Merola's — Restaurant in Wales

Merola's is one of the geographically closest restaurants to me. Somehow, I had never been previous to this project, so I kept it till last. I wanted a classic restaurant vibes. I was hunting for something similar to what I experienced at an old place in London - Bar 61 in Streatham - a Spanish place with old men servers who've run the place for over 17 years. I got that. I was greeted by the waiter who immediately started calling me 'Dave'. He'd seen the booking and just went straight from David to Dave. That's a family vibe. He continued to call me that throughout the evening. He took away the formality and made me feel at home. The waitress was also wonderful, again a bit older, and full of Cardiff charm. When you asked for something, it was brought immediately. Pasta is often had as a starter in Italy, so I thought if I had a Lasagna starter, I could have a pizza main! That starter puts so many other starters i've had over the years to shame. It's a mini lasagna, a really damn tasty mini lasagna. You'd of course hope for this, given the fact they've had 40 years to perfect their tomato sauces! I opted for the Calzone instead of pizza, simply because it's been over 8 years since I'd had a Calzone. It was huge. Absolutely stuffed, and delicious. In hindsight, I shouldn't have ordered the spinach and ham one as it was a bit wet. I'll go back and try others, and of course a normal pizza. Ice cream was simple but a generous portion.

It's hard to believe how different the vibes are to Merola's neighbouring restaurant - Matsudai Ramen. Merola's felt like a place local families have been coming for generations. Overall it was reasonably priced and tasty. The highlight for me is the service. I enjoyed the confidence and cheekiness of the waiter. I feel as though his style and approach is of his generation, and I'm happy that I've found somewhere in Cardiff that's comparable with one of my favourite 'classic' restaurants. I did observe the waitress sit down to discuss steak options with a family after she told them the steak they wanted was sold out. I enjoyed watching that interaction. Absolute personability. First Class. Don't underestimate how much a server adds/takes away from an experience...

Service was terrible, quality of food also bad, 2 hour wait for mains

Arrived at 19:30 Ordered by 19:40 -Instructed the elderly waitress to bring out the mains as soon as they're ready so that we don't wait too long for them as we only ordered 1 starter between 4

Starter of prawns came 20 minutes later

Mains came at 21:22, almost 2 hours later -they said it was busy -we arrived before a majority of people yet the tables around us had gotten their starters and mains well before us -they had simply forgotten about us and didn't want to admit it -they charged us for the garlic bread which we asked for as we needed something to eat in the meantime as a member of the party is diabetic and we were all starving and patience wearing thin

When the main came -the pasta was raw, not cooked properly -had to be sent back and was taken off the bill

-i wanted my steak medium rare -my steak was blue on one side and well done on the other (not sure how they managed that but the middle was okay, more rare than...

First time I've been here and won't be the last . A hidden gem of a family orientated Italian restaurant in grangetown Cardiff. The food was stunning . Tried the tagitelle Alfredo 👍. One thing I'd advise you is to try their garlic bread, best I've ever tasted . The staff and management are so helpful and friendly . Deffinetly 10/10 from me . Try it you won't be disappointed 👍2nd visit on 19/3/2022 was just as good . Service was top notch. Food was amazing . Went for the meatballs with pasta in a arrabiatta sauce . With garlic bread and cauliflower in batter . Beautiful. If it's a small piece of Italy in Cardiff your after this is the place . Our 3rd visit on the 25-3-23 was just as memorable, went for the pollo alla crema . Huge breast of chicken in a white wine, cream and mushroom sauce with chipolata potatoes, onion rings, side salad and their award winning garlic bread 👍. Massive praise to the owners who are the chef and waiting staff . Put it on your...