Giovanni's In The Bay in Cardiff

Once again fantastic food and service, Rodger always friendly and professional, a pleasure to dine at this place.

Quaint restaurant overlooking the Bay in Cardiff. Food was delicious. Tender lamb shank and lovely carbonara. Friendly staff.

Amazing team at Giovanni’s. Disabled access is fantastic with a lift available to the upper deck. They were brilliant with our babies and very accommodating. I would highly recommend this venue for a family meal. Food was amazing service brilliant and a great atmosphere created by the staff.

Had an absolutely amazing experience here this evening. Food was great, ambiance fantastic, and the staff are incredible. I realised it was evening prayer time and I asked one of the members of staff if he had a small area for me to use to pray (I am Muslim), and this guy went out of his way to accommodate me. On top of that, they gave us a dish on the house. 5 stars.

Literally cannot fault. Fantastic food. Banging music. Excellent service. Triple threat restaurant

The servers were nice however the food was absolutely not worth the price. I came with my friends who orders a simple penne pasta which tasted like a can of tomatoes dumped on a pile of pasta. In the pasta sauce of my dish the oil was bringing to separate in a very unappetising way, and made me not want to continue with my meal. The pasta was incredibly undercooked and the portions were not at all worth what we paid. I would not recommend this restaurant at all, you could probably get better food at the local Sainsbury’s across the street.

I have never eaten such a terrible meal, the lasagne was drowned in tomato sauce and the layers inside were burnt black. LAZANIA WAS INEDIBLE.

Very disappointed with this restaurant. My friend and I walked in for a meal and we have both had food poisoning. I've called today to flag this incase anyone has been ill. The assistant manager, Roger was very rude and obstructive. I wasn't going to raise a complaint but it was upset with the response, I asked that one be raised. The assistant manager became more rude and patronising. He couldn't give me a rough timescale to hear back from my complaint. Having shared this experience with friends and family, they advised that they know a number of people who have left Giovani's with food poisoning and they weren't surprised it happened to us.

Lovely authentic Italian food, really great services and Amazing environment too! Would definitely recommend!

Starter was frozen inside so had to send it back to be replaced. Even though the food was nice when it came it was hugely disappointing that this happened in the first place. Service was a bit slow. Waited aged for dessert menu. Atmosphere there was nice, the decor was nice and the staff were nice enough.

We went to Giovannis for a Pizza Making class and it really did not disappoint! It was full of laughs and tips and tricks on different techniques for making your pizza. Would really recommend, for us it included a welcome drink (soft drink, small glass of wine, or a bottle of beer) making the pizza with unlimited toppings and then eating the pizza (the best part!).

Had a delicious dinner with a fabulous view at Giovanni's in the Bay. We were there quite early so it wasn't very busy, by the time we left the restaurant was full. We ordered a pizza, olives and drinks. The server was friendly and attentive, the food arrived hot and fresh. All in all I would highly recommend Giovanni's.

Food is delicious, fresh and beautifully served. Restaurant is lovely looking and clean. Staff is kind and polite. Such a lovely place to visit 🤩🤩🤩

My favourite restaurant. Beautifully situated on edge of Mermaid Quay with nearby WMC. Friendly and attentive staff, noting too much trouble. Great menus and dishes of the day - mouth watering and beautifully presented. Great cocktails, wines, and liqueur coffees.

My family and I went for dinner as a New Year’s Eve Eve meal. The restaurant had around 5 tables all evening so the restaurant was not busy at all. Our waiter, an older chap, took our order and seemed very impatient as my father hadn’t decided what he wanted. Instead of giving us extra time he decided to wait there and stare forcing my father’s decision to be rushed. We ordered olives to start and while we were still eating them they got taken away. We had bruschetta as a side with the maid meal and while we were in the middle of eating this it got taken away. I had to ask 5 times for water and when we called another waiter over to complain he said it’s just because he is Italian and also new. As my parents travel regularly to Italy several times a year they explained it can’t be because he is Italian because they have never experienced this bad of service there before. The waiter proceeded to respond without an apology to us and said we are insulting him. Now the food was very good and we enjoyed every meal we had but I wouldn’t go back nor would I recommend this place to any one because of the service being so bad.

