Zorica Shaw
Friend and I went to The Old Custom House for a lunch. Restaurant is situated in historic building (there are 2 restaurants) , with a stunning outdoor terrace overlooking Cardiff marina, surrounded by plants around the tables . Spanish theme. We enjoyed delicious food, wine and the views. Very enjoyable afternoon.
Kean Jones
We visited on a Sunday in October after pre booking, we’ve fancied visiting for a while but never got around to it and I was a little put off by the reviews stating bad service. I’m glad we visited because our meal was excellent from start to finish. We were welcomed at the door and offered a seat at the bar while we waited for our table, we waited for a small while to be served but our table was ready when we did. My wife had a Sunday lunch and I had a fillet steak, my wife said the Sunday lunch was the nicest one she’d had for a while. The fillet steak was excellent, really nice size for a fillet, really tender, tasty and perfectly cooked to my order. We shared the pate starter and had a bread basket, the pate was lovely and so was the bread. The broccoli side I had was very nice, cooked with chilli and garlic and so was the pepper sauce I had with the steak. We had a bottle of the Marques de Riscal Verdejo and a couple of glasses of Piper Champagne, both very nice. The service was excellent throughout, from the greeting to the table service and the guy behind the ordering counter, very welcoming, friendly and helpful. The building is very nice too, nicely decorated, bustling with activity but plenty of space around the tables. Including the alcohol I mentioned the bill was around £130 including a tip. We will definitely be back.
Lodge Secretary
Great lunch, as always at this fabulous restaurant. Awesome food, plenty to choose from , great table (15) lovely view and warm welcoming and helpful staff
James Grady
Our family shared one of the happiest, most delicious, meals out here, that i can remember. The staff are passionate, the restaurant food counter is beautifully presented and the food is exquisitely prepared, and all at a really quite reasonable price point.
Their focus seems to be on simple food done to perfection, and they are down-to-earth enough to have a salad bar.
As someone who is gluten free, GF, I really appreciated that there was very little I couldn't eat.
There is free parking outside the restaurant and they even have an electric car charger (albeit an expensive one).
Next time we are in Cardiff we'll defininely make the effort to drop by again!
Julie Gafoor
Delicious food, great service and the atmosphere is brilliant.
What a wonderful birthday lunch for my Mum & close friends xxx
tanya fiddler
El Pourto at The Old Custom House was beautiful. Food was cooked to perfection and the wine selection was superb. Will definitely be returning. We all had 3 courses and 4 bottles of wine.
Rhea John
It's a really nice place to go if you fancy treating yourself or for an occasion. The food is really good & there's plenty to choose from. The fresh food bar is very nice, where you can select your fresh fish, meat & anything else they have available. I would recommend making a reservation for the Custom House as it's popular & can get very busy.
Sarah Parsons
Great Service, Great Food. We Had Dover Sole Off The Bone & It Melted In Our Mouths .
Matteo Trisolini Longobardi
We go here every year - almost with our fail. Great for couples, or family celebrations. The seafood and meats is expertly cooked seasoned perfectly and lightly with just right amount of salt and butter ( not to much not too little) On top the waiting staff are superb, friendly, professional and knowledgable when recommending an appropriate wine or dish. Simple fantastic!
Judy Robins
Good service, lovely food but not my preferred way to order a meal. Have to queue up like a school canteen and pick what you want to eat from the options written on a wall. Not a lot of thinking time especially if people are behind you waiting their turn.
Extensive wine list if you know your wines - I don't. Price wise on a par with Millar and carter.
Vicki Watts
This restaurant can polarise opinions. It’s a place where there is no menu, but you go up to a food bar similar to the butcher or deli in a supermarket and physically choose your piece or meat or fish. If you choose fish, it will be boned and prepared by your table before being cooked in the open kitchen. Nothing comes with sides, if you want any accompaniment it comes at extra cost from vegetables to potatoes etc. Very very expensive and extensive selection of wines on offer. No non alcoholic menu although they do have coke.
A unique experience with excellent food, but comes with a pricey tag.
Gavin Baldwin
The Custom House is by far one of the best restaurants in Cardiff. The atmosphere and decor is lovely and the location for views especially at night time. The food is lovely also and the 2 course menu is great value for money. I like the whole go to the counter and choose your food it's a nice little touch.
The staff are always smart and very friendly. To me the place is flawless. You won't be disappointed. Been my favourite restaurant for years.
craig rich
Pick your own meat, plenty of sides reasonably priced for how delicious the food is. Not my first visit, I’ve been several times over the past 4 /5 years and has been consistent on every visit worth a visit if your in Cardiff
Bob Ashworth
This really is a very good place to eat. The price of a meal reflects the quality of ingredients, the skill in preparation and the table service. Excellent choice of meat and fish. Welsh lamb very good. Sea Bass also excellent; be sure to say if you want to de-bone yourself. Excellent place for a celebration large or small.
