Thomas by Tom Simmons in Cardiff

Absolutely fantastic experience from start to finish, lovely atmosphere, friendly & professional staff and as for the food it was was out of this world. Would highly recommend.

My husband and I went on Sunday to celebrate Mothers’ Day - admittedly without the kids. Thomas was no place to offer a bit of a treat, however. This year, Mothers’ Day clashed with the Six Nations, and the restaurant andbar were filled with supporters having the noisy time of their lives. Filled to the brim with half-cut rugby fans in the bar, we were told to wait for our table. Which we did. For ages. No offer of a drink or a menu to look at. Stuck practically in the middle of a scrum. We waited for about 20-25 minutes for someone to take our drinks order and when the waitress finally turned up, we were told the staff would be prioritising the rugby crowd, as they had a match to get to. No mention of this when it was booked. By now, we’d been waiting nearly an hour, and the volume was increasing as the rugby crowd got more interested in the booze than being respectful of others. Plenty of time to take in the ambience… unfortunately. The colour scheme (green/red/salmon pink) was hideous, the toilets fairly grubby and tatty. I’m all for unpretentious dining, but this was just cheap and unwelcoming. There was terrible glare from the windows as there was no shading, and the noise levels were almost unbearable. I wanted to leave, but my husband had paid a hefty deposit, so we stayed. The food - which should have been amazing was totally ‘meh’. £18 for a small egg-cup sized lemon gin cocktail was frankly taking the piss. The crab cocktail was a sloppy circle of watery sauce with crab bits on what appeared to be uncooked leek and tiny bits of apple, texturally uninviting. I would have asked the waiting staff what was in it, but it was pretty clear we’d been forgotten by this point. The beef that eventually followed was ok. I don’t mind mine pink, but this could have been reanimated by a decent vet. There were only two accompanying veg; swede/carrot and braised red cabbage, both were too sweet. There was also a flavourless tiny spoonful of white stuff I assumed was supposed to contain horseradish, but it was too bland to tell. The roasties had clearly been deep fried, but were nice enough. My poor husband had a sad, meagre bit of pork with a teaspoon of what he assumed to be apple sauce. We’ll never know as we’d ceased to exist at all by this point. The desserts were ok - sticky toffee pudding was microwaved and the chocolate torte was unremarkable. For a place which clearly coasts on its reputation, we had nothing that was in any way outstanding. It was all edible; just very ordinary - dare I say boring? The prices are ridiculous for what we had. Fine dining? Nope. But the crowds of fans quaffing huge quantities of overpriced vin rouge, seemed to enjoy it. We won’t be back.

I had my first visit to Thomas for Sunday lunch. It did not disappoint. Staff are so friendly, and the food was delicious.

Thomas is one of the few places in Cardiff to offer close to a fine dining experience. Unpretentious in its style it offers a warm and welcoming service on arrival through to table service. The menu changes regularly depending on the season. We liked the leaflet of the map of their suppliers to show the food’s provenance. The food is a good balance of top quality ingredients, and mouth watering sauces without being too heavy, We enjoyed grilled oysters, lobster tart, turbot with champagne and caviar sauce, beef fillet, passion fruit sorbet, tonka bean custard. There is also a cheese trolley with an interesting cheese menu organised by soft/hard mild/strong. For next time 😊

We enjoyed a pre Christmas night away without the kids. Having been a few years ago it’s always been on our “to do list” to go again so had booked months earlier. A warm welcome was followed by possibly some of the nicest food we have ever eaten. Mushroom Croquettes and Tea soaked chicken as nibbles. Mushroom parfait and a bbq leek starters Fillet of beef with onion tartlet for main with a side of truffle Mac & Cheese which was Devine! Peanut butter parfait and apple crumble for desert. If you like food, you’ll love it here!

