Armless Dragon, Cardiff

Not nearly as good as anticipated from the reviews.

My honest opinions on Cardiff restaurants will I'm sure be welcomed, certainly after experienced. The 'Armless Dragon' is "pound for pound" one of the cities best! You will struggle to find fault with anything, so rather than take anymore of your time book now - then look foward to your return!

We have visited the Armless Dragon on a number of occasions, and have never been dissapointed, the most recent visit was for my husbands birthday and there was a large party of family members who were all catered for wonderfully, the staff were happy and friendly and we felt that nothung was to much trouble for them, the food was Fantastic as always a very distinctive Welsh flavour. We will be going again as soon as possible we love it there. Just to end we would like to thank everyone especially Paul Lane who is the owner.

Last night our party of three darkened the door of the Armless Dragon. We were greeted with grimaces by two waitresses, and directed to a table, set in the sort of decor that could best be described as well used, and at worst, cruelly laid to waste by the ravages of time. In no time at all, three bowls of complimentary leek and potato soup were plonked down on the table, allowing us to whet our palates with a broth which could only have been born in a can and ended its life brutally executed in a microwave. At this point, I was thinking we should leave. I don't think I was the only one. Wine was ordered, and without ceremony our bottle of 1er cru Chablis was torn open, and sloshed into cheap glasses (the ones from your local bowls club with the imperial measurements) with little attention. With prices like these, surely they could invest in some decent glasses. My starter was the Perl Las & Pear Tart with Toasted Walnut. An item which could have had some potential had it not apparently been accidentally toasted upside down, with the result that the base was as solid as granite and the contents on top pale and drawn. My companions both had the Cawl, which we suspected consisted of water flavoured with more water. Gulag quality stuff. The vacuous middle-of-the-road music burbling out of the stereo system did nothing at this point to add to the restaurant's charm. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more... Two plates of Woodland Mushroom Ravioli, and one Mountain Lamb Rump with Smoked Potato. I won't go into any great detail about these delicasies as words fail me. Well, all except one. Tesco. We declined the offer of dessert, added £10 gratuity (God only knows why) and exited £105 lighter than we did one hour earlier. I wish I could be less harsh, but the fact that the Armless Dragon offered us so very little for so much singles it out for particular criticism. I suggest a change of name - The Charmless Dragon.

Having been to this restaurant quite a few times for lunch and dinner over several years, left feeling disappointed by a main course which was presented on a cold plate and with tepid lamb. We were to blame for not sending it back but find it difficult to appear a nuisance. We had already asked to be moved from a small and very cramped table by the door in a restaurant which was fairly sparsely populated. The erst of the meal was good as was the wine, but this was acome down from previous experience and I womdered if thr retauarant had changed hands.

I went here with a group on Saturday afternoon. This is a very dissapointing restaurant which is pretentious and overpriced. Among other things we were served Steak in a deep bowl! The garnish was on the bottom, then potato,then the steak. As you can imagine the salad was heated by the steak and swimming in about an inch of steak juice. It was more like a soup and I had to 'fish' my food out and put it on a side dish. The staff were not very friendly and a little arrogant this was pointed out. I dont mind paying heavy prices for a good meal but this poor value for money. All 12 of us would not return to this restaurant.

What can I say absolutely gorgeous, the food is presented in the same way a painting is in a gallery, and rightfully so. The starters are trully something to behold. Obviuosly you pay for this but its certainly worth it. The menu offers a number of options, I managed to try duck,pork,beef and the vegetarian dishes through resentful trade offs with other members of my family and liked everything, I was left in a quandry as to what have next time! Excellent service all in all one of the best meals I've enjoyed in a long time

My husband and I took our son and his girl-friend to The Armless Dragon for a birthday meal and we fell in love with the place. The food was FAB and the service excellent...we are returning with a larger family group shortly, to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. OK, it's not the cheapest place to eat in Cardiff, but it most certainly is one of the best and well worth the cost.