Castellamare Restaurant & Cafe Bar in Swansea

What an absolute shame the quality in food & service has dropped off an edge of a cliff!! This honestly used to be the go to place down the mumbles for our family special occasions but after our recent visit for a birthday meal I’m afraid it’s gone to the dogs!! Food was below average the only enjoyable part were the mussels but you don’t get many for your buck! You get better service in McDonald’s than we did along with other tables that were as shocked as us of the poor service & quality, what topped it of was the fact the £30+ bottles of white wine were handed to us warm with no ice buckets the simplest of things!! Not once during our meal did any server pop by & ask if everything was ok! Bring back the old Castellamare, I think the new owners/management are relying on location rather than the fundamentals of any restaurant look after your customers & they’ll look after you especially during off-peak times! I’m genuinely saddened by the downfall of what used to be an enjoyable experience :(

Haven't visited here for a while, what a shame, they have changed the chocolate brownie,home made, it now comes cold with artificial cream, it used to be so delicious, sent it back, I had the sourdough avacado for breakfast, don't bother, for 8.50 , it was way overpriced. Very small portion, hardly any feta on there. We drive almost an hour to this place. Won't be back.

Nice breakfast, good coffee, very quick service with lovely views and reasonably priced. We will return

The new owners have a bit of work to do. The pizza is a downgrade in previous experiences. Smaller too and inferior ingredients. We were served a salad with an item that even the chef was unsure were. Manager apologetic and offered ‘pint’ of Peroni as goodwill (we were a party 5 and the salad was mostly left). At the moment the quality of food does not represent the price or do justice to the location and venue. Service was good, very friendly and the location is wonderful. Plenty of parking. Hope they get it right but needs some attention to detail.

Extremely bitter coffee, undrinkable. 2 coffees and 2 cakes £12. Best coffee in Mumbles is in Newton Road.

Lovely view of the sea. Breakfast very disappointing. Had to send my scrambled eggs back twice, still couldn’t eat them- large bits of white loose egg and egg chords, looks like the eggs hadn’t been mixed properly or at all? Before cooking. Also some brown pieces in there, not sure what they were. Mushrooms were dry and looks like they’d run out of butter for my toast, just middle area buttered. Beans were ok but why put them in a small sealed jar?. Gave 2 stars as the tea was good and my husbands bacon baguette was fine. Hope they improve as its a lovely area and the waiting staff were helpful.

The food is not too bad but the service was too fast. The view is amazing. Just at dissapoint for the cake, looked dry and a bit old.

Firstly the view is beautiful . The staff were pleasant. Thats what the 2 stars are for. The food not so much. We ordered breakfast looked like it had been standing for a while hash browns burnt and bacon overcooked. Don't know why standards have slipped so much. Won't be eating here again. Too expensive for food like this. What's depressing is that we heard same people have taken over Verdi's which is first class.

Hugely disappointing and overpriced, seafood linguine pasta was just pasta and peas (little seafood content). Staff were ok, but for £150 I was expecting a far far better taste experience.

Very pleased with the attitude of the bar and waiting staff. However, when my order arrived (latte and ice cream) I was quite disturbed by the state of the sugar that was given to us by one of the waiting staff. When I went to put the sugar into my coffee, there was one sugar cube that had looked to be contaminated by some sort of white fluid. Nonetheless, I turned a blind eye and ate this contaminated sugar cube. The taste was bitter with a hint of pineapple which was rather unholy. And Secondly, all of the sugar cubes looked to have a rather strange tint to them- sort of like they had been left for a while collecting dust. Hope they can replenish their sugar cubes more efficiently.

Firstly, they don’t replenish their sugar cubes which I found was strange. When I entered the building I was greeted by a rude blonde woman who I presume was the manager. Wow! What an intense aroma of body odour. Wish she showered or put on deodorant as I spewed up my lunch in the car park. Other than this, waiting staff were very polite and the food was good. Hopefully the manager gets some self respect soon. Good luck to her 👍🏼🤮

I visited The Lighthouse yesterday for an after-meeting drink and loved it!! Yes for the views and the beautiful decor, but even more for the wonderful customer service experience we had with our server Charlotte. She was helpful, warm and really made the visit. Cocktail was also delicious. We will be back!