We were lucky enough to grab a fairly last minute table here on Friday night (booked a week ago). A lovely cosy restaurant in a smart suburb of Cardiff (less than 10 mins in a taxi from Cardiff castle). The restaurant was very busy when we arrived (at the time of our booking) and we were seated at the bar for about 30 mins before our table was ready. It then took almost another 30 minutes for our food order to be taken, so we’d worked up quite an appetite by then - fortunately the drinks kept us going. The waitress did apologise for the delay though which we appreciated. The food was all lovely, delicious and well presented. We chose al la carte and particularly enjoyed the mushroom parfait, oysters, day boat fish (turbot) and carrot side dish. I also thought the wine selection available by the glass was very good. We’d like to return and try out the tasting menu!

Visited last night with 3 friends. Amazing. Excellent service and ambience. Had the sharing chateuabriand with mac and cheeses which was fantastic. Never had mac and cheese that tasted this good before. Yes its pricey but its fine dining and perfect for a special celebration!!

Been wanting to try here for a while……it was worth the wait ! We arrived late Wednesday lunch and were pleased we were able to get a table at the end of service. Great lunch, beautifully cooked,presented and served. Better than some of the Michelin restaurants we have tried. We can’t wait to come back to try the taster menu ( ps the truffle mash was exceptional ! )

High quality food and service and an affordable wine list which really complemented the food. Had the fish and chips which are recommended for first timers and it did not disappoint. Really enjoyable.

Excellent set lunch menu. Even better with 50% discount offer and a Christmas gift voucher present! Food and the service was excellent. Only gripe is that no vegetables were included with the mains. A dish of seasonal vegetables included would have been a bonus. However at full price it would have made for a very expensive lunch including a bottle of wine.

Had a great meal here. Visiting my son In Cardiff. The service was excellent & food delicious. We had bread & croquettes “for the table” one of each between the 4 of us - enough for the 4 of us to taste (3 croquettes). I had smoked haddock scotch egg starter - nicely tasting of the smoked haddock. Main course Beef - cooked perfectly for me. & dessert miso caramel sticky toffee pudding- light & tasty. Courses were reasonable size (starters smaller) so not stuffed.

Good set lunch menu, Jan sale made it very good value. Lamb loin, and sticky toffee pick of the courses. Couple of slight disappointments though (potato shards in particular), especially given how much this place is usually bigged up.

A beautiful meal, in a beautiful restaurant. My girlfriend and I ate here last night before catching a show in the new theatre. We don’t use phones at the table so I will do my best to breakdown the meal without the use of photos. Every course, every side was cooked masterfully. The fried chicken starter was light, crispy, painfully moorish. The Oysters with caviar were in a delicious buttery sauce. We had a chateaubriand as it was on special, seasoned beautifully, paired with a thick and rich beef and red wine gravy, baked carrots which had (I think) pumpkin seeds and purée and a wonderful creamy mash potato. I almost felt like I was eating a take on a Sunday lunch, it was brilliant. I had to try the mac and cheese side which had truffle shavings and mushrooms puree. It was just perfect. Desert. Peanut butter parfait with banana ice cream. All I can say about that is next time my partner can get her own because I will not be sharing it again!! The plates were empty and we were both so happy. We have eaten in a lot of very nice places over the last few months. A few weekends ago we had a similar pre show meal (in terms of size and plates/drinks ordered) in London and the bill was over double what I paid last night. Thomas is priced very very well for food of this quality. A very very special mention in this review was the outstanding cocktails. I wish I had asked the lads name so I could mention him personally. I had 4 beautiful cocktails. The ice cubes are stamped with their logo, a brilliant detail. Stone Sour - a ginger and apricot, fresh fragrant, Very hard to take your time with as it’s that good. Psy-coconut - sweet and tasty. it would make a wonderful desert cocktail as well. Old fashioned - best old fashioned in Cardiff. The final cocktail - sadly I can’t remember the name of it as I asked the mixologist to send out his best, which he delivered himself - Another beautiful whiskey cocktail, a hint of floral. Very strong, sooo tasty - a 10/10 mix and the best cocktail of the night. I challenge anyone to come to this restaurant and leave unhappy. Thank you for a stunning meal, served by lovely staff. We will be back very soon. PS - if you guys see this review, it would be great to know the name of your mixologist so next time I book in I can make sure he’s working! Thanks.

Fabulous place with the most amazinggg food. Can highly recommend this place. Fantastic!

