Stefano's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Wales

I was expecting so much but I am so sorry to say I was disappointed. We ordered through deliveroo and ordered:

Tortiglioni Prosciutto E Funghi Lasagne Al Forno gluten free Seasonal Vegetables & Saute Potatoes Homemade Profiteroles Homemade Tiramisu Soft Drink Sparkling Water (0.5 Litre Bottle)

Total including £5 deliveroo tip: £45.30

Firstly let's start with the positives. The Tortellini was delicious. Creamy and an all around lovely dish. But unfortunately that is where the positives stopped for us.

The seasonal vegetables and saute potatoes arrived minus the vegetables, unless a small amount of onion constitutes seasonal vegetables and was a bit heavy on the herb. The lasagne was swimming in a tomato creamy sauce and lacked that punchy flavour one expects from a traditional Italian lasagne. My daughter enjoyed it but I have to say it was disappointing.

Onto desserts. We were presented with two small profiteroles and I have to say they were dismally poor and not up to scratch. They were hard and lacked any meaningful amount of filling. My daughter was looking forward to them but refused to attempt a second bite and we unfortunately ended up throwing them away. The tiramasu was the most disappointing dish of them all. Tiramasu is my favourite dessert in the world. I have been lucky enough to eat some of the best tiramasu's that Cardiff has to offer but this was not one of them. All I received was coffee soaked thick sponge with cocoa on top. I have absolutely no idea where the mascarpone was but I think it had been kidnapped because there was none to speak of. We also didn't receive the soft drink but instead received a bottle of water.

On to delivery. Delivery was quick and I understand that offering delivery of restaurant food has its limitations as far as packaging but clear plastic containers that you get from a takeaway and are chipped on the corner? I was expecting more.

Onto the service. We were phoned by, I have to say a really pleasant woman to tell us that the gluten free lasagne we had ordered was not available and as my daughter can eat wheat we did swap for the wheat with no problem. In that respect the service was excellent.

I really really wanted to like this place. For the price I was expecting a gastronomic experience that would leave us feeling just that little bit special for having eaten their food but it was lack luster and left us feeling somewhat cheated. At £40.30 it was overpriced and just did not deliver.

Would I order from here again? The answer would have to be no. If I was passing the restaurant then yes maybe I would pop in for some tortiglioni but in all honesty the experience left me feeling like the missing vegetables, void of any meaningful gastronomic presence. I am secretly hoping that it was just a really rough day for them and they do infact reach the potential i was hoping for. God knows we need more authentic Italian restaurants in Cardiff.

In conclusion definitely try them if you are passing but be prepared. They do charge a little over average than other restaurants that in my opinion are better and I would suggest that you stay away from the desserts.

Good luck to them. I hope they continue improving and I wish them nothing but...

Rapidly becoming a favourite of ours! A real hidden gem. Family atmosphere, we are always made to feel welcome and are remembered like returning friends. The food is quite simply outstanding. Put all thoughts of what you know about Italian food from chain restaurants out of your mind. This food is on another level! We like to order a sample of dishes and share. That way we avoid the agony of having to make just one choice. We like a meat and vegetable antipasti, varied, flavoursome, excellent quality ingredients and lots of excellent fresh breadsticks made in house .. it's hard to beat. The bread bears a mention all on its own. Freshly made, light, and the addition of flavours such as garlic and the charred rosemary give an extra kick to what is already a skillfully made bread. Deserving of 5 out of 5 for that alone! You would not be disappointed with your choice of the burrata or anything else for that matter! We have sampled a few of the main courses as I speak, the theme running through all being intensity of flavour and skilled cooking techniques executed perfectly. The gnocchi della casa was literally the best gnocchi I have ever had the privilege of eating. I have never seen it prepared with such precision. It was like eating tiny clouds of dumpling heaven! The polpette you would be mistaken for thinking, are just meatballs, but you will quickly realise that as with every understated dish on this menu, they are simply the best example of meatballs you would find anywhere. Deeply meaty and savoury, the tomto sauce compliments perfectly with a sweet, ever so slightly acidic, fresh lightness. The pollo alla crema... a staple of Italian restaurants everywhere... was again the best version of this classic I have ever tasted. Often bland and benign.. this dish has defined flavour, chicken that tastes like chicken used to, cream with a delightful boozy masala finish! Pork with prunes was deep, complex flavours, rich, with vague echoes of Christmas. Difficult to get the balance right, but here the chef makes it look easy. This is not a place to contemplate skipping dessert.. torte della nonna, is a definite destination to visit on this culinary journey.. the tiramisu the same hands down, sticky toffee pudding may not be on every Italian menu.. but here it is elevated from the childhood dish you know and love to one worthy of any fine dining menu, while retaining the essence of what makes it a good old English favourite. If you find yourself in Pontcanna, looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend going straight to Steffano's, book ahead to avoid disappointment. You are in for a feast, enjoy! .....we...

I called to book a table and was greeted on the phone with an abrupt ‘Hello’. This should have been an indication not to bother, but nevertheless, we booked a table. We were aware that it was a Saturday evening so was expecting it to be busy, however they said they had availability. When we arrived, we were crammed into the restaurant with hardly any space. We were then offered some drinks and then waited 20 minutes without anybody engaging with us. There was a large party in the restaurant so we understood that staff were busy, but felt it would have been appropriate to let us know that somebody would be with us shortly instead of letting us just sit there. After 20 minutes of being ignored, we decided to leave as there was no indication someone would be over to take our order any time soon. When we decided to leave, I explained to the lady at the front desk, who I presume was the same person who answered the phone abruptly, that we were going to pay for our drinks and leave because we had been sitting there for ages. She responded, ‘yeah well we’re very busy’ instead of apologising. Another waiter (could possibly be the manager but unsure) approached us and again did not offer an apology, making out that we were being unreasonable which I do not feel was the case. If they were too busy to accommodate us, they should not have taken our booking!

To top it all off, 2 diet cokes cost us over £8 which is just ludicrous.

Couldn’t comment on the food, because we didn’t get that far! Do...