Came in for a quickie (food with friends) . Haven’t been treated so poorly! Bar staff extremely rude. When food arrived pizza was barely edible with bits of mould growing on the edges. Also, I was very surprised to find out that the waiters did not replenish their sugar cubes which was quite odd.

As others have stated, previously our go to in Swansea; hadn't realised was under new ownership... Booked last month on a beautiful sunny Sunday. So the good news, plenty of tables set up outside, had a nice buzz going and things seemed well attended. The restaurant has, as noted been spruced up. Again as others noted, no one to meet/greet us at the front desk and after 5-10 minutes I had to grab the attention of the waiter on the floor; operative word there was the not a. Now I'm guessing that there was a function/family function upstairs as we did see people coming and going there as far as the restaurant the waiter was friendly but with only him and his two food runners he was as we used to say - buried. Drink were finally ordered and eventually delivered. The menu, having waited for the 'Specials' to be advised there weren't any ( I'm guessing namore?) sent me back to the single page - which could really be called 'light' menu. I succumbed to the steak with prawns. WIsh that my steak or the prawns (an extra £4 for 3 very small prawns that didn't look like they had hit a frying pan). looked like the ones on their website. After a ridiculous wait, to be fair, the food when it arrived was predominantly well met; except for the two steaks. Mine at medium rare looked half the size of my mate's ( rare ) and as mine was laid in front of me I told him to take it away as I didn't even need to eat one to see the chips/fries/whatever were cold. The waiter asked me if I wanted the whole meal taken or just the fries replaced to which I replied just the fries if he could replace them in 30 seconds; which he did. Will I return? Yes, during the winter months if only to see if the new owners learn to appreciate that the droves who pack the terrace in the summer are nowhere to be seen in the more usual colder Welsh months and that the restaurant will in that period be their bread and butter. I have rated the service poor which is unkind on THE waiter who was charming and affable but so in the weeds working by himself to give him more would similarly be the wrong reflection on what was actually bad management rather than specifically bad service. And in closing, my favourite mantra: If you can't do the covers, don't take the reservations.

Castellamare, once our go to restaurant, has new owners and they are making changes; upgrading the outside and that looks very nice indeed!, The cafe has been undergoing an upgrade too, but at the time of writing, it is not yet open. When we visited a few months ago, the main restaurant had had a few changes. Gone were the substantial chairs, that were made for the tables. They had been replaced with pink fabric covered, tubular chairs, that were too low for the tables, and being fabric, to my mind, not easy to keep clean. The menu said that there was a Specials board, but when I asked what the specials were, was told that there wasn't any. The food we had was OK, but nothing to rush back for. Overall, it isn't what it was. No matter how much money is being spent to 'Jazz it up', it's the food and the staff that makes a restaurant, a destination. I daresay that it will appeal to some, but I'm sorry to say, that the menu no longer appeals to us. The days of us driving a 100 mile round trip to Bracelet Bay for a meal, are over and it's not a place you can just be driving by, en route to somewhere else.

2nd visit here and once again, did not disappoint. Great service, friendly knowledgeable staff, delicious food all in beautiful surroundings with incredible views across the bay.

Visited for the first since the old restaurant closed and the new one opened. No front of house to greet us, walls have been repainted - to be fair it needed a refresh. Same tired old tables were still there, new pink seats were comfy....

What an absolute gem !! We went for lunch on a sunny September day and we were absolutely blown away by the scenery & food . We only planned to stop for an hour but stayed for almost all of the afternoon as we were...

Dreadful service, warm coffee, and long wait for mediocre food. This used to be a great place to meet until the new owners took over, give it a miss.

Very uninspiring menu, tried breakfast and dinner and both disappointed. Crumbs of mozzarella rather than slices on the Avocado caprese, think they thought it was Feta! Difficult to ruin a sausage ciabatta but it was dry and served luke warm. Dinner and wine menu very...

Ordered a Tagiatelle Al Fredo - reasonably expecting a creamy pasta dish (as described in the menu). The pasta did look great - appearance isn’t everything beware! This pasta tasted awful. Awful awful! I think the fact that it’s meant to be a proper good...

A truly dreadful meal. The starter arrived with the mains after a 40 minute wait. The food was tasteless and even the salad was not dressed. I have never had such an awful meal in a so called Italian restaurant before.