Janice Jones-Griffiths
We took our friends for their anniversary and it was a wonderful night. The food and service were amazing and it is a really pretty place. We would definitely go again
Mark
Food cooked to order. Good range of food. Excellent service. Can be quite noisy, so ask for a quieter table if this is an issue.
Adam Cooke
Really good food.
Super friendly staff.
Always the sound of people having a good time.
Excellent view across the bay.
Jacqueline Young
I love the Old Custom House. Spur of the moment visit on a wet summer Sunday, me, husband and adult daughter. Full downstairs so were given table on first floor. Staff were friendly and helpful, menu is on chalk board behind the counter, so take your glasses! Great display of fresh fish, but remember it it priced per kilo not per portion! My daughter and I plumped for Sunday lunch, roast beef, £17.95 for two courses, delicious! To start I had the fishcakes, lovely. Husband had garlic mushrooms followed by sea bass with garlic which he said was really good. We had puddings which were yummy and a glass of wine. Yes, it was a bit pricey, around £90 for the three of us, but it was a bit special and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and would recommend 😊
Jason Bertorelli
Think the rating I've given is a fair reflection of my experience, booked a table for my partners birthday after hearing good things about the restaurant and visiting the sister restaurant the miskin arms. Having eaten out at other restaurants, prior to booking a special occasion and telling them on the booking it was a birthday etc I have been greated with a complimentary drink, this didn't happen on this occasion which wasn't the end of the world but thought it would. After ordering food at the fresh counter we were greated by a rather abrupt and rude member of staff that wouldn't even contemplate asking the kitchen for any small requests like blue cheese on a steak. Once we had our starters we waited nearly 1 hour and 20 minutes for our mains. Which had to be sent back as the meat was undercooked. So my partner and I didn't eat our food together. The table staff we very helpful and apologetic, after our 3 and half hour meal at the restaurant a bottle of wine was taken off the bill as compensation which was nice. Won't be returning in a hurry maybe it was just a one off but not the best experience.
Craig Lewis
I’ve always been impressed with the food here. I’ve experienced friendly service by the staff and management. My go to place for great meat dishes and drinks. Fantastic homely feel for summer outside and winter food. Highly recommend!!
Theresa Cole
Asked to have a drink at the bar for 5 mins to wait for a table, 30 mins later had to remind them, table straight away, moved to a window seat while choosing our food which was nice, ordered a bottle of water which took 10 minutes to arrive, the food arrived quickly and was delicious, my husband had the deep fried hake, i had the stuffed chicken, my daughter had the duck, advised it would be served pink, how she likes it, but the plate was so hot, 'hot enough to iron the tea towel' as told us by the waiter , the duck was over cooked, still tasty, im sure it would have been changed quickly if we had asked
On the whole lovely food and setting, beautiful building and decor , friendly helpful staff, would eat there again.
Leyton Tanner
Have been coming to El Puerto regularly for several years. Lovely, relaxed surroundings with polite and efficient staff. Have never had a bad meal here. Yesterday had fresh zingy seafood salad with mussels, squid, king prawns, shrimp, onions, peppers. For main I had wolffish in Caribbean sauce. Delicious. And then a gorgeous creme brulee for dessert. My friend had a tasty Mediterranean fish soup to start and a beautiful tender and flaky hake fillet for main. All washed down with a lovely sauvignon blanc. Great lunch!
Dunk Taylor
After several visits in the past 8 years, this is still an outstanding choice of fine dining in the Cardiff area. The choice in food and fine wine is 2nd to none and have to say that it's in my top 5 favourite restaurants in the UK. Just come back from a weekend away with friends and would like to say a special thank you to staff and Paulina our waitress for looking after us. See you soon.
Melanie Withey
Visited with family & friends last Saturday, was extremely busy very noisy& it didn't help that our table was close to the counter where you queue up to order food. Waited a while for our first round of drinks came, but once food came service got a bit speedier. Lovely food, would visit again but would choose a less hectic time, maybe a brunch or lunchtime.
Sally Whitfield
Excellent lunchtime menu good value for money. Service a little slow due to a full restaurant. A glass of our favourite wine Maques de Caceres 🍷Would definitely recommend this place.
Nyeasha Nicely-Price
Not the best I've tasted, I had scallops in a watery bland sauce with the roe still attached, clearly not the scallops in the front as they were tiny. I had the lamb noisettes which were part burnt and inedible, I did raise this with staff and a replacement piece was made for me, tasted great. However going up and picking your food is pointless because you don't get what you pick, everything is tiny when on your plate. The service is slow and it wasn't even busy. My husband loved his food, I personally wouldn't hurry back.