I didn't get good vibes the second I walked in there , everything about it screamed italian style extortion the menu was awful , overpriced and the food tasteless I am not joking when I said I had the worst coffee I have ever drank in my life Wouldn't return

Would highly recommend this venue. We hosted our friends 40th birthday here and the restaurant was so accommodating, we were able to play our own music, order food and dance through the night. The staff looked after us and the food was delicious 😋 its such a pretty venue, perfect for party’s. Xx

I had my birthday dinner there and I have stomachache now, we had calamari, I had lasagne. My condition is terrible, I don't know my friends Too expensive as well

Had a great custom-made vegetarian pizza. Really loved the base. They went an extra mile, shows the importance of asking nicely. An all round excellent meal. Grazie mille. 😁

Delightful experience at Giovanni’s in the Bay with friends last week. Delicious food - I had chicken dish with mushrooms and sauce - great service and ambience. Mirko was especially attentive. We will be going again!!

Great, fresh and tasty meal, with friendly staff and service.

Had to request menu after sitting at table for 15 minutes . Wrong meal brought out . Meal arrived luke warm . Place all seemed chaotic then on leaving guests were arriving for a private party with owner . Wouldn't return here

This was our 2nd visit in 4 years. The first time we experienced service from a lady who cared little about experience. 4 years later, we heard that the food was worth a try. Therefore, since we live in the Bay and try restaurants close to us, we thought we would give Giovanni's a 2nd chance. Unfortunately, it turned out below par again, despite our wish for it not to!! The atmosphere was good. Ordered our food good. The food did not come until we reminded them we were waiting for our starters. After starters, we had to remind them we are waiting for our mains. When the mains arrived, we had to remind them that potatoes came with our meal. Then, when the potatoes arrived, they were hard and uncooked properly! Ouch! Then the general manager was doing his usual check if customers were happy. We explained why it hasn't gone well for us on this occasion. He apologized and we thought he said we could have 50% discount for our next visit ie, we had to pay full price for our disappointing visit! When he wrote our voucher, he wrote 15%!! Mmm we said to each other. 50% would have been worth a 3rd chance. 15% is definitely not, worth it!!

Happy to say, we had our first experience at the Bay restaurant last night. Table2, 6pm. We were welcomed with genuine smiles and greeetings. We had two lovely main courses Chicken Lemoni, and Chicken PoloNero,followed by two puddings. The beer and wine with the meal good as well. We were thrilled to meet the owner who made a point to say hello. Thank you we will be back, soon hopefully. Thanks.🍽️👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Absolutely gorgeous, good , service and a great place to meet up before a visit to the theatre ! Highly recommended!

Amazing service even on 1 of its busiest days. The food is unbelievable with fresh made pizzas, and what tasted like fresh made pasta.

Very attentive and accomodating. Lovely food, great wine and nice atmosphere. What more can you ask for?!

Great food and new manager is passionate about new ideas. Look forward to seeing the changes.

Amazing! I will be recommending it to everyone! Food was delicious. Staff are very friendly amazing customer service. Will be back soon.

Love the atmosphere and staffs are lovely. I would like to come for live music next time.

A really enjoyable evening! Tasty food, great service and very reasonably priced. I will be back.

Stunning Lunch time setting looking out across to the Wales Millennium Centre, Giovanni’s at Cardiff Bay is a fav location of mine. Food A* Service A* View A* Visit Giovanni’s for your authentic Italian cuisine.

A little piece of Italy in Cardiff Bay. We found this place by chance today after dropping our son off to university. Service was friendly and could not have been more welcoming. The food was excellent. I had the lasagna which was the best I've ever had and both my son and husband had pizzas. We all said it was a place we'd come back to.

Pizza was good, pasta nothing to write home about. Friendly staff but ridiculously overpriced - £10 for a glass of white wine and £10 for a half pint of lager. I will certainly not go back.

Got there at 6pm, place was shut, no notice. Website says it should be open

Such a nice restaurant located in Cardiff bay. I’m highly recommend Lasagna and Pizza 💕💕 thank you for lovely food

Terrible! Appalling service, we waited 25 minutes at a time when the place was empty for 3 wine spritzers and a cup of tea. Expensive for what it was - would not return!

Giovanni's is usually great but tonight was the exception. It was obvious that they were short staffed but service was abysmal at best. When you actually managed to get a member staff they were great but the order we placed was confused, went to the wrong table and all in all VERY poor. They were apologetic and reflected this by discounting the bill. A disappointing experience 😢😢

The waiters/waitresses were absolutely lovely. Had an amazing meal and 2 coffees! They have the best coffee I’ve EVER tasted. Highly recommend

Great service and fab food, had a small problem with the wine and that was sorted with no fuss and everything else was perfect. 👍🏻😊

Lovely place great view and cracking espresso

Difficult one to review. When actually dealing with any staff they were great but when you wanted to get their attention/speed of service it was a challenge. Very disappointed to find that the menu online was not matching the menu provided. We were particularly keen on some pasta dishes that weren't there. Even more disappointed to find there was no mention of alcoholic milkshakes even though online this was a big selling point for us... Starter was very nice and drinks were good. Main meal was average and quite pricey all round personally. We had a nice time but wouldn't return.