Booked well in advance for restaurant, no record of booking although confirmation sent 2 days before. No disabled access to restaurant, advised therefore to sit in cafe, which was very noisy. Prices no different to table service in restaurant but queue to place order like...

Ate here twice during our holiday, the first was a Saturday night, and as we hadn't booked (as we had booked for a nearby restaurant, which sadly burnt down a few days earlier!) we couldn't go in the main restaurant, but they had a cafe...

I’ve been going to Castellamare for years and unfortunately the food and the service has gone terribly downhill. I have been twice since the new owners have taken over and I have been disappointed both times despite wanting to love it. The visit this week...

We used to use this restaurant as our go to place no more Took the family 9 of us to celebrate On arrival no table ready Asked to wait outside Ordered drinks not allowed to be added to the bill paid for separately?? The order...

Having now lived in Swansea for 3 years and never having made it to this locally renowned icon of an Italian restaurant we decided to book in for dinner. The location is stunning, a better location for a restaurant you could not wish for. The...

Had lunch there today not very nice at all been coming to castellmare for years and today was the first time in all these years I've been disappointed sad very sad

This used to be our 'go to' Italian Restaurant, but no more. The new owners have decided to retain the Castellamare name but have introduced their 'brand' of Italy and it is terrible... loud disco music, uncomfortable benches, poor service ( we waited over an...

Had an extremely satisfying family lunch today at Castellamare. Sat outside with the beautiful views and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Gorgeous pizza, pasta dishes and steaks. We’ll definitely be back. It’s 5 stars from us!

Despite some recent negative reviews, I must say I had a wonderful experience at Castellamare! I have visited on 3 occasions during the last 2 months and had 3 different dishes, all of which have been delicious. Best pizza I have had in Swansea and...

Visited on a Sunday morning. It was a warm day so it was busy as most tables were taken outside. My partner and I ordered coffees and breakfast. The coffees came quickly and were lovely. We had waited a long time for breakfast (approx 50...

Been coming her for years, first time going back since the pandemic and it will absolutely be the last. We stopped off for lunch and the menu is very limited. No sandwiches or baguettes you could only have big meals. Then there was the price...

So angry at the whole experience tonight. Dirty glasses, food was awful. Never tasted pasta as poor as that tonight, out of the 4 that ate 3 meals were sent back! So poorly prepared, no taste. As we were finishing our starters they actually brought...

A visit to Castellamare has been the highlight of our annual family holiday for many years, so much so our kids really believed that 'Mama Castellamare' ran the kitchen while her sons ran front of house and woe betide anyone who didn't finish their meatballs!...

Been there yesterday. Pros: -The view -plenty parking ( not free tho) Cons: -salty bread was cold and very hard -paid for wild mushrooms , got button mushrooms -paid for spicy chicken, was zero spicy on it -rosemary fries with zero rosemary on it -no...

Had breakfast al fresco overlooking the sea here, service was very good as was the food. Comfortable seating outside with cushions and the view (especially during the heatwave) was second to none.

Nice location. The positives end there unfortunately. The breakfast menu is very basic with very limited options, so we decided to linger around until the lunch time started at midday. The ordering process isn’t the easiest as half the tables are without table number. The...

Awful. Booked a table for a romantic meal and requested a table outside. Arrived to be told that there is no outside service and you have to sit inside the restaurant which had no air con. In the end we found a table outside and...

First visit to this place and last You take your table number and order at till quoting this, but on searching table no number found. So ordered at till and was asked for table number, i explained we couldn't find it but told her where...

I'm a local and Im disappointed with the quality of food and service recently. It's the little things that are so important. Sauces and condiments in plastic satches. Self serive water station with single use plastic cups. Rubbish under outside tables. It's not difficult to...

Took our 11 year old granddaughter and her friend on Saturday 6th Aug around 3pm, beautiful sunny day but unusually the restaurant seemed quiet, the usual menu had been changed and it was now very basic but by no means cheap, 2 glasses of off...

Very friendly and efficient staff, good menu, excellent food and well priced; I would happily go again.

Lovely setting as always …but new layout has issues …large sofas mean fewer seats all round , music was intrusive inside and out, drinks expensive and bottle of rose was not chilled and came in cooler with limited ice , the planters are large and...