Lovely dining experience. Recommended for a,special occasion x

Me and my partner had an amazing experience here on Friday evening. We chose to dine from the Al a carte menu, the food was excellent and the restaurant was beautiful. The service was so attentive. We cannot wait to dine again, and experience the best quality food and service in the area again. Huge thank you to Tom, Adam and Carla, and all the team for such an enjoyable time.

This is our second visit and we opted for the four course set lunch menu which is such good value for money for the food we were treated to. Enough choice and we both shared each part of the meal as there was so much to enjoy. The cod and lamb for mains were outstanding and we both loved the sticky toffee dessert. We couldn’t wait to eat to take photos: it’s that good. £38 per person for a four course menu is an absolute steal for the flavours, dishes and service you’re treated to. We will be back again…and again. Cannot fault anything.

Wow. The best restaurant in wales, by far. Absolutely fantastic… we had between us all the dishes and every single one was special. This is a very special place and it’ll be a staple every time I’m in Cardiff. Well done team!

Excellent food and friendly efficient service, but this quality comes at a price. It’s very expensive a La carte for quite small portions. Next time I will do the tasting menu which seems good value in comparison.

Surely the best restaurant in Cardiff? The menu doesn't do the food justice, simple sounding dishes elevated to a completely other level. The mushroom butter with the bread was the best flavoured butter I've had, the mushroom croquettes were delicious, the 'Fish and chips' is probably my favourite fish dish in Cardiff, the 'chips' are extraordinary I still drool over the pictures from my last visit. Every dish we had from the nibbles to dessert just blew us away It's not cheap so definitely more of a place for a special occasion, still worth every penny

First time coming here and absolutely loved it! Food was superb and wine was delicious. We went for the set lunch menu, which had great choices. Everything was tasty and cooked perfectly. Carla was such a lovely waitress- special thanks to her. Really enjoyable few hours and can’t wait to return. Thank you

Fabulous food as always.Staff are fantastic.Definitly deserves a Michelin Star.

Absolutely fantastic! The staff were all very professional and courteous and were happy explaining the menu and the specials to me and my family. The food itself was outstanding and all four of us agreed it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had. When making the reservation it was noted it was one of our birthdays and they had a hand written birthday card and brought out a small treat at the end of the meal making the whole experience all the more special. The whole experience was 10/10 and we’re looking forward to going back to try the tasting menu!

Had high expectations for a lovely evening, food was good, however seated 45 mins late for an 8:15 booking, very noisy dining room with a large work Christmas party booking and slow service let the evening down and nothing like you would expect for a £75 tasting menu. Much better experiences had else where unfortunately

The food was as good as on our previous visit. However, sharing a dining room with a group (celebrating Christmas?) meant it was a bit noisy.

We went here for my birthday and having eaten at many Michelin restaurants over the years this was absolutely superb , shows that stars aren’t necessarily the be all and end all There was no course in the taster menu that had any faults . The cooked oysters ( which were extra ) were amazing , full of flavour and absolutely delicious , the chicken parfait was possibly one of the nicest I’ve eaten , the brill course was again perfect as was the scallop dish , perfectly cooked and the accompaniment was amazing . The lamb was easily one of the best I’ve had , and the “ chips “ unbelievable, could have had a plate of those . Desserts were great, service was excellent , friendly , not over the top . This was a fantastic experience , will definitely return

Outstanding, lovley atmosphere, pay for what you get.

I've never gotten drunk on food. This was a first. Exquisite 👌

Lovely place, Amazing Service. I really fell in love with everything that they have. It was my birthday my boyfriend got me here and I absolutely loved the experience 😇

What an absolute delight of an evening, words cannot do it justice, no superlative in the English befiting of the Thomas Experience. Bravo, standing ovation, take a bow hats off ! Flipping Ek

Welly Wednesday - food was amazing, great cocktails & coffee and the service was very friendly

What an incredible venue! I booked Thomas for my boyfriends birthday, and we opted for the tasting menu - something neither of us have ever done before. Each dish was so well put together and the flavours so delicately complimented each other, it was the best meal either of us have had. We couldn’t have asked for more from our server, Adam. From the start we felt welcomed and really cared for, each course was perfectly explained to us along with why the wine pairing was selected, and the attention to detail was outstanding. Thank you so much for making our night, I would highly recommend this to anybody, and we will definitely be back! Thank you again Adam, you were the icing on the cake for the perfect evening!

