Caffe Mattia in Cardiff

The food is good, but the communication isn’t. It’s not really professional. When the waitress that hasn’t talked or responded thanks, she then began rolling her eyes. What if she feeds her children?

I never write reviews for places but was so dissapointed at this place felt i needed to as to try amd deter others from wasting their money. Went in today for a coffee and some lunch. Well where do I even start, the waitress was very hard to understand not sure what country she was from, and moody oh my Lord was she moody. No smile no hi how are u, nothing! She came back to take our order and literally ripped the menu away whilst still in our hands. We only ordered a straight up plain hot dog and fries and 2 pancakes, the hotdog had no flavour and was like it had been soaking in water far to long and lost all taste, the bun was flaking on the outside where it was so dry and prob over it's date, I think they must have stored it in a bit plate or something as the top of it was tough, the chips were like they had been cooled 5 times they were hard as anything and like cardboard. Eventually the pancakes came and they were like flipping doorsteps not pancakes it was ridiculous far to thick meaning they were very stodgy and not at all nice. Would definitely never ever go back. Never seen such misserable and rude staff. Pfft american diner, them staff wouldn't last 5 mins in a real american diner they far to misserable.

My husband and l called there today for a light lunch,well the two waitresses just couldn’t be bothered it took good 10 minutes before even the menu was given to us,then another 10 minutes before she came and took our order. Whilst waiting for our food to arrive at least 4-5 other groups came in and got so cheesed off with waiting to be served they all up and left.Nobody from the staff seemed a bit bothered that they had lost a considerable amount of takings from those people,then at long last our food arrived very basic for a bacon egg and cheese panini ,who on earth puts sliced boiled egg in a bacon and egg panini not impressed at all and no fries which had been ordered,eventually after asking twice for them they arrived.l hasten to say we shall not return there , their customer service is appalling.

Me and my partner popped in for some lunch on the 26th November 2018! We never been heard before so decide to order A 12oz burger and 24oz burger for myself. We didn’t know what to expect so when the food. It beat all our expectations. The food price where reasonable and drinks where also reasonable. Burgers where so tasty. We had the Marilyn Monroe classic burgers 🍔. Will definitely recommend people to go here.

I am absolutely appalled with the lack of knowledge for allergy advice with your employee. My husband is lactose free. We were told that what he ordered was lactose free. When his food arrived we noticed the burger bun was actually a brioche. Although the menu did not state this. We asked the waitress about the ingredients she told us she didn't know and that she had disposed of the wrapper. Left quite stunned I asked is there a way of finding out as were sure brioche buns contain milk. She said she would have to contact the suppliers which would take some time. I obviously said yes that's fine. We saw her use the phone and shouted over there's no answer. And carried on with her duties. At this point my husband just ate the inside of the bun. No apologies or alternative were offered. She hadn't made any communication with any other staff which I thought was strange. The allergen booklet now as handed to us. However. It is extremely basic. Rather tha. List ingredient for the meals it just stated the whole meal name and whether it had certain allergens inside. Very disappointed.

We decided to have lunch here as there were tables free on a busy Saturday lunchtime, I now understand why there were tables available. The food was mediocre at best and the waiting staff made you feel as though you were not welcome, quite abrupt and not at all friendly. With all the other eating options in Cardiff I would recommend finding somewhere else to eat.

We decided to visit the Diner on a family trip to Cardiff. The decor is brilliant, someone clearly spent money on this place. Unfortunately they forgot to install toilets... it’s a family restaurant, you would expect them to have kitted it out fully. Instead we had to go into the shopping centre which you had to queue 9 deep. The waitress at the front of house was difficult to understand and not very welcoming. The man from the kitchen seemed to be back and forth doing everything including clearing and cleaning tables. The food wasn’t great at all. We ordered nachos to start which was covered in some awful cheese sauce. Our daughter had hot dog and chips, the sausage looked rather dark and didn’t taste very nice. My wife ordered a salad which was a small bit of lettuce covered in croutons. I ordered a burger and chips. The chips were the only thing I could eat. The burger tastes bloody awful. I wouldn’t recommend wasting your time here...

Went to this place as we were starving, but usually go to eds in St David's, but as the kids were performing we thought this looks just as good. Decor is fantastic, shame no toilets, the 1 young waitress brilliant. The sharing platter nice tbf. That's where it stops. My "meat balls were a pile of what can only be described as mush and were cold in the centre (h.a.s would love that) my partner's burger was hard and tasteless, the kids hot dogs over cooked. Best part was the cold beer. We had a part refund as we did eat the starter and drank our drinks but I will never return here again or recommend, the fact it was quiet on a Saturday afternoon should have spoke volumes, the older waitress (non British) was rude and really seemed insulted we complained. As I said the 1 young waitress was brilliant and couldn't apologize enough, I even told her she was brilliant and would do well to get into a proper food establishment. Shame as this could and should be a gold mine.

I was in town shopping with family we passed by this restaurant is looks nice and inviting we went to have a meal but after 5 minutes we left, it wasn’t busy that should’ve been enough to put me off table was sticky and staff looked moody not rush to serve us so we left. 2 starts for the look as you walk by, otherwise would be 0

Wonderful decor but the female manager was very unpleasant. She had the strongest (non welsh by the way) accent and was incredibly difficult to understand. She was miserable and rude ( maybe due to communication problems) and how someone can make a bad smoothie I’ve no idea but she did... tasteless. Food took ages to arrive and there’s no loo. And the closest ones were closed! Pooor poor customer service. Awful.

