The Bayside Brasserie

The food is tremendously well-​cooked and the restaurant provides nice fancy atmosphere with a great view of the Wales bayside with balconies surrounding the Windows. The appetisers are all worth it and fulfilling to prepare you for the main course which can easily satisfy your taste buds and deliver a quite a punch of flavour. This place is highly recommended and worth the money.

Had occasion to visit the restaurant when the organisation I work for booked out for a Xmas luncheon here. Beforehand I had read previous reviews on Facebook & other sites. Indeed the opinions here on Unilocal seem to concur with the other sites in that they have common consensus with their positivity on the place, ambience and the quality of food, in spite of the above average pricing. Some of my colleagues had been there previously and had been quite impressed with it too on their last visit, which boded well for my first time.
The restaurant is nestled in the up an coming café quarter that is Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay. The service here is good, quick and efficient. The place itself is quite spacious, clean and modern/​stylish, bordering even on slight opulence (or the last part maybe just the chandelier !). This restaurant is ideal for groups or couples. The view of Cardiff Bay via the large circular, surrounding & almost observation deck style windows, can be quite breath taking in fine weather I can imagine.
They serve nouvelle cuisine and French orientated dishes to tempt the discerning palettes. They offer a range of wines which can be quite pricey I.e. the Lebanese Château Musar Red retailing for £40 a bottle when you can buy it for less than half that. You maybe be better off sticking to the house reds or white, that’s just my opinion. But do not let that to deter you from the food though.
Regarding the Xmas luncheon I had and/​or the Christmas menu, you had the option of a 2 course meal at £20 or a 3 course at £25. A choice of six starters, six mains and five desserts. I opted for a Roast Garlic, Parsley and Ham Hock Ballotine to start — accompanied with a side salad and a chutney. For main meal, I went with the Braised Belly of Gloucestershire Pork with apple & sage mash with red wine jus and cinnamon infused red cabbage. To finish off some Eton Mess with a cup of coffee and a mince pie.
As a parting gift my colleagues and I received a £10 voucher for January too. I am lead to believe there are other concessions, vouchers, set lunches and special lunches available here also at different times.
I have to admit I enjoyed my meal there the food was good and plentiful, generous portions which be lie the value for money aspect, even if the prices do appear above average compared to other competitors at first glance. I definitely would go back for a treat or a special occasion though.

Very nice décor and an amazing view over the water at night. The food was to a good standard and not too expensive for what was served. I would definitely think of eating there again.

Quick glance:
+ great location
+ romantic décor
+ beautiful presentation of food
— style over substance (re: food)
— 10% ‘optional’ service charge
— review-​us-​now after meal
I’ve read fantastic reviews here and elsewhere about the Bayside Brasserie, so I visited with my boyfriend for dinner when we visited Cardiff. The location is pretty grand, and if you had pre-​booked a table then you could get a window-​side table with the nice view of the quayside. The décor inside is impressive, with a nice chandelier in the middle of the establishment.
I had the scallop to start and monkfish for main, both of which were beautifully presented. However, the scallop was unseasoned and cut to different thickness, while the monkfish wrapped in prosocuitto lacked flavour. It was disappointing that something that looked so beautiful tasted so bland.
The bill includes a 10% ‘optional’ service charge which, although I am used to in London, I feel is a drawback because if the service was really good, most patrons might be less inclined to add additional service charge if it’s already included.
When you finish the meal, you are also offered a netbook to instantly review the restaurant, which was a novel concept to me. It doesn’t seem to feed into any review websites (eg. Unilocal,TripAdvisor) and seemed to be a instant-​feedback system for the owner/​chef, but it was a pretty odd thing to do. It is optional and you don’t have to participate, but the computer-​based interaction, rather than with a human, gave off a slightly dismissive attitude.
Overall, I think the restaurant has beautiful food but it seems more about style rather than substance. The ambiance is great for romantic dates, but I’ve definitely had better quality of food elsewhere.

A «wow» place!
Certainly, one of those restaurants you have to recommend after being there! I had a whole meal during one of my visits to Cardiff, and despite being surrounded by many other attractive restaurants, these doesn’t need much to rise above the other ones. The cuisine is mainly french, beautifully presented and with a superb service. The interior is lavishly decorated and perfect for intimate and romantic moments. Also if you happen to be seated near the glass windows even during the evening the view is spectacular, and only adds more glamour to your night.
I would for sure suggest the seafood, because is very fresh and high quality one; also the rest is very nice, as I was told by my friends that are frequent goers and eat all sort of food. Dessert are all good!
The prices are not cheap, but reasonable if you look value for money. Also if you go there would be mostly on special ocassions, where you can plan to treat yourself.
It takes reservations but if you walk in there is normally place, even on weekends. So, if you are in Cardiff, don’t miss the chance to have a proper dinner time!

This is a truly great restaurant, which naturally provides a great place for intimate couples, families or best friends. It overlooks the bay, enjoying brilliant views which add to the already charming and relaxing setting created by the restaurants interior.
The meals are presented in pristine fashion, with the rich flavours and fresh ingredients inspiring delicious looking and tasting meals. I enjoyed the slow cooked shank of lamb, which was cooked absolutely perfectly. Served with wonderfully prepared vegetables, this was a thoroughly enjoyable main course. The service is also of a very high standard, with friendly and well mannered waiters and waitresses. The prices are high, but could hardly be described as extortionate given the quality of the food. Highly recommended to those looking for the whole package when it comes to a dining experience. Very much an enjoyable experience to be had by all who visit.