This is a hidden gem - at least it was to us on the east side of Cardiff. The whole experiience - food, ambience, staff etc was top notch. We will certainly be back again.

We visited this restaurant as we had a gift voucher as a present. When we arrived we were taken upstairs where there were no other people so asked to change to downstairs. This seemed like it was a pain for staff however we were accommodated...

Best restaurant in Cardiff! The steak is fantastic and the chips are to die for. It is quite pricey but worth it for a special treat and compared to similar level restaurants around the UK it is good value for money. Always my go to...

Really enjoyed my lunch. The fish and chips left me surprised. Best fish I have eating in the U.K. in a very long time. Service was amazing. They couldn’t do enough to help and please. Everything was perfect. Can’t wait to go back!

We went for the set lunch menu and were very happy with the food. The veloute and citrus cured salmon were particularly good. I recommend this place.

Just spent a lovely family evening celebrating a 60th birthday. Excellent service, attentive staff and absolutely delicious, well presented food. Thank you to the staff for making the evening special.

Having spent a decade in the UAE, I had grown accustomed to a certain level of service that has often left me disappointed since returning to Wales. However, our recent experience at this restaurant was an exception. The staff were very attentive - from the...

Perfect food, staff and atmosphere. Visited for Sunday lunch, food was outstanding and staff couldn’t have been more helpful from booking through to paying bill. Will definitely be back!

We attended this restaurant for a Sunday lunch. We had the salmon starter which was lovely. We had the beef as a main and the Yorkshire pud was slightly overdone for my liking but my partner liked how well done it was. Pudding was nice...

Great cocktails thanks for looking after is

Amazing dinner with a veloute and a perfectly cooked hake. Would have been worth going for the bread and onion butter alone. Such a treat to find a good independent restaurant at a reasonable price these days

Amazing food and service. Wonderful friendly staff

One of the best meals I’ve had in Cardiff. Every course was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. Staff are friendly and helpful and the decor is understated but chic

Best I've had in Cardiff - will definitely go again once the menu changes.

Wonderful time here. Will be back soon.

The food was varied, some excellent, some very over salted, but the portions were tiny. For the £30 lamb dish, two tiny pieces of lamb were provided. The restaurant music was a bit of a dancey techno track which was a strange choice. Waitresses are...

Fantastic meal, the flavours were beautiful and great service. The lamb, beef and turbot went down well, as did the deserts. A great place for that special night out.

Amazing food, fantastic service. My partner and I had the tasting menu. Absolutely delicious. Atmosphere - relaxed - was a great afternoon for a birthday lunch.

This is a really wonderful restaurant. The food was amongst the best I have ever had. Please visit here if you can Staff were lovely. Place itself was set up really well too. I cannot recommend this restaurant more highly

We came on Friday after 10:30pm for their bottomless fried chicken and it was just excellent. The chicken tasted great, and they kept bringing more portions so we felt the cost per person was incredibly good value. The drinks and ambience were also lovely, and...

Went for my birthday and what an amazing treat it was! we had the 7 course menu with wine. The food, staff. atmosphere and cleanliness were out of this world. Our favourite restaurant to eat when we have time to go out.

Our go-to for fabulous food, great service and relaxing unpretentious environment. Reliably beautiful every time.

Utterly beautiful. Service was spot on and the food was incredible, totally delicious!! Lovely special touches as it was our anniversary. We will be back very soon. Special thanks to Carla for making our first visit wonderful.

Quick lunch before my daughter's graduation. Just main and dessert. All outstanding.

We were absolutely blown away with the food, we are doing 12/12 restaurants on the run up to my wife's 50th birthday this coming December. Ambience here was excellent.... service was top notch, polite, helpful & friendly, waiting times for each dish was not even...