My friend and I spotted this restaurant on a previous visit to Cardiff and said next time we will go here for food. Started off well, waited at the sign then was quickly greeted by the friendly waitress and given a table. She then came back a few moments later and took our drinks order, slightly less enthusiastic. Another waitress brought our drinks over and took our food order. She was more friendly and happy. I asked her how spicy the "hickory bbq ribs" are and she said slightly spicy, I explained I cant handle any heat so she recommended choosing something else so I ordered the 10 ounce sirloin steak. She was very attentive and helpful. There wasnt too long a wait for our mains. The food was nice but not the best I've had. I ordered the steak medium rare but found most of it medium-well done. The chunky chips were nice but the onion rings were awful. My friend did enjoy her ham and cheese panini. Whilst we were eating our mains, a group of 9 men, who hadnt reserved a table, walked in. Once the plates were removed we asked to see the dessert menu again. There was a good hour wait between the main and dessert because the table of 9 were being served their mains during this time. When our desserts finally arrived, I found the underneath of the pancakes slightly burnt and far too much cherry sauce/compote on them. The nutella milkshake was delicious and my favourite part of the meal, the milkshake came with an extra portion in a cup so was well worth the price. The waitress brought the bill over and we explained we wanted to pay separate so had to go to the bar with her to reprint the reciepts and then pay separate. She was again unhappy and did not smile a great lot. I am normally very positive in my reviews and understanding of certain situations but I was not 100% happy with this restaurant. We did not even get an apology for the long wait between courses. We were in the restaurant for 2 hours and only ordered two courses, we would have prefered to spend more time shopping. I hope the customer service and the food improves in this restaurant because it could really be special and live up to the decor.

On a visit to the capital with my son, visited the diner which really looked the part and very clean. However the food is terrible, cold and very overpriced. The waiter did ask if everything was OK during us eating, when I told him the food was cold, he just walked away not saying anything. Also there are no toilets here, and as families with small children use it, it's unsatisfactory for an eating establishment. Don't waste your money here, eat elsewhere!,

Full range of foods served by excellent staff. Large portions go hungry. Like the fifties feel not loud music so not off putting. Only one down side access to toilets. But thoroughly enjoyable meal.

Eaten there a couple of times with no complaints. Took my partner there for the first time in the 12th and was shocked at the attitude of the waitress. Didn’t speak when we got there just gestured with the menus to follow her. Took order but showed no interest or personality and made us feel like an inconvenience. Food was good and in good time. My partner asked for another drink but there was no recognition from the waitress and didn’t know if she heard him. She did hear him and he did get the drink but just dropped on the table. Didn’t check to see if everything was ok with our food. Such a shame as lovely decor and food is good just the waitresses attitude appalling

We came here at about 5-5.30 on the 16th! We had already eaten elsewhere. However because of how it looked we thought we wuld have a coke and a coke float, so we went in some sullen and miserable came over chucked menus at us and went and sat back down at the bar with her head in her hands whilst playing on her phone. We kept looking over she could see but kept pulling faces, we then said lets get out of here as we didn't want a place that hires staff like that getting our money! She came over and I said we were off she snatched the menus and went back to sit down! Does this place actually want to make money? why go into hospitality if you hire staff with none? Absolutely disgusting way to let anyone be treated. An then to call these reviews all fake is beggars belief. WATCH the cameras, or better still hire a secret diner.We will NEVER be back.

We didn't eat here so cannot comment as other reviews are bad. But I really love the look of this place very 50's , I love this style . Amazing

Le décor est très chouette, vive les fiftie's ! La carte donne envie mais bon, les steaks sont beaucoup trop cuits et ressembles à de la semelle cramée ( de plus) ! Le service est cordial et plutôt efficace.

I've been to this place three times and it hasn't gotten any better so I'm giving up. First time was with my best friend. We waited at the 'wait sign' for 10 minutes, nobody seated us so we left. Second time I found a hair on the cream in the milkshake. Third time, I walked into the restaurant which was completely empty. I went to the till and asked for a menu. The waitress looked at me like I'd just taken a dump on the bar. I seated myself and decided on the hickory chicken and irish coffee shake. The chicken was terrible. Looked like it had been pre cooked, frozen and then microwaved for me to eat. And I'm not sure what that weird flattened shape was. Chips were ok. The shake was rubbish too. The waitress just seemed like she hated her job and it was an inconvenience to have to serve customers. I was friendly and polite the whole time and just let her attitude slide. I just wanted to eat and get out. I did get a smile out of her right at the end but that's probably because she knew I was going soon. I have a feeling they just have a terrible manager. A friendly, approachable manager makes such a difference to how well staff work for you. I've given Mattias a try three times now so I think that's the last one. I've included a photo of my meal which cost £14.

This place looks fun and decor great but this is the only positive I can say. Horrendous service - at first we were shown a table I then asked for a drink and was asked if we were eating I said I was unsure I hadn’t even seen the menu and with that we were swiftly moved to a small cramped table. The server never came back to take a food order so we didn’t bother, I did ask to use their toilets but was told they don’t have any but the public toilets were up the stairs. As you can imagine there was a large queue and 20 minutes later I came back to the diner why don’t you provide toilets? If I had of ordered food and the food came out when I was queuing I wouldn’t have been happy as it would have been cold by the time I came back! I had to go to the till to pay for our drinks as we were completely ignored and mentioned no one came to take our food order and they made no comment or apology. The waitress was slamming menus in front of customers and to be honest I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Save yourself the money and go elsewhere

I have definitely eaten better elsewhere, but for what it is , it could be a lot worse. My first time here , I ordered a platter to share , and there was an extremely good amount for the price. The second time, we had three separate meals, and were not at happy with our food as we were the first time. The portions seemed scarce and the quality wasn't 100%. The platter wasn't 100% but wads good enough, so was sad to find out that the separate meals were not as good as the platter food,. decor in this place is amazing , and it truly has the appearance of a 50's diner. My main concern lies with the staff. They make your presence feel like a burden, and are not frinedly or welcoming, which makes any experience feel awful, regardless of how amazing the food is. If the quality of the food was worked on , and if the staff gained more of a personality, this place cold be a true hidden gem.

Went here to have a rootbeer float at the bar. I had to wait 5 minutes for the waitress to serve me even though she wasnt busy with any other another customers.

Well what a disgrace this place was! Ordered a burger which after a few bites realised was raw in the middle! The waitress clearly hadn’t received training (not her fault) in how to deal with this kind of issue and said we would still need to pay for the chips as some had been eaten!!! Came back and said her manager agreed we didn’t have to pay. The manager (no idea how she got this job to be honest) came over and said what’s wrong with the burger? When we told her she snatched it away without a word. No apology, nothing. You would actually think we were the ones in the wrong not sure how a raw burger was our fault?!? Incredibly rude!

tried to charge me more as she said they had changed their prices even though the old menus were still on display - i just refused and paid her the old price. When I queried why i couldn't have the scones (which was my original order) she replied "scones teacakes they're both the same. Maybe in Poland love but not Wales - idiot. What an attitude.

