Casanova

Sat upstairs, beautiful and cozy atmosphere. The service was impeccable, I felt cared for by staff. The moment I sat down I had water poured for me and a glass bottle left on the table, which staff immediately filled when empty. The bread and olives were delicious. Our mains arrived just as we finished our starters and they looked perfect. I ordered the Ragu and was not left disappointed. It was the most flavourful pasta I've had in my life, the lamb was incredibly well cooked and had not one ounce of fat, the Pecorino cheese the most amazing pairing. The Pannacotta was absolutely divine it had the most rich cherry topping and delectable almond praline. This is an amazing restaurant and I would recommend this strongly to friends and family.

5* for the food and friendly service. Seating area and layout is not the most comfortable and can be bothersome close to the entrance door

This is a lovely, clean, traditional, independent Italian restaurant, with an intimate atmosphere and attentive staff. We went for the set lunch, and found the quality of the food to be excellent, and the portion sizes to be just right. Our wine was served perfectly chilled, and the coffee was outstanding. Just two things, the tables are very close together, so you don't get a lot of privacy or space during your meal, and also, they offer no dairy alternatives. Otherwise, excellent 👌

Amazing great food. I had wild mushroom risotto, then hake plain grilled/fried in a soup/stock with peas, broad beans, asparagus, pancetta. I loved it and will bring my wife here. Best Italian food I've had for a long time.

We arrived 20 minutes late to our reservation, but the staff were extremely accommodating and efficient. Menu was seasonal with some regional classics. The Rotolo, Pesce, and Canolo were all highlights with reasonably priced house red. Atmosphere was welcoming and warm.

They accommodated us without reservation. Small Italian restaurant. Crowded and noisy sometimes. Set menu with very good quality food. Slow cooked Welsh lamb is a must. The manager didn't visit our table and wasn't very talkative, even basic greetings. His colleague compensated everything. She gave us the best service. Anyway, if you like fine Italian cuisine, you should not miss it.

I've always enjoyed visiting Casanova, but it's been a while and boy have they your their game! The food was absolutely stunning. I had the carpaccio to start, with aged parmesan. Then loin of veal for main, while my wife had the seafood pasta, we shared an excellent cheese board and a rich chocolate mousse. Friendly service and plenty of info about the dishes if you wanted it. Great place for a relaxed evening of good food and wine.

The food here is spectacular. Loved the sauce👌 I’m glad I stopped here before heading back to London. Tiny bit expensive drinks😭 I’ll visit again next time I’m in Cardiff and maybe order a whole bottle instead of a glass of wine.

Excellent food and the staff were very friendly. Will definitely return the next time we visit Cardiff.

Absolutely wonderful in every aspect: initial greeting to a great red wine list at realistic costs. Our first visit to Wales and Cardiff and Yelp helped us find this hidden treasure. It is certainly well worth finding. An Italian restaurant with amazing Welch lamb dishes as well as Italian prepared fish and exquisitely prepared pasta. We truly loved this small cuisine. Very happy!

Saw this little restaurant on Yelp today. Wales "opened" for business just last week, and I gave them a call to see if they were open. Was told to come and enjoy by the Manager Selim. When I arrived there was a reserved table with a post "for our American friend". That's a great way to start - and the complimentary Prosecco when you sit down is an unexpected touch of class. I could spend a lot of time writing about the positives of this place, but suffice it to say that on the urging of the manager, I tried the chef's 5 course meal - FANTASTIC from the first bite to the last. I closed the place down, just sipping some excellent Italian wine and finishing the cheese plate. The chef is innovative, the staff is first class, and the service is genuinely friendly and accommodating. They are obviously glad to be reopened, and I am obviously glad I had a chance to enjoy their food and service for almost 3 hours.

There is a real local feel to this small Italian restaurant. Cosy really is the right word for this place. Food is fantastic here and the meat is always cooked top perfection from the few visits I've done.

I almost don't want to tell everyone about this place for fear I'll never be able to book a table again. But I made a commitment to tell my fellow residents about the very best haunts in town, so here goes: Casanova is one of my favourite foodie haunts in the city. Their delectable homemade cuisine is created with fresh, local ingredients, but that's not what keeps me coming back for more. I feel like I'm in Italy when I'm here - the to-die-for aromas emanating from the nearby kitchen, the intimate seating arrangements, the flickering candles casting an ambient glow, the jovial wait staff - when I'm here with my beloved, it's like that iconic scene in Lady and the Tramp when they're sharing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs - romance without the pretentions! Bella Notte indeed.

