La Dolce Vita

4 stars. Medium price range. Limited but varied menu for adults and a kids menu.food tasted great we all enjoyed every course. Clean tables, great atmosphere, warm welcome from staff. Well lit, great range of desserts with an inventive twist. Staff exceptionally nice and friendly.
Would have been 5 stars but parking non existent and limited in surrounding streets. It was really loud in there, we found it difficult to hear each other talking. No vegan option, struggled to find milk free items. One table had a dog which was permitted to wander around, which as a non dog lover I found uncomfortable.

Coming back to La Dolce Vita was like visiting an old friend. I moved away from Cardiff 6 years ago, La Vita, as it was then, had just been opened by Marco a couple of years earlier, & I remember thinking then it was a bit special, and it still is. It's a snug place with lively atmosphere, & I could believe again like I'm abroad in an authentic Italian. The portion sizes are really generous, Andy's calzone was huge as you can see, he had calamari to start with garlic aioli, which was soft and yummy. I had a single portion of the Zuppa di pesce to start, with a side of chips (fries) like Mum makes, which were lovely. The single portion Zuppa was full of seafood in a rich tomato sauce & big, I could have shared it. My Etna pizza was fab, lovely thin base, so moreish, despite the big starter, I couldn't stop eating it. Several glasses of wine & choc dessert later we left happily sated. The service was great, our waiter Tim was fab, as were the other two people serving, really responsive to requests for extras like vinegar. All reasonably priced, it was just lovely to go back. While I live in Swansea, I will definitely be taking my wife here when next in Cardiff, as it's better than any Italian in Swansea I've eaten in.

Ask Tim to make you coconut gelato with amaretto biscuits and a shot of expresso coffee .... Thank me later 😉 ❤ ⚘

I am well overdue writing this review which has been hanging over me as Dolce Vita went the extra, extra mile for us and hosted the best hen party for my friend! I'm sure as many people planning hens have come across it is hard booking a private venue/area to have dinner for a price per head and this can get tricky if people understandably need to pull out etc and the price goes up for everyone (and so on and so on.) Also, a base cost to hire is often very expensive!!

Anyway, I called Dolce Vita to enquire that if we were to arrive late enough on a Saturday, we might be able to hire an area of the restaurant, and also asked if we could bring a drag queen to host! I thought this was a massive long shot, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! To my surprise, the lady I spoke with was very open to the idea and also seemed excited by the prospect! She agreed to a set menu price per head which included a starter and main each and shot of lemoncello and this was very reasonable. She understood that our numbers may change slightly and within reason in the run up, and we locked it all in the week before.

The food and drinks were DELICIOUS! Great portions and very reasonably priced, also lots of options for our vegan and gluten free guests.

Our drag host then arrived (who was AMAZING) and we did a lot of terrible dancing and even worse singing. The staff not only tolerated us but also sang and danced along for some of it which was really fun! They were also very understanding when our 'one more song' turned into 3.... 🤦‍♀️😂😂

Basically, we can't thank Dolce Vita enough for hosting such an epic night. We were looking for a drag brunch initially and I'm glad we did this instead as it was SO much better and more intimate!! Dolce Vita's commitment to working with the customer and accomodating and fun nature are a credit to them. Thank you again Dolce Vita! 😊👍❤️🍕

Lovely atmosphere and great and friendly service from our waitress who made extra effort to show us the possible vegan options that could be made, and made our night lovely! Will definitely be back

Excellent service and cool venue. Great pizzas and pastas that clearly made from scratch useing the best Italian ingredients, must be real Italian owners? 🤷
Great menu selection with specials on offer, I had the calamari to start and it was light, yet crispy and not oily but so juicy still, very well cooked. Then Italian sausage pizza for main and honestly so many toppings, nice to have a pizza that's not stingy with my toppings. Cocktails made with love and happy hour on too 5-7, so cheaper than thought when bill came, luckily as the espresso martinis so tasty I had a few in end🤣. Highly recommend the espresso martini made by soph. 👍👍👍

Perfect spot in cardiff to satisfy your stomach and heart with best Italian dishes. It's open from 12 to 9.00 everyday except Monday.

Great restaurant! Food is high quality and you're greeted with great customer service! Definitely one of my favorite local places to go