My boyfriend and I have eaten here for the last 3 days and have spent a reasonable amount of money. Yesterday we came for breakfast and were able to swap my mushrooms for his tomatoes. Today we asked to do the same which the girl who served us said was fine. The whole time we were eating the waitress, waiter and the manager were staring at us watching us and blatantly talking/ laughing about us. We ignored this and ate our breakfast which was cold and asked for the bill when finished to see they had charged my boyfriend for mushrooms and me for tomatoes even though we would have had them anyway just on other plates. It's only £2 but we mentioned it as we were told there would be no extra charges. We ended up having to pay while the waitress was trying not to laugh at us and the other waiter and their manager were laughing in the background. We will never go back and we can now see why it is always empty!

This place doesn't deserve a star... Well the decor is cool I suppose which is what attracted us.

Popped in here during a busy Christmas shopping trip -

Visited today as expected to experience an American diner vibe. We were sadly disappointed. No smoothies available, could not upgrade to chunky fries, both main meals were incorrect and food was cold. Extremely surly service. Basically nothing like an American diner, apart from aesthetically.

I went here on a Sunday Afternoon, so it was fairly quiet. However, my food took almost 1/2 an hour to bring my food out, despite being one of the only ones eating.

not bad but average for this type of diner. Staff lovely and portion size average but a little pricey for what you get

Lovely food not friendly staff at all. Rude and wait a long time for any service. Not going again...

Visited on a Saturday at lunch time.Great choice on menu, although not cheap eg nearly £5 for a shake.Decor lovely. We ordered starter and light bites. Overall tasty, but it did take a long time to come, and was pricey.My daughter's main arrived 10 minutes before the starters, so that was disappointing. The waitress then spilt hot soup over my daughter - this was a genuine accident and clearly she was upset - however the manager didn't come to see us and it was a kind lady customer who provided the wet wipes! My daughter was ok - a bit shaken and as a 14 yr old it is pretty mortifying to have brown stains all over your jeans. There was quite a lot spilt - and it splattered into our shopping as well. The soup was so hot it left red marks on her legs, and whilst we didn't have to pay for the soup I did think that a manager should have come out to speak to us. I would have expected a little more as a gesture of good will to be honest. I would go again, but was left feeling a little under-awed and disappointed.

The service wasnt very good, despite it being very quite the staff were very slow. The quality of the food was very poor for the price you pay. I had a beef burger and the beef did not taste right. definitely not worth paying over £10s. The detail of what was in the food was over exaggerated on the menu, I was very disappointed with how poor the ingredients were.

not bad but i think prices are too high,,,we had to wait for our food too long time,but staff were friendly,

I was in Cardiff for a couple fo hours, and needed a light bite. Happened upon this place and it seemed like a decent choice. I was there at about 2pm on a weekday and was surprised that just one other table was occupied. Service was very efficient and the milk shake and pancakes were very enjoyable. However, probably not the sort of place I'd want to visit regularly. Maybe, though, I'll visit the one that's rather closer to home in Sparkford one day!

The only good thing about this place was the waitress was quite friendly although took her a while to initially come take our order. Food was ok but nowhere near grand enough to warrant the huge price tag. You are better off going to wetherspoons, their food is far superior at half the price.

From the service to the prices to the food. My favourite bit of my burger & chips was the cucumber that came in the side salad. Would not even recommend this shoddy excuse of a business to my worst enemy. Also, you can't just buy chips here.... sides aren't allowed to be purchased on their own......

I enter the place sit down at the bar on a stool and go to order a milkshake. The woman comes up to me and demands me to move from there after all ready being rude to me upon entering with a dirty look. I then sit at a table and she said 'don't sit there again' i asked why and she replied 'because i just cleaned it' so i then go to order a milkshake after sitting down and when all i wanted was a milkshake she gave me attitude and huffed at the fact that was all me and my two friends wanted. She snatched the menu out of my hand so i stared. She then asked why i was staring and i told her how awful he service is and she replied 'I don't care what you think you're just a silly little boy' Never ever have i received such bad service. I then got up and left and she said thank god i don't have to serve you. Awful.

Visited this place whilst shopping with my sister as it looked ok, should have read the reviews first as what we experienced was what most people have spoken about! The waitress obviously didn't want to be there didn't smile once and I had to go and find her for service! I ordered a bacon melt and the question I asked is why is it called a melt as there was no cheese melted in there cold and clammy is what it should have been called! - you really need to either engage with customers or find another job luv ! The management really need to read these reviews and act on them!! Or perhaps this is where the problem lies, it comes from the top.

Came here with family on Easter weekend for a bite to eat at lunch time. My expectations were not high at all as the place was deserted and I had never heard of the place, but we felt we would give it a go as a lot of the places in Cardiff have a bit of a wait to even be seated and we were against the clock. Overall the meals were good, prompt and correct despite us emitting most things from each dish we ordered. The portion sizes varied quite considerably ( I didn't mind as I ordered the meatballs and that dish alone could have fed my table - winner winner.) there was food on the floor near us which had been left which i felt was lazy considering there were more staff than customers. Drinks were great, I ordered a ginger beer float which was lovely. The thing that really let this place down and would probably put me off going again, was that the waiting staff lacked energy and we felt like a burden for turning up. The one lady in particular who came to us at the end of the meal really seemed annoyed at us for turning up as paying customers and contributing to her salary... she even turned to the other member of staff and spoke in another language while she was stood at our table which made me think they were talking about us secretly. Generally I have been to a lot worse places and I wouldn't say this place is bad, but if it is to survive the competition of Cardiff, it needs to teach its staff how to smile and engage with their customers.