Jason Powell
Great food not so great service, we were left at the bar because the lady who was sorting tables forgot about us, main course came but by the time the waiter brought us cutlery the meal had gone cold, sent it back and then all good, shame really because it's normally excellent,
Jack Downes Mortimore
Lovely food , very busy , the staff were amazing changing two meals that weren't liked without cost too us , staff went an extra mile . I can understand why it's got good reviews
Tim Graham
Came in for lunch; Brilliant food, great service, much better value than expected (seeing as how upmarket the place is) - loved it! Thanks :)
Sarah Evans
Great food, fantastic views, great atmosphere - definitely recommend ❤️❤️❤️
Peter Walker
With out doubt our favourite restaurant.
The service was good, the food was excellent and the setting is superb.
What more can you ask for.
Peter Walker...
Tree Platt
Lovely to sit outside and a free car park....fabulous bar staff and lovely food...but we were overcharged and in the end the manager was called...also we had to wait ages for things we had ordered.
Neil Sillence
Great as always. Parking has become a bit tricky though. But always great food food and service. My favourite
Lynn Morgan
Called in for lunch on Saturday, not booked, no problem.
Had avocado an prawn salad. Delicious, but would have liked a bit bread.
Next was dover sole, also delicious and good chips.
Was a bit disappointed that I could not get a glass of pinot grigio. Seems to be a lack of initiative on making profit. Most similar restaurants in Edinburgh charge around £8-£10 for a medium sized glass.
All in all enjoyed my lunch and would happily come back.
Roma Uzzell
Great food and service. I only put 4* as I didn’t like the idea of queuing to book your food. “Each to their own” Would definitely go again *
Jonathan Davies
beautiful place, with views looking out over the bay and the food smelt lovely whilst walking through the building to get to the bar, but that's where it ends as I didn't manage to sample any food or drink.
CHANGE YOUR RUDE BAR STAFF!!! or it'll be a shame to lose more custom
I'm not one to have a gripe BUT when I'm left waiting at a empty bar for 10mins to be told I'm standing at the wrong end of the bar to order coffee's. I thought fair enough as it was my first time at the establishment so I moved a couple of steps towards the bottom part of the bar waited for a couple of minutes politely give my order to the gent behind the bar (2 coffees 1 coke and a lemonade) to be answered with a sulky sigh (like Kevin the teenager) the only way to describe the noise he made, followed by a mutter under his breath. so I said not to trouble himself, got my family and the other 9 people we were with and left for the Bay.
We all walked from the Bay planning on having food and drinks as it had been recommended by others. Gutted
Also there was way to many beer fly's around the bar, usually means dirty glasses or bar.
I would love to hear a response from yourselves
All the best
Jon
Rebecca Louise
Excellent food, courteous staff, beautiful building, stunning gardens....A1 superb ambience, a little piece of the 'Med' at Penarth Marina.....highly recommended.
Lisa Cripps
Table available as soon as we arrived (hadn't booked) staff very attentive, wines great 👍 food amazing 😉, company amazing, nothing to complain about!! Lovely afternoon
Adam Jones
Lovely food and very lovely staff. The only issue. Although I could see that the staff were rushed off their feet. It was a long wait for food. One hour plus and I had to call the waitress for a drink. Not her fault as it was so full. You will have a lovely night and amazing food but don’t plan on leaving within 2 and a half hours after arrival. Highly recommended though
Simon Barry
Lovely place, great location, friendly staff. Would visit again.
Stephanie Deane
Great food, fantastic service & overall lovely ambiance for a double date. Love this place ❤
Deborah Thornton
Had a wonderful night celebrating a friends daughter 18th. Food was amazing and the staff are so friendly and helpful.
Adrian Hibbert
We are so lucky to have this lovely restaurant within walking distance of where we live....The food is gorgeous and the scenery is very relaxing...well recommended...
Ian Norton
Attentive staff, quality food, excellent atmosphere, acceptable tariff - very enjoyable, thank you 👍
Angela Daniell
El Puerto's is a firm family favorite, having had many a great experience on a regular bases I am so disappointed in yesterdays experience. Having organised Christmas events with up to 25 guests in our party I am so amazed how poor yesterdays service was. Booked for 3pm, party of six, waited at the table to give a drinks order prior to ordering. No one arrived so ordered at the bar, starters arrived at 4pm, we had no knives on the table, asked for extra bread waited again. Mains arrived a good 40-50 mins after the starters had been cleared. Ordered Cheesecake for dessert waited 30 mins for these to arrive, three completely different sizes, and ridiculously small and poorly cut.
Asked twice for the bill, waited again to the point we asked for a card machine prior to receiving the bill.
I cannot fault the waiter who served us, he was as efficient as he could be accommodating and apologetic. The bar staff were great, and even helped when I complained about the cheesecake, great team effort. The starters and mains were all delicious, but by the time they arrived I had passed being hungry and took mine home.
I called and reserved the table on the day, my partners 50th last minute decision, if the restaurant was so overwhelmed why take the booking? I would of been more appreciative of an honest reply that the kitchen was running behind, they were extremely busy and we might incur delays.
Nicky Owens
Brilliant service , enjoyed a beautiful bottle of wine on the terrace , just perfect on a Sunday afternoon in the sun
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes