Cardo — Restaurant in Scotland

I have been wanting to try Cardo's for some time and booked to go with a freind for lunch. On booking I found there was a 'Pay £10 get £20 off your bill ' voucher for week days so purchased one as I felt it was a good offer. I have just returned from lunch and although my copanion enjoyed her meal, my experience was totally spoiled by the attitude of the front of house manageress. (I do not know whether she is the owner or an employee but that is neither here or there - she should either get more staff or shouldn't be in the hospitality business. )

I ordered the pork fillet from the lunch menu and although it may be seen to be ok to eat pink pork nowadays, I am of the tradition that I would rather not. Also the meat was immediatley tough to cut. I queried the pinkness and was told in no uncertain terms (by the above lady), that that was how the chef cooked it but if I wanted to change it for the chicken they could but I would have to wait. As we had already waited some condsiderable time to have our order taken and then food served (there was only her and one other member of staff on the floor), and my companion already had started eating, I wasn't prepared to wait even longer so I agreed to forgo the other complaint about the meat being tough, and have them 'put it under the grill' for a few more minutes.

When I got the food back I had to leave most of the meat as it was too tough and was then told by same lady that it was because I had asked to have it cooked some more. (So - in as many words - basically it was my fault). I have spent many years cooking professionally ( so I know how to cook perfectly tender pork ), I have also spent many years working in hospitality and there is no way I would have spoken to a customer as she did - controlling to the point of being disrespectful. After that she blanked me and when it came to clearing plates, she avoided us and left it to the much younger waitress who I had a quiet word with , apologised for leaving the meat, but knew she wouldn't be in a position to take it further.

I am not imagining all this as my companion was also quite appalled at this woman's attitude and agreed that she was totally out of order when it came to customer service and it was not a matter of who was right or wrong but it should always be the customer who is right anyway. After all we were paying for it - albeit I got a £10 reduction becuse of my voucher. But it wasn't about the money. I did not want to make a fuss and spoil the day but also felt this woman would be too beligerant to discuss the matter in a civilised manner. So left feeling rattled, annoyed, stung and not wanting to go...

Unfortunately if I could give this restaurant 0 🌟s I would. We have eaten there on a few previousl occasions and had a good experiences. We arrived a 19.00hrs for our pre-booked table. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy. There were 3 members of front of house staff. The male waiter on the 6th Oct 23 took our simple order of 1 x starter 2 x main meals, consisting of pasta dish and a pizza 1 x bottle of white wine. The coconut muscles starter arrived approx 15 mins after our arrival, unfortunately it was extremely average, containing large pieces of raw onion, whole unpeeled cloves of garlic, could barley find the taste of coconut. The male waiter returned to remove our starter dishes. He didn't ask how we found the starter, simply removing the dishes. OUR MAIN MEALS HADN'T ARRIVE AFTER 35 MINUTES, DESPITE THE 4 TIMES I ASKED THE MALE WAITER WITH A POLITE"EXCUSE PLEASE " WE MADE EYE CONTACT BUT HE SIMPLE IGNORED ME. I had observed a pasta dish sitting under the hot lights staff collection area, for approx 10 minutes. 4 x other tables who had arrived after us, had received their starters and main meals. I was forced to go to the staff area/bar and asked when we would receive our maim meals. When the male waiter saw me going to the bar he suddenly found the time to join me. He informed "its coming". I pointed out that a pasta dish had been sitting under the hot lights for 10 minutes and told i"t's not its only just arrived ", making me out to being untruthful. The pasta dish was removed and taken back to the kitchen, no sign of the pizza we had ordered. I will not stand and be accused of being untruthful regarding how long a pasta dish had been sitting there for. I asked to pay for what we had received 1 x bottle of wine and the starter. One of the female staff was very apologetic and deducted the average mussel starter from the bill. Therefore I paid £21 for a bottle of wine, to be insulted, accused of being being untruthful regarding pasta dish that had been sitting under the hot lights for 10 minutes. We left quitely, as we did not want other dinner's to be made to feel uncomfortable as we had just experienced. We spent our hard earned money elsewhere. This was a very unpleasant experience, simply because a staff member could not own up to their errors in dealing with a simple order of food. I hope the owners understand that this review is an honest account of the horrible situation we...

A favourite restaurant and takeaway in Perth. Have dined in Cardo many times, the quality of the food and menu especially stand out. The menu adjusts seasonally and there are always interesting specials on the blackboard. The fixed price menu is great value for lunch or an evening meal. There’s something for everyone available and the restaurant regularly uses local and seasonal ingredients in the dishes. Special mention for the dessert menu/options. I don’t have a sweet tooth myself but they have such delicious desserts. A highlight is the cafe gourmand which is a hot drink with mini puddings. Wine list is also very good, thoughtfully curated and good value. The service is faultless.

Next door is the takeaway. Cannot find better pizzas in Perth, just perfect. Pizza options are different to the usual, very inventive and using high quality ingredients. They do a great deal on Tuesday and Wednesdays of 2 for £16- it can be mixed and matched with burgers and pasta dishes too. I look forward to trying the lunch offer this summer and eating it by the river- meant to do it in 2024 but between time and poor weather there wasn’t a chance.

All in all, I highly recommend Cardo be it the restaurant...