We used to love this cafe and the location it is so beautiful. I am sorry to say the new seating arrangements and plant beds look so messy.We have found it difficult to get a seat due to the new seating plan.Please could you consider...

I love this location and this restaurant knows exactly what it is doing. All staff extremely pleasant, helpful and understand customer service. Whilst we were there on a blustery day both the the outside and inside very busy. Would definitely eat there in the future....

Since the new owners have taken over this place has deteriorated. Picnic benches instead of tables and chairs outside, supermarket style music outside spoiling the sounds of sea, birds and the general peace. Poor service. I’m sorry as have been a regular visitor with my...

Used to love this place, would come every week, loved the staff, the food and the lovely welcome feeling we would always receive. Since it’s been taken over it’s a shambles. The new staff are rude! I’ve personally seen one staff member sitting at the...

My husband and I visited Castlellamare today and sat outside at one of their new small tables for two. Two plates with a toasted tea cake on each, arrived and the table suddenly moved as the legs were all uneven. We were still waiting on...

Food is top notch, views are amazing, staff are not the best. Slow, forgetful and a lack of common sense. Price wise is reasonable and lots of parking available close by.

We used to visit this restaurant for a long time as a family on our Mumbles holidays over the years, and was a great place with options for everyone! After reading more recent reviews, mine will only be echoing some of the other experiences. We...

First visit since the new owners took over and was left a bit dissappointed to be honest. Managed to bag ourselves a table in the sun overlooking the sea, which was a great start. Long queue for food, drinks came quite quickly to be fair,...

reat location unfortunately very disorganised with service and rude and unfriendly staff. On top of that, as i queued for the till to order, i overheard a waiter loudly complain to a colleague about my son and his friend who had been running in to...

A great place would appear to have gone to the dogs following it’s sale to new owners. Top quality service has gone to self-service. One of the best places to eat is a sad shadow of its former self.

My family and I have been going to Castellamare for 15 years, and had always been welcomed at the door with a smile. Unfortunately under new ownership this is now not the case, the restaurant is run like a cafe where you are required find...

Amazing food. Amazing Service. and the food comes very quickly. My only gripe is the fact that it hasnt been open in a while due to the changing of owners

Breakfast! No Chef! Planned a Birthday Breakfast for my Dad(83) On arrival at 10am & paying for 2 cars to be parked we were told - No Breakfast as No chefs, I asked t be refunded for parking, they refused saying "what it is see"...

Great to see to open, love to see Secrets menu here too as I love the food there. However I hated the loud music outside as it drowned out the sounds of the sea and waves. Sounds that are perfect on their own.

Holiday place a moment away, and avoided as the place was and still us over priced...the staff and still are rude. Just thought it was a wonderful sunny Bank Holiday weekend and there was a table...."let's just give it the benefit of the doubt"! Nooo...

Appallingly rude service at the cafe from one member of staff. Utterly disgraceful when you are willing to come and spend your money. I have had an excellent sit outside here before Saturday. I wish i had challenged them more when I was there. I...

Ate in Castellamare last night and my husband and myself both ordered pizzas. I had the marinara and my husband had the spicy one - both were absolutely delicious and they had a really thin base which is what we like. Excellent service from Jake,...

Overpriced. Rude manager. Other staff were helpful. Asked for sauce and told if not in pot, we have none. After asking another member of staff, I was presented with it. Believe to be under new management, not a good start by them.

Popped in here with my wife and parents for a snack lunch today. Nicely greeted and seated. We all went for the Scampi and chips with salad - excellent. We all commented on how great the chips were. For pudding we shared 2 brownies with...

Got in on New Years Eve and what a fantastic meal to finish the year,service is superb,food is top notch,location can’t be beaten,will definitely return next time we are in mumbles

Amazing from start to finish Seafood linguine delicious cooked to perfection service impeccable highly recommend..

Fantastic find with outstanding views. The staff are welcoming & accommodating to needs. Well stocked bar and a great selection on the menu to suit everyone. Reasonably priced and the place is well decorated and clean.