We are doing 12 restaurants in 12 months on the run up to my wife's 50th this coming December and for her 50th we will review all the visited restaurants and choose what we think is the best to visit for her 50th... ( so far this is top) .This is our 3rd restaurant so far, after starting at the Walnut tree just outside Abergavenny.... for me the food here is the best we have had so far, so well presented and the tastes are out if this world... great service from the staff, with excellent knowledge of the food. Fast polite service... all of this has earned a 5 star rating from me...

Lovely food and good service but a bit on the expensive side

My fiancé and I visited this restaurant and I must it is one of if not the best in Cardiff. Top notch service and unbelievable food. Will definitely be visiting again.

Have been here twice in recent times. Once for the a la carte, and once for the Tom Peters X Tom Simmons tasting menu. Both times I was beyond impressed with the food and very slick service. FoH were attentive but not overbearing, kept drinks topped up and made our visits very comfortable. Be back soon

Wow what exquisite refined food. Beautiful lunch menu, some lovely touches. Can't recommend enough. Enjoyed the care that went into every mouthful .

Brilliant Cardiff restaurant, kept it up Tom and team. We must come back soon, the set menu not only looked superb, the price wa reasonable too.

Exquisite food, outstanding service, cosy and welcoming restaurant. If you love fine dining, don’t miss this 🥂

Wow wow wow what can i say.We have waited so long to get a table and i can se why.. the whole experience was amazing..our waiter eirwen was attentive and so lovely ..The food was unbelievable from the bread to the steak .in fact we...

Great food and drinks. Great service considering layout.

We took our fussy father-in-law for lunch for an early Fathers Day treat and were not disappointed. The food was delicious we took advantage of the specials and tried the crab starter and the chateaubriand fillet - which came with the Mac & truffle cheese...

A beautiful meal. Will definitely return.

Really enjoyed our experience here - decor, atmosphere, and staff were 5* . Food and cocktails were 1st class as you’d expect - small portions but enough for us , and each mouthful was bursting with flavour - I’ve not eaten food this good ever!!!!...

Attending for a wedding yesterday. The food, staff & service was incredible. Couldn’t recommend enough! We had the steak which just fell apart and the whole experience from welcome drinks to desert was brilliant. Just go and try!

Fantastic venue and fabulous food for a birthday treat. The Pate is out of this world, by far the best I've had, with the amazing sourdough bread.

So glad I booked here for my boyfriends birthday, the whole experience was incredible. Service, food and drinks were 10/10! Also happy we booked an early table as we were able to enjoy some drinks before and after food at the bar too! Thank you 😊

I visited as part of a family meal to celebrate a wedding and as a coeliac I was very nervous about what I could have with the options being somewhat limited. I emailed beforehand and received a copy of the menu with everything that is...

Had a lovely lunch with friends a special treat in a very special place a wonderful food experience really enjoyed all of it and thanks to the chef and staff

Really good. Very impressed. Top quality restaurant. Salmon starter was excellent. The lamb was beautifully cooked and presented. Brilliant rosti chip type things. Oh, and the bread was great. Service was unobtrusive and effective. 6 of us went, will was about £570 including service and all drinks.

Super weekend lunch at Thomas. Relaxed service and beautifully presented, delicious food. Loved the cured salmon. Dessert and cheeses also fantastic.

Full of goodness. I haven't enjoyed eating out as much for a while. The food was delicious. Flavours that blended perfectly. Who knew smoked haddock worked so well with sweetcorn? (You did, didn't you?) A clean, smart, spacious-feeling place. I was prepared for a stuffy or sniffy vibe but was wrong - friendly, relaxed and warm. Rosita looked after us so well. Anything on the menu we wanted to know about was explained. We did not feel any pressure about anything so relaxed and loved the whole thing. Negatives? Nope. Parking is always a pain in Pontcanna, so perhaps sort a lift or a cab or even walk. However you do it, get here! It quite rightly didn't cost two pounds seventy for anything. I think it was worth it. Looking forward to returning for the fish and chips... although calling "Tom's Chips" merely chips does them a disservice - they're layered potato cooked, cut and fried to perfection. Hat off to the other Tom in the kitchen, who the chips are named after. This place deserves all the attention it's getting.