Visited here whilst in Cardiff with my son for his 17th birthday with 2 of his friends from Aberdeenshire. Big mistake. Unwelcoming and unenthusiastic staff. Food was average at best No one came to check to see how the meals were. Proof that a few Rock and roll memorabilia and red and white striped seating don't equate to the experience you would expect at an authentic American diner. Lacked charisma. Lacked quality Lacked atmosphere. Lacked everything that everywhere else in Cardiff has excelled

This was my first visit, I had the Ellis Island Pasta, it was hot, very tasty and filling. It was served with a decent helping of grated cheese and bread. The staff were friendly and I will return there again.

Awful food awful customer service mistakes happen it's how you deal with them that matters Pancakes were like soggy bread not light and fluffy

Visited this place on the offchance without any prior knowledge, as myself and my parents were staying in the area for a few days and looking for a quick bite to eat. The fact that there was no one else in the restaurant gave us the first warning sign.We waited at the entrance to be seated. A miserable looking waitress slowly got up off a bar stool looking miserable and clearly annoyed that she might have to do some work, picked up three menus, pointed to a table, dumped the menus on the table and returned to her bar stool, all without smiling or saying a single word. Myself and my parents glanced through the menu, all whilst the waitress was staring at us from her stool, which made us feel very uncomfortable. Eventually, we decided to leave without ordering, and later ended up at the Harvester a few streets away and had a lovely meal.From reading the other reviews on here, it looks as if we had a lucky escape. Certainly a place to avoid!

My mum ordered ham salad,latte and coke..i had cheese,ham panini coleslaw and skinny chips, very freshly made and lots of it!so full after food couldnt eat a dessert. Staff were so friendly and the place was spotlessly clean. Would definitely return as lots of food and very cheap! A great find as deco was fab and so was music.

Was looking forward to trying this place after walking past a number of times and I love a themed restaurant. The fact that it had no customers should have rang alarm bells. Was 'greeted' by the waitress who look just looked annoyed as if we'd disturbed her. I guess even a hello never mind a smile would have been too much to ask. Was dining with my small son. To be fair the menu looks great, we chose our meals and didnt have to wait too long for it to arrive. My son was the first to comment that his fries werent warm and he's 4 so he has his food a lot cooler than an adult. Mine were lukewarm so i complained to the waitress. The face she pulled and the look she gave me...omg you'd think id said something offensive about her!She took them back and brought out fresh fries,no apology. My burger was lukewarm,had a funny taste to it and was so tough I could have repaired a shoe sole with it. Neither of us finished our meals, we went to Krispy Creme and got a donut. Honestly,save youraelf some money and go to Mcd's

So here's the story of what happened during mine and my boyfriends Mattia Diner experience. We had a look and thought it was Ed's diner, so we took a look at the menu and it wasn't, but they had "white hot chocolate" on there so suddenly I didn't care if it was a crappy rip-off version of an already mediocre restaurant.We looked inside and I wasn't sure whether armageddon was upon us or whether this place was notoriously crap. It soon became apparent that it was the latter. As the only customers there, we already had low expectations. That was until, we asked for a tuna melt - a classic dish that is recognised amongst the british isles as a simple snack."Chicken melt? We don't have chicken. It's bacon." She hissed. "Tuna melt, sorry" I replied."Oh, tu-na." She replied, with a patronising tone. "Yeeeees" I said, one-upping her.Next, it was time to order my favourite drink, the white hot chocolate. "And a white hot chocolate please" my boyfriend asked coherently.She nodded.5 mins later and a brown hot chocolate arrives- I knew this wasn't good. I took a few sips which confirmed my fear- it was a regular hot chocolate.My boyfriend calmly went and told the waitress it was reguar hot chocolate when he ordered a white.She grimaced and attempted to argue with him, telling him in an aggressive tone that he asked for a regular hot chocolate.We got up and left and she looked at us like we had just robbed her.Avoid this place at all costs.

Thought i would give this place a try as you have nothing to lose for trying out new things and its OK and I don't dislike it but its pricey for the quality of the food and the service has a lot of room for improvement as well but I wouldn't rule out a return here.

Me and my partner decided to go to this place as it was the 28th December and all the other restaurants had a wait of 45 minutes. We waited to be seated when a blonde waitress came over, not even a smile or a welcome of any sort. Pointed at a table and dumped the menus. We then waited about 15 minutes before someone came to order our food after being passed by several other waiters who ignored us. When the same lady came to take our order I had to repeat myself several times and I 100% made it clear that both mine&my partners burger wanted to be without any mushrooms. After waiting for food, it finally came. Looked lovely! A great portion size! Started with the chips- they were cold. Onion rings- tasteless. Was so excited to eat my burger we both cut into it and the first thing I saw were mushrooms after repeatedly telling the waitress we didn't want any. I then spoke to a brown haired waitress who didn't give a smile or an apology and went to tell the chef about what happened. She then came back and asked if we wanted another burger but we would have to wait 10/20 minutes. We decided not to and left. A waste of 45 minutes of our day. Will definitely not be returning.

Our first visit and the place was spotless. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and the food was great. My 3 daughters and I will be visiting again.

Really bad service. Staff had a couldnt care less attitude I can't understand why anybody would ever employ them.Frues were cold, order just dumped on the table. Waitress (I use the term loosely) couldn't work out which meal was which, she had to get a copy of a menu to try to work it out. Dirty dishes were just left in table, not cleared away. We had to go & ask for the bill - we were never even asked if we wanted any desserts- the bill was brought over, it was amazing how fast they moved to collect the payment. There are lots of people who are looking for work in Cardiff, they should sack the staff they have & employ people who want to work. I was looking forward to going there and mentioned it to work colleagues. I will now be warning people not to bother. I really wish I'd read other reviews before I went there

Came across this place whilst shopping with friends and loved the look of the place. But found staff not helpful and they couldnt even crack a smile! i order the big breakfast (which wasnt very big) it came not very warm as if it was stood around for a while. the best bit was the coke float which was yummy and bought back childhood memories but u cant really get that wrong!!

Popped in here to avoid torrential rain. Ordered a hot chocolate for me, coffee for my mum and a bagel with jam to share. Probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had! Mum's coffee was good too. BUT the bagel was awful, rock hard, couldn't bite it or cut it with a knife. Waitress took it back, we decided not to have anything else and left. Service was ok. Good music and fun decor. Won't be returning though.