A wide selection of dishes to choose from, plus a number of specials each evening. A selection of wines and spirits plus bottled beer to accompany your meal.

Amazing food and first class service!

Excellent food and wonderful friendly service. Will definitely be back when I return to the UK.

Fabulous food great atmosphere recommend a visit

Although fairly quiet when we visited on a Tuesday evening it felt really welcoming. The food was wonderful and the service was excellent.

Absolutely wonderful. We were cold, wet and miserable from being caught in the rain, but the warm and welcoming atmosphere brightened our day. Really delicious food, super friendly staff and even some wonderful live singing. We hope to go back next time we're in Cardiff.

We came to Cardiff for the first time in heavy rain and drenched. The restaurant welcomed us in with lovely food and friendly and humourous service and even surprised by a great singer! We are a family loving music and this is just so lovely! It completely made up the disappointment by the rain.

Fabulous pizza today sitting outside in the sun. Perfect spot looking over to the Millennium centre. Staff were brilliant. Will be back again.

Service and atmosphere spot on but unfortunately the food let it down. I had lasagna and it was swimming in tomato sauce - all I could taste was cheese and tomato - no meat taste and certainly no herbs - very disappointing. As ever now was also expensive for what it was. Sorry.

I popped by your Cardiff Bay Restaurant and had a negative experience. The service was poor. I was charged a surcharge which I was not aware of as the staff member was too quick with the card machine and the receipt was folded so I could not see this until I had already paid. We were delivered three aperol spritz and only ordered two and the two glasses of tap water ordered never arrived. It would be much appreciated if I could receive a refund or a voucher. I have a copy of my receipt.

Ate outside, food tasty, not sure its authentic Italian. Annoying server kept interrupting us, but meant well.

Not been here for a while, really enjoyed it. Fab food staff really helpful, fab atmosphere.

Great Italian food and wonderful atmosphere!

Food was great but not the best service Visited on Sat 17 Jun 23 @7pm ish The guy who we think is the manager was rude to one of the female staff who was trying to take an order from us. I guess she was new but it appeared he didn't trust her with order taking which felt a bit awkward. Everything was so slow(taking drink order, serving drinks/food). A member of staff brought us food for other customers 3 times. Ppl next to us were complaining too. The food was tasty but it looked dry maybe because it was being served to several wrong customer too. Portion size was quite small for one of pasta dishes considering it was £17. Probably wouldn't return. It looked like lots of staff running around confused and poorly managed. At least the staff asked us if we want to waive the service charge straight away..

A real rip off. I ordered an aubergine, artichoke and capers pizza. It was delivered as aubergine, anchovies and capers. I am vegetarian, so sent it back, though they managed to ignore our table so long that I had to carry it to the serving station. They were very apologetic and guaranteed to get it right. They then turned up with a mushroom, peppers and olives pizza. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. When they got it right on the third attempt it was actually good. We had two glasses of wine, two pizzas a side salad and shared one tiramisu. The bill was £90. That is unbelievably expensive for, essentially, two pizzas, but, because of all the delays, we were in a great rush to get to a show in the Millennium Centre opposite, so didn’t have time to investigate, but in retrospect my bet is that they charged for all four pizzas. I would never go back and I would not recommend it, as there are plenty of other restaurants nearby, Côte for example, which must be more competent and less ridiculously overpriced.

Seated outside under an orange parasol, excellent, friendly service. Delicious meals, so fresh and full of flavour. We'll definitely be back!

Overall it was just OK. Being a speciality Italian I thought it would be exceptional food. I had lasagne which was fairly bland and nothing special, and at £18 i thought was expensive. Some of my family had pizza which was large but again expensive at £20. It was also very hot upstairs and the air conditioning wasn't on. Simple answer on would I return.....not very likely.

I was there for Harry Styles last night. After reading the reviews I wouldn't of eaten there. But my experience was 1st class. I had walked passed it but realised I didn't want to eat in the city centre. So walked back. The food was outstanding, service was perfect. Yes was slightly expensive. But was well worth it.

Food wasn't good. We've tried Giovanni's at Cardiff City Centre and were amazed by the flavours, hence wanted to try the one at Cardiff Bay. But we were very disappointed with the food. Service was great, but food was disappointing. We would never go here again.