Called for an early dinner and so glad we did -fabulous views across the bay, delicious food, good varied menu choice, lovely surroundings, attentive service ...will definitely visit again

Been a while since we last visited, and were delighted that it is still an all round very good restaurant, in its style. We all chose different dishes from the large menu and specials, and all were excellent: fresh, tasty and ample; classic Italian cuisine....

I've eaten once each in the cafe bar and main restaurant, and enjoyed both. The cafe bar is not special but is a nice place to go and the food is decent, while the restaurant is super-impressive. A big part of it is the staff,...

Lovely views from this restaurant but the menu very limited to what it used to be, they used to serve lovely toasties but they have taken them off the menu. My son and I had pasta but my Mediterranean vegetable pasta had hardly any vegetables...

Limited and uninspiring menu to be honest. Previous visits had much more choice. Covid issues. Had Welsh cakes with jam and cream. Large milkshake, drives me mad when glass is not full and the top half all air and froth, not worth the price !

There’s nothing particularly wrong with this restaurant, it caters for what British people think is Italian food. We had three courses which were adequate but I believe vastly overpriced. Not special enough to be charging the prices they are. Waiters were efficient and there was...

Amazing place the food was excellent very good choice of menu especially the specials board.Excellent service from the attentive staff.Highly recommend a visit and will certainly be back on our next trip to South Wales.

great view good seated area good parking, place to lounge food very good great coffee, beer, not far from mumbles/swansea

The steaks were stunning, cooked to perfection dispite the waiter not asking for my, preference of cooking., that's where it ends, I started off with the title of starter... Well that's just how it looked. Two fillet and two cold brocoli spears and maccy ds...

Really attentive staff and delicious food with authentic taste and atmosphere of sorrento peninsula but on the gower. Lovely views of Bracelet Bay. Staff answer phones and found a table for us even on busy bank holiday Monday. Gelato very nice as well!

Fabulous food and exceptional service even though very busy. Have always found it great. Sat outside today in the glorious sun with many others all enjoying the food and views - can’t beat it! Looking forward to next time.

Visited for lunch today and boy, did we enjoy ourselves! The waiters were so attentive and helpful. The Pizza Sofia I had was so good, I ordered another to take home with me. The salmon fishcakes on the specials boars were delicious as a starter....

Pasta was in watery sauce Luke warm and thoroughly unimpressive. Very limited choice. No spaghetti only penne and looked a little grey

We visited on the recommendation of our Airbnb host on our visit to Mumbles and we are very pleased we did. Staff are attentive without being irritating, food was lovely, plentiful and reasonably priced. The location is stunning and we will definitely visit again on...

We booked a table in the restaurant for 4 for a late lunch. They were offering a reduced menu because of staff shortages due to Covid but there was still plenty of choice. We ordered three pasta dishes from the specials board, and one from...

I visited here on a birthday trip, and I’ve been visiting since I was a child, and my gosh the views are just as stunning today as they were when I was younger! Unfortunately I was underwhelmed with the food and drink on offer at...

This is a charming location with friendly staff, however even making allowances for the difficulties businesses have faced during the pandemic, I was extremely disappointed with the food. Our table ordered a variety of dishes, including a number of pasta dishes. The quality of the...

Friday 9th July lunchtime, we went for a snack and enquired what was the procedure for ordering and was told to choose a table and wait for to be served. We did wait, and waited further to observe a group of staff just standing by...

This is a delightful restaurant in Bracelet Bay with great sea views. The staff are excellent but our meal was very disappointing. My friend and I both had the chicken and pasta special. Although it was nicely cooked there was very little chicken (or anything...

Myself and a few friends went. There were 7 of us in total, and they were very accommodating last minute to put us on 2 separate tables near each other. My friends who went for the first time really enjoyed it, and of course the...

Visited with family. One of our favourite restaurants. We were lucky enough to have a table by the window with a lovely sea view. The staff were very efficient and friendly and professional . We had 2 course meals and the food was excellent. Pizzas...

Restricted COVID Menu Unfortunately because I had eaten pizza the day before I choose a pasta dish for circa £13. Some boiled packet pasta with a bit of tomato sauce. Not a hint of fresh herbs in the sauce or presentation. Disappointing.