The staff were so rude! The lady serving did not crack a smile the whole time we were there dumped our drinks in the middle of the table and walked away. When we asked for the bill she refused to bring it to the table and said if we wanted the bill we'd have to get up to get it.This was my birthday treat and I asked for a chocolate malt. The lady was so rude and brought me a chocolate milkshake- despite me checking with her 3 times that it was a malt.Absolutely disgusting service and would never go back. The lady has no business in a customer facing role. An absolutely disgraceful, appalling excuse for a restaurant. If you're thinking of visiting, I'd strongly suggest you look elsewhere.

It was a torrential day in Cardiff and we came across this restaurant looking for dryness. How lucky we were. The menu was extensive for such a themed restaurant and it took us some time to choose from the array before us. When it came it was freshly prepared and tasted really nice. Service was excellent and we will go here again next match day.

Popped into this restaurant with my partner and 2 young daughters. The waitress pointed at a vacant table without even a word to us. When we settled to order same waitress came over...no pleasantries,smiles or general good manners shown despite my girls happily trying to speak to her. Food arrived..kids meals generic 'happy meal' tinned hot dog etc...nachos were shop bought with a dollop of cheese on top...my partners meal burger..fries not worth the price..However loaded chilli chips were tasty...would never return to this place despite it being nicely decorated...place lacked warmth and any sort of welcome.

We were visiting Cardiff for the day and arrived early, so popped into this place for breakfast as the retro decor looked like a bit of fun plus we were very hungry and running on empty. Other half ordered a sausage and bacon sarnie. This is where it goes downhill. Took my order of breakfast and the waitress made a mistake taking down my order and I could see it was really stressing her out as she couldn't find the item I wanted on her tab. So I ordered a cinnamon bagel instead as I thought it was easier and less likely to go wrong. Anyway, waited about 20 minutes for our drinks and another 20 for other half's sarnie, I waited an additional 5 minutes for the toasted bagel. I could not actually bite it, was like rubber and obviously was very stale. They should not have served it. Was so hungry had a bite of other half's sarnie. I showed the waiter the bagel and he did apologise and knock it off the bill. I would have given 1 stars if it were not for the decor and the sandwich was edible.

So we visited on a weekday lunch time with a table of 5. Main meals and drinks came to £80, not very often I don't leave a tip, but didn't for this meal as just didn't think the waiting staff were bothered with us and didn't handle very well that a whole meal turned up wrong.So we ordered a veg pasta, chicken salad, 2 meat burgers and a veggie burger. Drinks, some cola floats and milkshakes. I think the drinks were a hit and enjoyable, I particularly enjoyed the strawberry millkshake. The salad was ok, the burgers ok, the tomato veg pasta was ok apparently just a bit bland. I had a veggie burger , it was ok when it eventually turned up but that was after it had initially been a chicken burger that was taken away with no apology or explanation as how/if it was being replaced with what I had ordered, it turned up as most of the party were finishing their lunch. I have to say I thought the onion rings were really tasteless and wasn't expecting that. Overall I think it was expensive, not as enjoyable as I'd hoped and really needs some work on their service and waiting, as a result I probably wouldn't rush to go back if at all. Shame because great decor.

Myself and my elderly Mother ate here, it was very clean and tidy. The food and drink was amazing. The portions were huge. We shared a chicken salad sandwich which filled us up, I had a ice cream float drink gorgeous and my mum had a strawberry milkshake which she thoroughly enjoyed, then we had waffles and ice cream huge portion, we could not eat it all so asked if we couold take it with us and they put them in a takeaway box and bag, very good service. Would definately recommend.

We stopped by after liking the look of it with some friends. Got told to sit where we like by a member of staff who didn't look happy to be there. Eventually got our order taking having to repeat ourselves. Finally our food arrived but some of it was wrong. We just got grunted at by staff when we pointed it out. One of the staff dropped a chip in our milkshake. Just nervously laughed and took it away. Didn't bother replacing it or asked if we wanted anything else. The service was terrible the food got slammed down in front of us and chips were cold. The meatballs had no flavour and very bland. I had an oasis which was given to me in a £1 price marked bottle but yet charged me £2.05 for it. We ended up complaining to the manager who took some of the meals off our bill but there was no apology. It was like she didn't even care we had a bad experience. I would never go back again and would definitely not recommended to anyone. The food wasn't great and there was no customer service. Absolutely awful experience

Loved this diner. So colourful and alive. The staff were friendly. It was a lovely clean diner. Loved listening to the music while waiting for our food. The portion size was massive we had waffles. We had to take one of them back to our hotel. Can't wait to go again.

My family and I often walk past this American style diner, and have wanted to try it out for a while now. So today whilst shopping we decided to give it a try. We went in and it was very quiet. Only two or three tables were occupied. There were staff around, but nobody came to seat us or even greet us, so we sat ourselves at one of the many vacant tables. I made eye contact with various staff, who immediately went about doing anything other than acknowledging us. After ten minutes had passed without contact from any staff, my wife approached the counter where three staff had congregated and were chatting. She asked if they would take our order (we had looked through the menu and decided on our choices) and was informed someone will be over to take our order momentarily. We waited a further ten minutes, and still no staff had approached us. In the meantime, a few other people had arrived and were being seated by a waitress. She had walked past us several times without acknowledging us befire seating newcomers. I was trying to get any staff member's attention and was totally blanked by them. As a result, I told my family to get their things together and leave as this lack of service was seriously angering me. On our way out of the place, one of the staff decided to fix me with a victorious smirk. I found it so rude, as it gave me the impression they had deliberately ignored us for their own entertainment. They wasted half an hour of our day, and increased the cost of our parking due to having to go elsewhere for lunch.Needless to say, we will not be returning there ever again. I have never received such awful customer service. It was like some sort of comedy spoof of a restaurant, only without the comedy. In fact, I would so far as to say this was the very worst restaurant I have ever been to, and I didnt even get to try any of their food or drinks. I cannot recommend in any way this restaurant. The only positive thing i can say, is that from outside, from a bit of a distance, it does look like a fun family place, but the reality is that it is truly awful. I hope they go out of business.