This is probably my favourite restaurant in Cardiff. Casanova's is a comfortable, cosy & friendly restaurant with a good atmosphere, in Cardiff City Centre. It has a very small menu, that changes quite regularly, and the food has always been fantastic every time I've been. I had salt marsh lamb the last time I was there and it was beautifully cooked and very delicious. Pasta is always cooked to perfection and they have a top quality wine list. Casanova's is right by the Millenium Stadium, opposite the NCP on Quay street, which is a small street connecting St. Marys Street and Westgate street.

Our local friend suggested you had to book well in advance to get a table here, but luckily we walked past towards the end of the lunch service one day and saw they had a table. Lunch is a set menu so the choice is not vast, but the food was delicious. My red lentil soup was extremely tasty as I followed it up with the pasta arrabiata, a dish that often disappoints me by not being particularly arrabiata at all. It still wasn't especially furious here but the pasta was thick and the sauce was seriously pleasent in my mouth. I certainly didn't feel let down! I got my arrabiata hours later when a merchant let me try a piece of a ghost pepper, my mouth was livid....but that is another story.

Casanova has done well to create the atmosphere of a small, cosy, provincial restaurant in Italy. Instead of being presented with the standard pizza menu you find at many Italian restaurants, here you'll find a variety of risottos and tasty pasta dishes using authentic ingredients. It's well-located near the Millennium Stadium, and uses fresh fish and meat bought daily from Cardiff Market. Their menu follows the seasons using fresh ingredients that are available at the time, which is great if you're prone to falling back on the same old 'favourite' dish every time you eat at a particular restaurant, because here you can't - and you're forced to be more adventurous. If you haven't eaten at Casanova before but would like to give it a try, they do a great lunchtime 2-course special for £9.95 (available Monday to Saturday from 12-2.30pm).

Agree completely with WRU; Casanova is a true hidden gem that delights. Me and two friends went on a whim one night around nine o clock and had a blast. The food was incredible. I had Tuna Carpaccio to start (delicious) followed by the steak dish (medium rare steak & celeriac on one side of the plate with a little tower of melt-in-the-mouth braised beef stacked on sweet red cabbage on the other side of the plate - really, reeeeeeeally good). My friends opted for some of the vegetarian dishes and said that they were delicious (especially the mushroom risotto with truffle oil). Usually, after two courses, dessert would be out of the question, but the food was too good to resist, so we shared profiteroles, chocolate fondant and tiramisu with even sampled the dessert wines. All were superb. The bottle of red that we chose (after some very helpful advice from our waiter; a wonderfully funny guy who spoke seven languages!) was fantastic. Smooth and mellow; exactly what we were after. And then, towards the end of the night, our charming waiter brought round the other bottle of wine we were fancying and gave everyone upstairs a free glass to try! What a lovely touch. The food was fantastic, the staff were friendly and professional and very helpful, the wine was great and the bill didn't break the bank. All three of us had a starter, main and dessert and shared a bottle of wine and it cost us £35 each. I'd gladly pay that again (and will, for I intend to visit Casanova again and again and again until i've exhausted the menu!).

Hidden restaurant on Quay Street largely because the frosted glass on the outside prevents you from seeing the customers inside. I had pasta with beef and it was fantastic! There weren't a lot of healthy options the night we were there and the selections looked pretty rich.

A true gem, if you didnt know it was there you'd probably walk right past it. Totally agree with the previous reviews, real country Italian food. If your expecting the usual fayre think again i went for lunch and had the Sarde al saor sardines with sweet onions (Cold) and Paccheri Genovese beef, carrot, onions cooked in a light broth, both ive never eaten before and both were truly delicious. I was suprised at first with the sardines being cold as I had a mental picture of grilled sardines but once I tasted it any thoughts of grilled sardines were truly shelved. The Paccheri Genovese was again another dish ive never tasted before and again was pleasantly suprised basically it was tender beef carrots onions in a light broth seasoned to perfection served over large tube pasta. Think I need to go again!

Wow what a great experience!!!!Finally an Italian restaurant without the usual britalian menu, no spag-bol, no pizzas no garlic bread or lasagna nor sirloin with dolcelatte or garlic prawns and mushrooms but a great menu, small choice (that guarantees fresh ingredients) seasonal veg, all perfectly cooked. I had the new season Salt Marsh lambto die for. I have eaten in Locanda Locatelli and the food in Casanova was very much up to that standard; just go there, try it and let me know!