mine has called his first born son Seren, which is highly appropriate in this little boys case!) So, they’ve adapted to being in Wales pretty well too. It’s clearly a place of unifying the best of everything!
The service is excellent in this warm and friendly establishment, and the prices are more than reasonable for what you get. I’m not overly impressed by the interior, which is clean and serviceable rather than really decorative. The tables are squeezed in, in a uniform manner instead of being arranged more creatively. But this is a busy restaurant with a limited floor space, and so this is understandable. Some effort is made at dressing the tables; linen cloths with paper liners, fresh flowers and colourful napkins. It lacks flair, but the food certainly doesn’t!
They have a free function room upstairs for special occasions and there’s 15% off menu prices for take-​aways.

I found this restaurant quite expensive for what it was — I didn’t come out feeling that satisfied with the meal at all, though I was happy with the service, which was really good.
The food that we had was delievered to our table quite quickly, even though the restaurant was busy… it just wasn’t all that great. It was a bit like:
‘Oh, you want to go to Seren?
Yeah… why do you not like it there?
No, it’s fine… You’re paying, right?’

I went here twice during my stay in Cardiff, and loved it both times. The server was really attentive and even friendly and the food was delicious. The restaurant doesn’t really fill up until later, so in the earlier hours (around 6 or 7) there is no wait and food comes out quickly. I had the mixed meze platter and the turlu, and both were great. I’ve been to Turkey and loved the food, and it was nice to get a taste of that again.

Since the first time I ate here, this has been my favorite restaurant in Cardiff, hands down. In addition to the warm welcome, excellent service, and down to earth décor, there is a remarkable phenomenon at Seren. In the kitchen, there is love and you will taste it, and you will experience that wonderful thing, the gastronomical joygasm!
Enjoy

Seren in Canton is a wonderful little Turkish restaurant. I first spotted it by seeing the name Seren walking through Canton. Being the same name as my daughter and Welsh for Star I went to have a nosey at the menu. Having eaten there a few times I would thoroughly recommend it. Small and quaint, the food is homely and delicious. The moussaka is a must! It has a wonderful atmoshere and all the staff are extremely friendly making you feel welcome. It can be busy at weekends so booking would be advised. The food is reasonably priced and offers a selection of Turkish and Mediterannean cuisine. I’ll be booking a table again soon.

Great place this one, Simple but fresh tasty food. Its one of those places where you expect a turkish grandma to be the head chef, thats a compliment by the way, as the food feels homely and honest. Eat there fairly often and must say the staff are friendly and make you feel very welcome. Its nice to have some diversity in a city which needs a culinary kick up the bum. Oh and the turkish beer is good too.

Seren is a fairly new Turkish restaurant in Canton, Cardiff. The food’s simple, delicious and very reasonably priced, the service is friendly even in the busiest times and the atmosphere is homely. I’d advise you to book if you want a table at the weekend as it is deservedly very popular. I love this restaurant.

How could I not go into this restaurant? The first time I came across this Turkish eating venue I got very excited and thought it must be good if it shares the same name as me! This restaurant offers a wide range of Mediterranean and Turkish dishes. I’m not a big fan of Turkish food but this restaurant changed my mind completely! There grilled aubergine purée and bulgar with peppers really tingled my taste buds and this place is great value! Nicely designed with colourful artwork and a real feel of the warmth from the Mediterranean!