Great atmosphere and lovely food. Massive portion sizes and excellent value for money with the children's menu

We waited at the podium to be seated but were waved over by a member of staff to sit down. We looked at our menus and asked the waiter what certain meals contained and he didn't know or bother to find out so we ordered a simple burger and shake. The burger was okay, but the shake tasted flat and could have been poured straight from a carton. Halfway through our meals the waiter interrupted our conversation and asked if we had finished, with food still on our plates - I thought this was very rude. We felt unwelcome and rushed to leave. The price did not warrant the quality of food or good customer service so I would not return. It is such a shame as the restaurant itself is very attractive and can imagine it being a great place for families.

We were seated by a young French chap with a face that looked like it would crack if he smiled. Incidentally, all the staff have a logo on their clothes saying happy to serve you. I think perhaps this should be changed to unhappy to serve you!! They weren't rude, I just felt a huge inconvenience to them for being there.We all fancied a burger and were actually on our way to the grazing shed but decided to give this place a shot.They have a number of different burgers to choose from 6lb, 12lb, 18lb and 21lbs. The only issue being is there is literally no images at all of the food! It's difficult to gauge what you want so this would be a huge benefit!!The food arrived and in fairness it was all hot except for the stone cold onion rings.I was stunned by the size of my burger and even more stunned that they actually made their own patties. Yes there own, not pre frozen ones but they were cooked fresh and in fairness, they tasted slightly different with a quirky seasoning. ( I think fennel seeds ).In fairness my burger was pretty good!! The burgers are quite flat and not what you would call juicy, but not bad tasting and the mushrooms and onions that go with it are very good and the smoked cheese.The kids food is very very disappointing. They give you a bottle of some coke substitute that tasted horrid and our sons burger was tiny and so dry he found it difficult to swallow. Perhaps scoring a 2 is a little harsh given the quality of the burger wasn't bad, but I was out with my children and they should be given decent quality food. I also want to feel welcome when I go to a restaurant and we were anything but.I wouldn't suggest it's so bad people don't go there but if you have children, I would think twice.

My and my partner had seen this place a while ago and really wanted to try it as the decor looked fab so we were hoping the food would be too. We were bitterly disappointed.We paid £5 (!!!) for cheesy fries expecting them to be like Ed's Diner...crispy fries with drippy running cheese only to be handed a heart attack in a bowl- huge fat greasy oven chips with what seemed like a slab of cheddar cheese microwaved for way too long all over it.Me and my partner had a burger each (about £8-9 each) and my son had a children's meal (£4). Both burgers and my sons meatballs were over cooked and dry. My son also never received his ice cream and his drink came about 5 minutes after his food (only a fruit shoot).As mentioned in other reviews I found the staff quite grumpy and not very personable too.Overall it was a real shame. This place looks the business and could really have something but their focus is all wrong.The only thing positive I can say unfortunately is the decor is really nice and the chocolate milkshake was really cold and tasty.We won't be returning l

Never again!! Staff were extremely rude, lacked any people skills whatsoever. Male came over straight away and said food had stopped, it was 17.30!! Then a female staff member immediately stopped two elderly ladies at the entrance, who promptly left! We could hardly understand the male and he could not understand us. Felt very uncomfortable during our visit as though we were a nuisance. The decor however was amazing! Change the staff and we would think about returning.

Visited here tonight with my partner and 5 year old daughter. Good points:Decor looks fab, really makes you feel like you're in a 50's diner. Music to match.Bad points:We'd only sat down for a matter of seconds before a waiter tried to take our order, we explained we weren't ready and he walked off in a grump (no smile at all, not even a hello) all the staff seemed completely miserable (to each other too). The lady who came over and did take our order didn't smile and later we spotted her sat by the bar looking miserable.Must point out the (older) lady who gave us our meals DID smile and was really nice.Shame there was just complete flat vibe from the place (except the music, which was cool)Menu looked ok.My food arrived I ordered 'Fats Dominos' Burger meal. Burger meat was ok, brie and cranberry very nice (even though completely over the top cranberry sauce, just spilt out everywhere) and my chips were cold, reminded me of Macdonald's chips, very cardboard taste to them. I didn't eat my chips my partner did (as he doesn't like wasting food) The children's meal was very reasonable price and my daughter did finish her plate and enjoyed her icecream.All in all I probably wont go there again, which is a shame as I had wanted to go there for a while.

I went here a while ago and from the outside this place looked incredible 50s style diner . the burgers and alcoholic milkshakes they had on offer here looked amazing. however the place needs to have qualified staff and the staff here took my order and didnt even say please or thx you plus i had to ask for the bill at the end of it there was no one else in the place apart from 1 lady. the staff here are foreign anyways i ordered my food and she didnt smile and say thx you like most places do. then a guy came over put the food down and quickly walked away this is 1 place i wont ever be going to again yes its that bad.

It's not the worst burger or service I have had but I won't be returning. They mixed mine and my husbands order up brought him a single and me a double patty. They put cheese on his when he asked for no cheese and they didn't bring my daughters fruit shoot. We couldn't be bothered chasing that up as we had drinks for her. They did correct their mistake and I kept the double without the extra charge. The English of the staff is not great at all but I didn't find them particularly rude it's just their culture. As previous reviews have stated, if you're going to be an American diner then you do need cheerful staff. The food was not awful. The fries yes they're like McDonald's fries but crispier. Not the best burger meat I've had but edible. Another reviewer said about it being cooked on the outside and pink on the inside. If you order a burger in the states then that's how they bring them, generally served medium. Kids meal was good value £3.95 for burger fries drink and ice cream. My daughter didn't get the ice cream and drink though. My husband ordered a strawberry shake and he loved it. I had the buddy holly burger which I did enjoy and the onion rings were okay. For the price there are better burgers in town. I think they need to up their game.

So surprised by all the negative comments. I found the food to be lovely! I've wanted to try an American breakfast for a long time and Mattia Diner did not disappoint! The pancakes where beautiful along with the bacon, BBQ sausages and eggs. Literally one of the best breakfast I've had in a long time. My partner had the AM's breakfast and said the same, everything cooked perfect (but did wish she had chosen mine) lol. will definitely be returning and telling friends and family to visit. See you again soon!