Had one of the most delicious lunches ever today! 10/10 for all courses. Each course so unbelievably tasty and moreish. The celeriac main course was spectacular, even as a meat eater. Wish I could eat there every day!!!

Overall the food was very good. The welcome and bar experience was disappointing, obviously locals/regular guests get priority and the ‘chat’ so that didn’t help! Perception was that the few younger trainees on the service team lacked leadership and in general service was stiff and...

Had an amazing dinner last night at Thomas. The service was top class and the food was cooked perfectly. I'd highly recommend a visit to this restaurant.

A really nice mix of vibes. Spenny feel but not pretentious. A nice fit for Pontcanna, to be fair. Food was really great.

I loved this place the food was amazing, not too formal, great service, will have to revisit with my wife, I think she will love it as well.

One of the best restaurants I've ever been to in my life. Everything was just delicious and nicely presented. Top tier.

Keeps on getting better and better. Incredible meal, fantastic service and delicious wines. Thanks for a special birthday celebration.

Wow, do the taster menu!! It was absolutely fantastic! Every course was delicious Would highly recommend!!! I want to go again tonight It’s also great that they now open until 1am so you can enjoy a drink after your meal! Top food, top service!!

Lle braf iawn. Edrych ymlaen i ddod am bryd o fwyd. Excellent welcome and atmosphere. Looking forward to having a meal here soon.

Some people have a natural talent for making even the most mundane things interesting. Tom Simmons is one of these “Illuminati” individuals; he's so skilled that he could probably make the plot of a porn movie worthy of attention. Despite the polished ambiance and visually...

Amazing food, friendly staff It is expensive but as a treat why not .

Great place in Cardiff. Definitely on my top list of restaurants I've ever been. Tasting menu was well designed. The special leek cream served with bread was very unique. Wagyu beef was unbelievable mouthwatering. Just love it!! Chicken live was so rich and delicious. We...

I had a really nice experience at Thomas. Solo traveller visiting from Toronto. Pros were the interior (lovely!), presentation of the food and excellent cocktails (the house martini was probably one of the best drinks I've had). Service was very friendly. My only feedback is that it felt as though Cardiff in general is 'catching up' a little bit when it comes to finer dining when compared to a NYC/Toronto/London (makes sense, given the size and scale of those cities). The lighting was too bright for a Saturday evening, the music felt too "elevator"-esque and service felt overly formal. However, that didn't take away from the delicious food and I still had a great time! The fish was a standout for me, as was the opening sourdough but I have a well-established bread obsession so I can't entirely be trusted here (ha). Thanks, Thomas!

Given it’s a capital city Cardiff sadly isn’t blessed with fine dining restaurants. Thomas clearly comes into this category so it’s great to have it. Food is exquisite (though some may find the portions a bit small). Wines are well chosen. Service attentive and unrushed....

Visited for dinner on a Saturday night. Great atmosphere and service throughout. We all really enjoyed the food. The salmon starter was delicious (but really tiny even for a stater) the rest of the dishes were normal size portions and really great quality. I’ve already...

Superb service and elegant, delicious food. Clean, subtle decor, lovely ambience. Family event and all four of us chose something different, all hit the mark and no restaurant envy!

Possibly the best meal I have ever had. I had high expectations but these were blown out of the water by the service, the room, the drinks and the food - oh wow the food. Local ingredients cooked with French skill and a lot of...

Nice vibrant place food is ok..can get busy at times..situated in the poncanna area of cardiff

Excellent fine dining without making you feel out of place. Staff were so friendly, attentive without making you feel awkward. Will be making a booking again soon with friends who enjoy fine dining.

Went for my birthday, staff were great! Very attentive. Simply outstanding, the food was absolutely delicious. Cannot wait to go again & try the tasting menu. . Would highly recommend.

Amazing food. The barmaid should know better than to talk about patrons when they are in earshot. Better service was expected, regardless.

Excellent food! Fabulous service. Truly exquisite.

Fabulous! Amazing food from start to finish. So tasty. Great cocktails. Staff were fab - friendly but also super efficient yet discreet. I have a food allergy so emailed in advance - they created a menu just for me with what i could and could...