Food was nice but numerous mistakes made (didn’t get a side we ordered but it was on the bill, one main was incorrect, two meals on the specials advertised as one price and put as a higher price on the bill, salmon and prawn starter not having any prawns). Waiter was kind and apologetic but so many problems means probably wouldn’t go back.

Very tasty food, great service, extra points for the girls singing outside. Would definitely come back here again

Good and drinks were great and the location was perfect. Our waitstaff was unnecessarily solicitous. More salesman than conscientious waitstaff.

Food was tasty and very nice but not cheap!!!

Absolutely delicious food 😋 amazing service, friendly atmosphere, definitely recommend, definitely returning

Great restaurant, the service is impeccable and passionate, truly in the iItalian fashion. Molto bene!

my partner and I came to the restaurant in the bay tonight at 18:30, as soon as we got there for our reservation we were greeted and just told to go and find a seat upstairs even though we had never been to the restaurant and I feel we should have been shown to our table… We ordered the meatball with bruschetta for our starter which was most likely the nicest part of the whole experience, for our mains we ordered lamb Ragu and it was awful to say the least, to the point my partner had 2 mouthfuls and didn’t eat any more. Our waiter literally mounded the Parmesan on top of it as well. For the drinks we ordered a virgin mojito only to be told at first that there was no mint but 5 minutes later that the kitchen had mint and even then the drink tasted like syrup… the whole experience was purely awful And to top it off we were charged a £7 gratuity on top. We didn’t want to complain to the staff as the waiter was only about 18 and we felt like he wouldn’t know what to do and it was solely his fault

Nice looking restaurant, decent enough food but very overpriced for what you get. Better value options exist. Staff try their best but clearly not enough staff available to do everything needed. Average experience overall. Avoid the seafood as its either frozen or overcooked, the meat options are nice.

Went to see my great Niece Gela singing this afternoon with 3 friends,it was Brilliant, we didnt eat ,but had Drinks ,had a great afternoon, probably eat next time ,the food looked lovely.

Can't in good faith recommend the Bay restaurant. Absolute nightmare of a meal last night. Wrong food, watery clearly defrosted meat, burnt pizzas and terrible drinks. Big G needs to support the team there as they just couldn't operate. Props to the team in trying to rectify and discount the bill but certainly wasn't a meal to enjoy.

Food was incredible, staff were all super friendly and helpful. Can't wait to go back!

Excellent food, very friendly staff and a beautiful building. What more can you ask for?

Love this Italian some really amazing dishes on the menu really lovely staff who make you feel so welcome

Fabulous food today, had fillet steak penne pasta was amazing. Even had a quick hello from Giovanni himself !! Definitely recommend 👌 👍

The best chicken in peppercorn sauce I ever had !!! We had triple cooked chips as well which were amazing , pasta I can still feel the taste and it was to die for, pizza which base was fantastic with generous toppings and extra spices ,washed down with gin and tonic 😀 The staff gave us fantastic service ,friendly and welcoming If there were more stars to rate we would give more .Thank you Giovanni's 😊

Over 40 years experience serving Cardiff! From one restaurant to three ! It’s in an amazing spot opposite the opera house ! With amazing seating outside overlooking a beautiful fountain ! The food is Italian cooked to tradition with traditional products! Nothing better than an Italian chef ! The staff are amazing giving a service to perfection! Enjoy the pictures & just think while your in Cardiff why not ! The food just falls off the fork & flavours explode in your mouth leaving you full !

Beautiful little restaurant. Food was delicious but slightly expensive for what it was.

Appalling food avoid at all costs

Food was reasonable but was hoping for more choice. Often the waiter was hard to get his attention when something was needed. On three separate occasions one of our party asked for something and was totally blanked. Didn't live up to expectations from other restaurants in the chain.

Delicious food, fantastic atmosphere, first class service. Supports the children’s requests. Supplied little colouring books and pens for the children to play. First class venue,

It's not bad but could be better. Was nice enough, good choice but sevice was a little off. We booked, specifically this restaurant in the bay as it was close to our hotel, however they did not have our booking when we arrived!

This little restaurant is warm and inviting!! The atmosphere is cozy and friendly. My waitress Sandra was welcoming and sincere. Starters of olive and the most beautiful presented caprese salad were a delight. Wide variety of Italian wines on offer - my choice tonight was a merlot. Lovely. My main was vegetarian ravioli. The sauce was delicious and fresh and the raviolis were flavourful! This little gem is located directly across from the Millennium Centre! Two other Cardiff locations, each with its own unique ambiance-all with the same attention to quality and taste! A must when dining out in Cardiff. Reservations are recommended!