Me and my friend came here on the 14th May after seeing the outside and the layout so we thought we'd give it a try....what a BIG MISTAKE! We both ordered the elvis burger, and well I can't even explain, I tried abit and it was disgusting. First I asked for it with no onions but it arrived with onions in it, the beef tasted foul, the bacon was freezing and the cheesy was a big gloopy mess...and the chips were just freezing!Honestly the only thing I could eat were the chips as I was starving. Secondly I asked for another Coca Cola, and then the guy brought me a diet Coca Cola over, the staff failed to understand what me or my friend was saying to them as they were busy standing round on their phones or just completely walked straight past us! Overall I'm dissapointed and this place is awful, the food is freezing and vile and the staff are just rude and look at you like you're a piece of crap.Would I ever go here again?.....NO CHANCE!!!

Visited this diner today, have to say on the outside this place looks the business, it is very clean and the decor is perfect for an American style diner however once you get in there it then loses all feeling of America. As many other people have stated the staff don't speak English very well, which in its own is not an issue but they're lack of understanding of the language takes the American style away, there is no smiles or have a nice day about them it is more grunts and stares which makes you feel uncomfortable.On to the food, I had the full Elvis bugger, the full should stand for grease because it was dripping in grease, the chef can't cook a bugger because the outside of the bugger was burnt and the inside was pink needless to say I didn't eat it, I didn't send it back because as I said the staff failed to understand the complaint. The chips where nice however they are just skinny chips the same as McDonald's so can't really mess that up. The onion rings well my god what can I say other than tasteless crap because they had been cooked I would guess at least a dozen timeMy wife had the melted bacon pannine, strange one this because the bacon was cooked but the cheese wasn't and nor was the pannine she left half of it as well.Pointless complaining so we paid and left and put it down to a bad experience and will never visit here again and I suggest if you haven't tried it yet don't bother. Please don't be put off my the decor because from the outside this plac e looks awesome but once in it is anything but awesome

Friendly service, a LOT of food and excellent décor.The staff were very polite and friendly, asked us about the meal (Was everything ok) and seated/ served us very quickly. Milkshake was served cold and the food was hot - we will be returning!

After being really excited to eat here I was very disappointed with the service and the food that was served to me.We ordered shakes for our drinks after having to repeat what we wanted 3 times before giving up and having to point on the menu what we would like. When the shake arrived it was warm at the top until I had drank some of it before it was cold which I thought was a little weird.Now as for the food its self this was the biggest disappointment the chips looked and tasted like they had been brought at McDonalds and were cold. The burger didn't look very appetising at all let alone tasting like any beef I had before? It tasted awful, was dry and looked vile let alone accompanied by some plastic cheap tasting cheese. We left 3 quarters of the meal. The coleslaw I have to say was very yummy but the onion ring looked like it has been over battered.No member of staff once did they come back to our table to see if our food was all right let alone was there a member of staff around long enough to grab they're attention. When it came to paying after having to wait 15 minuets before a waiter was about. The waiter was also very rude when it came to splitting the bill and paying on two separate cards he snatched the bill from in front of me and then said in an aggressive tone that we must pay on one card to make it easier. Good job me and the lady I was with had each others bank details so she could send me the money or me to her as we were short of money at this time otherwise we would have been stuck paying although it is very simple to split a transaction EVERYWHERE does this.During this time he was rude to other guests raising his voice and telling them to pay at the bar when they had been waiting to pay for 10 minuets. I'm not sure what he had been doing on the machine for the next 5 minuets as I was waiting to pay before he asked abruptly if I was ready.For what it is it is over priced.

The food is simple American diner food, which I love. We chose to go all out the first time, massive portions so took what we didn't eat home. Went this week and chose a hot dog (menu stated I'd need a fork for it, but I didn't) However I was still full after anyway. My boyfriend had a steak, which was nice he said. I will try something else next time we go. I wish they would turn the music up a tad as it's in a busy area and could hear the dance music coming from the little shop next door where we were sat. Can't wait to go back

Attended on a Tuesday about 2.30 pm for lunch. About 50% capacity.I liked:-Ambience and decor. Pretty spot on. Credible 50s kitsch on the walls. Proper checker tiles on the floor. Comfy red and white booths. Shiny chrome bar. Authentic looking uniforms. Music was fantastic. Good selection perfect volume.-Cleanliness. Better than most restaurants. No mess on the floor. Tidy menus and tables. -Food. Very good. 4/5. Elvis burger was massive. Fries crispy and hot. Good coleslaw. Even accommodated chicken instead of burger for a kids meal. Another reviewer says food was greasy. Maybe a tad so but certainly in keeping with 50s dining! So not a deal breaker.-Prices. Tad higher than average but still value for money. With kids, average meal price with drinks was £10 each.Could be better:-Wait times. Considering it wasn't full and there were proportionately as many servers as you'd see in other restaurants it should not have taken so long to be seated or had food served. Would have expected half the wait times. We weren't in a rush but if you had to fit in over your work lunch break it wouldn't happen.-Staff friendliness. Perfectly polite but if you're gonna run a 50s diner, servers need to smile until their faces hurt. Introduce yourself by name. Point to your name badge. That's how the Yanks do it.-Staff don't speak English. Sorry for being indelicate and I don't begrudge anyone speaking their native tongue. But if you sell an American 50s diner experience yButre taken out of the experience when you hear all the staff speaking to each other in a continental European language. -Rootbeer. Kudos for having it on the menu. Points lost for it being Australian Bundaburg. When I mentioned it the waiter seemed unaware of where they could source American rootbeer. Yet in the same mall, the American confectionery upstairs had several different varieties of it in cans. Suspect they would even be cheaper than Bundaburg. Also....was served without ice in a San Miguel glass. Needs ice and a dimpled mug next time.On the whole, I'd eat there again.

My friend and I called in to this Diner on Saturday for lunch and by the time we left it was pretty busy. It looks fantastic from the outside and the decor is great. Everywhere was spotlessly clean which is always good and we were served quickly. We both had a burger and skinny fries and really enjoyed it - the burgers were nice and juicy and the fries delicious. I was really surprised to see all the bad reviews as we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be going there again.