Called at this restaurant twice this weekend. First for an evening pizza to finish a pleasant day. The service was friendly and prompt and the food beautifully fresh and hot. Delicious! Second the following morning about 11 a.m. the Castellamare breakfast was a real plateful,...

Rocked up with ever hungry son, found a table in the shade and had a splendid time drinking cool beer, eating great pizzas and enjoying the stunning view. Loads of others had the same idea, and why not!

The location is ideal, the views stunning and the restaurant and cafe are great if you have children. Personally we found the menu to be a little limited (perhaps it was because we went on a Sunday evening) and the wines opportunistically priced.The staff were pleasant and our food was delicious.

Pre covid this would be a regular restaurant for my partner and I come date night. Sadly I can honestly say this is a thing of the past. The food is at best mediocre although sadly this is not the worst thing about our visit one sunny afternoon... Let's talk about the waiting staff... The service is slow and quite frankly the worst I've ever experienced (honest review). Despite asking to be served we were pushed to the back of list and trumped by tables that had actually attended after ourselves. When challenged on this we were simple met with the classic "sorry it's busy." Sorry to say we will not be visiting again. A great shame as it is.

Great view, great service, and very good Italian food by the sea. A beautiful place, and despite being busy, we had no wait. Can’t get much better.

Good food, with friendly and welcoming attitude. Staff always kind to my mum and dad, who feel ‘looked after’. You get the impression that nothing is too much trouble, and the quality of the food and service is always brilliant. Thank you for making my mum and dad feel welcome, every time they come along, it’s much appreciated.

Had a lunch here, shared a pizza, really nice, and a pint outside in the sun, highly recommended, this tends to be my favourite place in a mummbles to go for a quick bite and pint.

Went there with my partner after visiting bracelet bay. Paid nearly £30 for two pastas that for how much you pay, you don’t get what you pay for. This is due to to the food being bland and tastes like straight out of the microwave. Even after this disappointing meal, both of us still wanted deserts. However, after 25 minutes of trying to catch someone’s attention, did not get served and eventually walked off. The individual with the till had mask below chin and not wearing it at all. When taking orders and walking around. Some staff seemed very happy to be doing their jobs. However, this individual gave a very unwelcoming feeling. Even after a member of staff pointed at us because we wanted to order. He still took no notice.

Visited this restaurant after seeing it had 4 and a half stars online and described as a genuine Italian restaurant, I can’t understand how they have these titles and ratings. Food was bland, tasted very store bought and cheap, yet for the price of a gourmet meal. Two extremely simple and uninspiring, clearly not freshly made pasta meals and two soft drinks put us back £30. Then waited 30 minutes trying constantly to get the eye of a waiter to take our order for drinks but to no avail. Several members of staff repeatedly wore their mask under their chin with one particular staff member wearing it under his chin the entire duration of our visit without putting it on once. On top of this, staff seemed extremely cold and unwelcoming. Only good thing about the visit was the stunning view, this restaurant has the potential to be incredible with its size and placement, pity it doesn’t have the food quality or service to match. Would seriously not recommend

We were visiting The Mumbles and booked to eat here, on a whim we went for drinks the night before. The menu was uninspiring and beer selection limited. What really turned us off though was the waiting staff, masks worn under the chin do nothing to reassure your customers and the grumpy attitude was a real turn off. Cancelled our table and went to Pierre Bistrot instead and were very happy there.

Arrived very late morning, took absolutely ages to be served, seemed to be one person "supervising" who was just standing around adding no value, even saw two staff members arguing and one saying he couldn't go any faster and something about i-Pads for taking orders. Waitress was abrupt, stressed and unfriendly. A very obvious disharmony between staff.£28 for two marguerita pizzas a coffee and a soft drink. Pizzas were the quality you'd expect from a £2.50 budget pizza from Happy Shopper, decaf is 35p more and soya milk another 50p (you can buy a LITRE of it in Tesco for 55p).If I'd not just paid £3 to park I'd have walked away. Worst dining experience I've had in ages. Won't be returning. Yet another example of the UK's non existent service culture.

This restaurant is in a lovely spot and the coffee is great, before COVID they had sandwiches, panini’s and toasties which were lovely but have taken them off and there are a lot more expensive dishes on the menu which has spoilt it for me, lunch time I prefer something lighter which now the options are limited. Hence the 3 stars.