Really good, enjoyed it a lot, easy for the Millennium Centre.

Lovely food, fabulous service. Would definitely go again

Not a good start! Ordered 2 x freshly baked bread & when they arrived they were burnt! Cannot believe these were allowed to leave the kitchen . Were they just hoping we would be too polite to return them? Wrong! Our pasta dishes were fine but way overpriced, as was the wine. In the present economic climate I think restaurants are pricing themselves out of business. We also had to ask for water for the table. We will not be returning.

Delicious food, good vegan options! Wonderful service. Highly recommend.

Amazing! Food was excellent and served in decent portions; service was superb - the staff were very attentive, polite, and friendly; the restaurant was beautiful. Bit weird at first as the front door is by the kitchen but there are stairs and a lift up to the dining area. Definitely recommended if you want a decent Italian.

First time here on the bay & we found it very disappointing, no where near as good as Giovanni's on the Hayes. No atmosphere, food bland & not authentic Italian! No one enquired if the food was ok until we were on our way out.

Went to Giovanni's for a birthday celebration from the moment we arrived we were greated by the wonderful maitre'd who guided us to our table. The atmosphere and decor of this place is very different in its attitude to Italian cuisine and the surroundings set out in a more modernistic approach. As a group of four foodies we started off with cocktails followed by our starters, you guessed it we all ate pasta dishes that were cooked to perfection, with that added twist of authenticity. I personally feel you owe it to yourself to try Giovanni's at Cardiff Bay the whole experience was a delight. Parking in the multi storey close by was very reasonable at only £4.00. PRJPhotography

This was our second time in this restaurant. The atmosphere was nice, the service friendly but rather lacklustre. It was an occasion for us so we splashed out on the fried seafood starter platter which was described as featuring prawns, calamari, and scallops with bread and olives. Mmm... I love scallops, they are my favourite! However, when it arrived there wasn't a scallop in sight. We were served a plate of prawns... calamari... and ... little fried pieces of salmon? I asked a staff member what happened to the scallops and they went to the kitchen to ask and then came back and told us with a casual shrug that the chef didn't have any, so he gave us salmon instead. Oh, that's OK then? No information was given on missing items at the time we ordered, no further discussion was offered, no offer of an alternative option than salmon, no offer of any remedy/discount, no nothing. Given that this starter is £26.50 it would be nice to know that what you order is not fully what you will get BEFORE you order it. This is not a supermarket delivery, you can't just substitute scallops for salmon and hope people don't notice or care. When a different staff member collected our plate and asked if we enjoyed I told them it was tasty but I would have liked the scallops as per the menu and the reply was "I know, I don't know why they do that" as though it happens a lot and is an OK thing to do and there was nothing they could possibly do about it. I do wonder if the scallops are absent from this dish on a regular basis and are replaced by (cheaper) fried salmon bits... Don't get me wrong, the calamari and prawns were very tasty, we were hungry and we ate the salmon though it's not what we preferred. Was it a £26.50 starter? No way, but our pizza to follow was tasty. I'm not complaining about the taste of the food. But what you get is not worth the high price. It's normal to find that prices have shot up everywhere you go these days, but £27 for a bottle of the average house red which is shown as £21.95 at the menu of their sister restaurants (and also on the online menu for this restaurant) is beyond ridiculous! Not a single bottle of red on the Bay menu for less than £24.95.  Don't tell me you can't find a decent Italian red for a reasonable price out there. It was a £17ish bottle at most and that's just what we think the restaurant price mark should be, not the actual cost to the restaurant which we all know is much much much lower. So all in all, stop taking the mickey. We would return with caution...

The food was tasty and service was good also a nice venue but for the prices the portions were quite small. I thought £15.00 for spaghetti bolognaise was very inflated so probably wouldn't visit again.

Visited this evening with 2 colleagues, great atmosphere, good wine, great food and brilliant service. Great touch at the end from the owner inviting us to give feedback and talking about the restaurant. Will deffo be back!

Good quality food at reasonable prices.

Nothing special, food was average, service very slow and done with no effort

Overall the food was OK plenty of options. The service was just ok.

Disappointed with interior food over priced

Service was okay, fastest part of the dinner was bringing over water. Over a 40 minute wait for food for 2 people. No nibbles or even bread was offered. And to top it off, the food was so bland and the marinara sauce was so watery, it was falling off the pizza. Not worth it for the ££. Pizza Hut might have been a better option.

Birthday meal! Was beautiful and staff very polite and accommodating

Second time there and we have loved it. The staff are lovely n friendly and the food has been amazing. So 100% definitely go n try it for yourself.