Wish I had read some of the reviews. staff and service was poor .seemed to have to ask for everything . food looked good and was enjoyable but chips tasted like they had been refried. With 4 staff serving I would have had a more enjoyable experience

Turned up just hoping to grab a nice panini to eat for lunch. The staff were milling around chatting, and didn't acknowledge me or even say hello. I had to ask "Are... are you open?", to which a sour-faced waitress bluntly replied "Yes."I ordered food, and the person taking the order didn't make eye-contact, was blunt, to the point, and downright rude. Didn't smile once. Didn't do ANY of the courtesies we take for granted with any customer-facing business, especially the food service and restaurant industry. You'd expect they'd want to make the experience as positive as possible. This felt like daylight robbery. Just a "We'll take your money. We don't have to be polite about it" kind of deal.Food (a bacon panini) took 25 minutes to arrive while the staff walked around, occasionally glaring at me whenever I looked in their direction. It took a further 5 minutes for a glass of water, which I requested when I initially ordered food. HALF AN HOUR for a glass of water is unacceptable.Quite frankly appalling. Will not only not be visiting again, but I'll be telling as many people as possible not to visit this place. It was THAT dreadful.

This has recenty been relaunched as an American diner and really looks the part and suprisingly quiet when we visited on a Saturda afternoon. The food is reasonably priced and the staff attentive. The hot dogs and shakes are spot on but not such a great effort on the american breakfast but that isn't unusual in the UK. Will definately go again.

Would never go there again,my husband ordered a burger when he tried to eat it it was dripping with fat.And the cook had cut it so much to make sure it was cooked it fell apart.My daughter had the ribs with hardly any sauce on it.They don't do cheese burgers,just burgers if you want a slice of cheese they charge you an extra 99p.Asked for a coke the waiter brought me tap water !! No-one working there could speak hardly any English.Total waste of money save your money and give this place a miss..

I took my younger daughter shopping during half term, and we decided to have lunch for a treat.The restaurant was quite busy, which is usually a good sign. We were greeted and taken to a table, seated and provided with (quite a substantial) menu. YD wanted a milkshake and Hickory Chicken (a sort of flat Hunter's Chicken) and I ordered a latte and a Chicken Caesar Salad. Drinks arrived first - really tasty milkshake, and an Okay latte. YD's chicken dish looked appetising, served with a small side of coleslaw and some skinny fries (which tasted OK when they were hot, but curiously lardy when cold). My salad, however, consisted of a bowl of chopped iceberg lettuce, some croutons and some rather dry chicken. I had asked for the dressing to be served on the side, as I don't like loads of dressing, but it arrived sans dressing with a small dish of Parmesan. On asking, I was brought some dressing in a small dish. I got the impression that my request (for an undressed salad) was unusual, as another customer complained that her Caesar Salad was 'saturated' with dressing, and virtually inedible. I don't think we will be eating there again.

Me and my girlfriend entered the diner, my girlfriend knows that I am stubborn with food but we gave this place a go, we were looking for cocktails but they were too expensive . I wasn't blown away by the menus at all, I didn't feel like there was much option for a 50s Diner. We sat down and we scrolled through the menus. We were then approached by a waiter who couldn't understand myself who had repeated the word 'Sprite' multiple times. Finally the waiter had understood what drink I would like. We ordered food alongside it, onion rings and cheesy chips. But the waiter was told I wanted onion rings but still didn't note this down? The cheesy chips my girlfriend had were big in portion, but they felt really liquidy at the bottom. I wasn't at all impressed with my onion rings, I honestly felt like I was eating plastic, I took a bite and looked inside and it looked like plastic to me. Not at all good. My girlfriend asked for a Coke Zero but was brought a normal Coke. We then waited a while on when to pay, we were confused on how we were paying, do we sit down and pay or go up to the desk? We were also placed next to a rowdy family even though the diner was fairly empty. Not going to be going here again any time soon.

Ok,place looks great and the coffee taste fine.We ordered a sandwich and a panini. They could give the plate a bit more glamorous..you know,bit tomato or so.Anyway...the staff are friendly but it will do a lot if they all smilingthey could dance to entertain the guest on the nice music

This was a complete disappointment. We had just barely received our menus when we were asked if were ready to order, then again about two minutes later, and again, after about as long. None of us had put the menu down or made any indication that we wanted to order. There is keen and then there is stressing your guests. They were not so keen when we wanted to pay and we actually had to go to the bar to ask for the check.My oreo milkshake was warm! Not as is "not cold", but actually warmer than my mouth. I got a new one pretty quick, which was only slightly warm. The "gourmet chips" were mushy and soaked through with oil, actually dripping when squeezed. The skinny fries were about as good as McDonalds. The BBQ sauce used for the ribs and chicken tasted almost nothing. I think they should stop hiring relatives and try to get hold of some trained staff.

My wife wanted to come here for American pancakes for her birthday. Waitress did not understand when tried to order . Asked for 2 lots of pancakes and got 1. Had to wait 10 minutes for second portion. Coffee not great either. Wont be going back

Okay, first things first, this café is nothing fancy. Don't expect to be blown away by the character or atmosphere of this café. However, it has a certain charm to it than my friend and I discovered whilst studying at Cardiff University. We became regulars at this café because it had very attentive and efficient staff who served really reliably good food and drink. The baguettes and fries especially were consistently excellent. Even now that we have left Cardiff, when we meet up in the city with friends, we always recommend this café. Despite the plethora of coffee and lunch venues in Cardiff, we always found ourselves choosing Café Mattia. It should not be overlooked when shopping in the centre!

Dropped in for lunch, place was 10% full. Good selection of food and we ordered a cranberry & Brie panini and a BBQ chicken panini with a latte and a pot of tea for one. The chicken panini was fine but a bit dry. The other had the thinnest sliver of Brie that I have ever seen. At £5 a go, this was really poor value. The milk jug for the tea had a crack in it that had browned with age. I pointed this out to the waitress who said "oh - you want it changed?" I requested that she did change it and that it should never have been used. We won't be going back.