Signor Valentino

Having spent an excellent day in Cardiff for the first weekend of the Rugby World Cup, we had pre-​booked a table at a restaurant overlooking Cardiff Bay for our evening meal, as we expected the place to be very busy post-​match.
The Bay area is well stocked with bars and restaurants, so we had passed a number of other options walking in from the taxi rank, wondering if we had made the right choice.
Emerging onto the main waterfront area, we were quickly reassured that the view was going to be worth the cab ride alone, as a milky September sun was setting in an almost cloudless sky.
Signor Valentino’s is located on the first floor of Mermaid Quay with tables both inside and on a veranda balcony extending around the building, offering a fantastic view over the Bay area.
We had booked a table for 7.30, but had decided to chance it for an earlier sitting, arriving just after 6pm. Having checked with the maitre’d, he happily agreed and let me select the perfect table on the elbow of the veranda, with the best possible view of the Bay.
As we sat there, drinking in the vista, it wasn’t too long before we were presented with menus and a drinks order taken, with two very friendly staff looking after us.
The house wine was very drinkable and that sustained us nicely until the main courses arrived — my Tagliatelle Verona was a generous dish stacked with chicken and pepperoni pieces, very tasty and just the right size. The oven baked salmon was also well received, as was the Pollo Nero chicken breast.
After that, we just about had room for a three spoon single dessert choice, so we plumped for the profiteroles, which were quite small but quite delicious.
The bill (with two bottles of wine) came to just under £30 per person, which was well within expectations.
The service throughout was excellent — the waiters came when asked, with no sense of «hurry up» to make room for new arrivals, which was possible given that we were in prime seats.
Overall, this was a very good choice for an evening meal — an outstanding location, coupled with great service and good food.

Decent Italian restaurant, good food and coffee. Its a good place if you are going on a lunch or Dinner with a group of friend. Its one Cardiff Bay so i think its a great place to enjoy a meal on a weekend.

Hottest day of the year so far so decided to head down to Cardiff Bay for a bite to eat with my girlfriend. There is loads of choice but Signor Valentino seemed the place to go on such a lovely day.
The environment is very clinical but the friendly service makes you feel right at home.
Good selection on the menu and great wine list.
The service was a little too fast for my liking with not enough time given between courses.
Great place to come in the evening and watch the sun set and the bay light up like a Christmas tree.
I would definitely visit again.

Signor Valentino confuses me. On first impressions you would swear that this is a chain restaurant. The menu screams it, the interior screams and the location screams it. In fact, it is right next door to a chain Italian that makes the assumption even greater. In fact, it is both relieving and disappointing to find out that it is independent.
The menu at Signor Valentino’s is about as safe as you can get. Topping combinations on the pizzas are perhaps slightly boring and the pasta dishes are about as traditional as you can get. That being said, all the dishes are well cooked.
So the menu is chain like and the food is chain like and the prices are pretty chain like as well. The advantage of coming here rather than Bellini’s next door is that you’re supporting local business, which I think is a good enough reason.

Situated overlooking the waterfront of Cardiff Bay, Signor Valentino is one of the finest restaurants in the bay area. With its cool, chic interior, laid back atmosphere and classy décor, this Italian restaurant has a lot to offer its customers.
With a superb menu of traditional and contemporary dishes, the food served within these walls is beyond excellent. The freshly prepared cuisine leaves a lasting impression long after the meal is over, and the quality of ingredients used is evident in the taste.
With ample seating inside and a balcony area for al fresco dining, the experience of the restaurant is enjoyable in all seasons. While it may not be the cheapest option in Mermaid Quay, it is certainly well worth sacrificing a few beers here and there to accommodate for.

I went to Signor Valentino’s during an evening out at the bay. The bay has such an obvious and unoriginal selection of restaurants that it seemed a sensible thing to go to the only one I’d not heard of.
Sitting up slightly above the bay it is a nice spot to look out at the evening lights and has a certain amount of romantic potential (usually quashed by the sheer number of people). Mind you, the bay mostly being other restaurants and offering little in terms of beauty may leave you thinking it would have been better to just go to a really good restaurant elsewhere.
The food is completely as you’d expect, there are so few surprises here I was almost surprised. There’s nothing particularly original about the food, it’s the same as you’ll find next door in fact.
The waiting staff were quick off the mark with all the basics; order, clearing etc, but were never on hand to offer more drinks or extras.
So if you don’t mind paying relatively high prices for unchallenging food, Signor Valentino’s is your place.

I went on a date here. The choice of restaurant was excellent. The timing was good — it was a warm evening with a full moon and we had window seat overlooking the bay.
Unfortunately the date himself didn’t turn out ot be as good as the food or the venue.
The service was great — its almost as if the waiter knew we were on a first date as they did everything to make it romantic for us — candles on table — suggested what to pick from food to the wine and left us to chat. Sadly that’s when I found out the guy I was with was a bit of an idiot. Never mind can’t have it all.
I would recommend this restaurant though — first date or not.