I really love this restaurant.
It is a beautiful romantic place to visit with your partner. I had such a lovely meal here and I cant fault the place. They serve some marvellous fish, which was layed out for all to see upon entrance.
The staff are superb and really do make every effort to ensure your evening goes without any hiccups. The table settings are gorgeous and the wine trickles down nicely!
It is quite expensive though so I can only afford to visit this fantastic place on special occasions… but luckily my birthday is only four months away so I haven’t got long to wait before I can go here again!
Top marks for this top restaurant. It really is worth a visit!

If you want to eat good food cooked with care using fresh ingredients overlooking the bay in sumptuous surroundings then this is the restaurant for you.
Lads if you want to impress your other half book a window side seat in the circular restaurant and she will be look at you knowing full well you care about her (unless she is on a diet). Ladies if you want to see if your man loves you insist he take you here.
It’s proper dining where you can point at the fish you want cooked and describe exactly how you want it cooked.
It can be pricey but need I drag out that old maxim — you only get what you pay for — yes I needed.

It takes a very special restaurant to really impress me and this one does. Its simple and contemporary but makes up for the plain décor with food that will impress all comers. Well presented meals and a fantastic view over the bay depending on the seating.
I like being able to go to the counter and choose the fresh food that will be cooked. Choice is important to me and seeing the food that will be cooked inspires confidence in the service. It is a diverse menu so good luck and try something new.

The Bayside Brassiere has a great location, as its name suggests, with an upstairs location in Mermaid Quay offering a lovely view out over Cardiff Bay.
The décor is smart and contemporary, with unfussy table linen and wooden floors, and there are plenty of windows letting in light and giving you views out over the water.
The food is modern, tasty and beautifully presented, and you can go up to the counter before you order to see the raw food and choose what you would like to have cooked. It’s not the cheapest place to eat, but it does have some of the best Bayside views — definitely best experienced on a sunny day, or on a nice summer’s evening.

Don’t bother with this place. Portions are tiny for the price and not very tasty! Far more better restaurants down the bay!

I actually used the £10 voucher mentioned which actually gave me the rive to visit this place. I’m always a bit worried in going in these places and being that person at the pub with your mates talking about the time you had to wash dishes for three days as you racked up a huge bill.
However that isn’t really the case, I went with the seafood platter for £15 which your not going to get often and certainly not in a beautiful location like this. Have look at the picture I uploaded, it looks beautiful at night.

As upmarket restaurants go I find the Bayside Brassiere to be nice, but nothing particularly special. The same goes for the food, though it does get an A+ on presentation, and I would recommend picking the salad bar for your starter (great as you can have as much or as little as you want).
As Tiffany mentioned they have a good value set menu, and I’ve also recently noticed that they’ve been handing out £10 off your meal vouchers around Cardiff Bay, so you don’t have to break the bank if you want to eat at this restaurant.
The selling point for me really is the view of Cardiff Bay, which on a bright sunny day is out of this world. With big glass windows and a prime location, I’m quite confident in saying that this is the best restaurant for viewing the bay.
Finally I recently came here for a friends’ birthday meal, and after around two hours they informed us that we could no longer, keep our table as it had been booked for someone else. If we’d been informed of this when we initially booked this wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but I found the manner we were dealt with was rather rude (so watch out for this).
Finally I recently came here for a friends birthday meal, and after around two hours they informed us that we could no longer, keep our table as it had been booked for someone else. If we’d been informed of this when we initially booked this wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but I found the manner we were dealt with was rather rude (so watch out for this).

I know i’m always banging on about lunch specials but I love them for two reasons. 1) I eat out a lot and it gets pretty expensive! And 2) It’s a great way to check a place out before you book there for a big evening meal. The Bayside Brasserie, which by the way is absolutely gorgeous with a fabulous view, does an epic special called ‘Dine with Wine’ which is even extended into the evening. It’s a three course meal with booze for under £15. The menu is pretty diverse and there’s a good selection of fish which is always lovely. I had (amongst other things) the yeast battered fish and chips because I’m a classy bird me and have to say the batter was light, crispy and heavenly.
If you don’t drink wine then you can accompany your lunch with lager, soft drinks, mineral water or fruit juice but where’s the fun in that?

Bayside Brasserie offers modern cuisine that is freshly prepared. The restaurant is upstairs in Mermaid Quay. They also have an entrance on the ground floor between Nandos and Pizza Express. This downstairs entrance is only used in the summer, they even have 2 or 3 tables laid up for people to eat in the sun.
There are views all the way round on the second floor, probably the best restaurant for views in the bay. The restaurant is quite large and has a variety of seating combinations. Small tables for 2 up to large tables for groups.
The raw food is displayed in cold counters and the idea is that your table goes to the counter and orders what you fancy. There are blackboards letting you know the choices.
This seems to work very well and it adds another dimension to you experience. There is always garlic bread and a help yourself salad starter. Food is a touch on the expensive side but is always enjoyable. It is a popular choice in the evening — not so busy during the day.