Situated alarmingly closely to another, similarly furnished Italian restaurant, choosing between the two can be something of a coin toss. If you’re fortunate enough to decide on Signor Valentino’s it will have been a stroke of luck. Whilst the menu is fairly similar to it’s neighbor Bellini’s, Signor Valentino boasts better views, a better atmosphere and for my money, slightly better food.
With a nice selection of starters including seafood, soups and salads, the main courses are what you’d expect from any modern day italian. A decent selection of pizzas and pasta dishes, all very well cooked and presented. The puddings are very enjoyable and appear freshly made, rather than pre-​packaged. A nice atmosphere is almost guaranteed, and as is the case with so many of the restaurants and bars at Cardiff Bay, the sunshine benefits the experience a great deal.

So many places in the bay have great views of the bay itself so which one should you chose?
Well if you’re lucky to be in the bay on a sunny day with someone you like and you both fancy a bit of Italian food then you could do a lot worse than an outside seat on the balcony of Signor Valentinos. There are 4 Italian restaurant in the bay but only this one has a great view of the bay.
When I went there, unusually for me, I didn’t go with a pizza but for a seafood pasta dish and it was delicious. The service was great too. I’d say we paid a little more than we would do at Pizza Express but hey its an independent and we were really well looked after.

Signor Valentino Italian restaurant located in the bustling Cardiff Bay area, this is one to take friends and family or just people you want to impress. Access on the second floor from Mermaid Quays restaurant and bar quarter. A fashionable but sometimes busy dining experience, so a booking is recommended to avoid being disappointed.
If you are looking for genuine italian style pizza and pastas that truly remind me of pizzerias i’ve experienced in Italy, Signor Valentino is a must. If you want to know what a pizza should taste like without flying to Italy get one here and compare it to a Dominos, you won’t be disappointed, your friends will thank you for the recommendation.
The beautiful panoramic views through the glass fronted restaurant is also a reason to visit, for a more romantic effect go in the evening.

For real Italian pizzas in the Bay area, this is one of your best options — and even the staff are Italian, too, which is a bonus.
I ate here on a rare balmy evening recently and sat outside on the balcony decking area, with a fantastic view over the Bay, and for once there was hardly a breath of wind. Nights like that are not a frequent occurrence down at the waterfront, so you have to take advantage of them when they arrive and find a prime spot for your evening. Signor Valentino’s offers just that — with great service and tasty pizza to boot. I haven’t sat inside, but it looks smart, clean and contemporary with some tables offering equally brilliant Bay views.
If you have room for dolci after your starters and main, try the chocolate and pear tart with vanilla ice cream — it’s delicious.

Mermaid Quay beholds this Italian restaurant on its first floor in Cardiff Bay. Sitting outside on the balcony, can make the place seem all the more relaxing and peaceful. We have been back more than once.
Their service is quick and the staff are wide awake and on the ball; as they often, during your meal, at their restaurant, make sure that your food and you are satisfied with their facility and provisions. They try to meet your needs if you feel otherwise towards the groceries that they supply.
There menu is richly full of many types of Italian meals, for the full range of a lengthily fest such as; starters, main course, and delicious, desserts delights, if you can manage that final section of your dinner.
For the food is so filing that you may find this impossible to achieve. However, it is possible that you might end up for a completely content, which is how all customers should feel after any supper that they feel they have enjoyed.

I always seem to visit Signor Valentinos when celebrating someone’s birthday which in itself surely shows that this is a top notch Italian. As Tiffany said the Pizzas are all first-​rate, and in my experience the fish is also of a high quality and scrumptious.
Depending on where your table is one of my favourite things about Signor Valentinos is the view, which overlooks Cardiff bay.
Finally I’ve always found the staff to be most lively, and very Italian, which really adds to the ambiance of the place.

My best friend and I stopped by this place on a gorgeous sunny day and opted to sit outside. The atmosphere is great and you can see across the waterfront from the outdoor deck. The food is fabulous, very well priced and the pizzas are authentic. I went to Rome just before and can confirm that the pizzas made at Signor Valentino’s are the real deal.

I ate here years ago, not long after it first opened, and the food was good, not great. It’s very passable and the views from the restaurant are great. I personally find it a bit ‘cold’ and prefer more homely style restaurants (especially if your talking Italian. Hang on, wasn’t that a hit for Bananarama in the eighties?). It’s not as big on the inside as it appears from outside and is popular, so booking a table is probs a good idea.

Signor Valentino gives the impression of being a very classy restaurant, and the views from it’s massive windows are amazing, these truely show the great beauty outside. However, the food really let’s the place down it was such a disapointment as we were expecting something great with many of the sauces with the pasta tasting like they came from a packet. Prices of fine dining but without the food to match this restaurant is a let down.