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Stuart Street, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, CF10 5BZ [Map]
Tel: 029 2045 0947
Occupying one of the best spots in Cardiff Bay is Terra Nova; a smart sophisticated bar, popular with both the locals and tourists alike.
With its elegant glass fronts and stylish balconies this is the perfect place to spend a Summer evening looking out over the bay.
Formerly known as Via Fossa, this bar was purchased by Brains Brewery in Spring 2003. Whilst the ownership may have changed the pub itself remains largely unchanged except for an extended food menu and a new name.
More 'dark and sophisticated' than 'cool and trendy', Terra Nova is both a bar and restaurant and it excels at being both. The food ranges from simple bar snacks to full meals and the choice is excellent.
Terra Nova is a far larger bar than you might at first think. It's set on 4 levels so there are plenty of nooks and crannies to be explored here. In keeping with the 'marina' theme of architecture common around the bay, Terra Nova is shaped like a ship's bow and even contains a seating area resembling a crows nest up on the top floor.
All in all a very nice looking bar with an atmosphere all of its own. Grab yourself a bottle of wine and watch the world go by in Mermaid Quay...
Interesting Fact: 'Terra Nova' was the name of the ship on which Captain Scott set sail for Antarctica from Cardiff docks on 15th June 1910.
Posted by Taffy 17th February 2003
Awful Awful Awful
Went to Terra Nova Saturday evening, not packed but a nice size crowd. The bar service was horrendous. We stood there, clearly invisible to the one girl behind the bar for about 10 minutes. She clearly had no real bar experience and had no training (could not pull a pint, no ice into drinks etc). Another girl appeared, went straight to the man at the end of the bar, no query as to who had been waiting the longest. Whilst this was going on, another guy was re-stocking the fridges and shelves which had clearly not been stocked for the evening. Absolutely awful service, its such a shame, lovely venue, great location, great views but possibly the worst management and staff I have ever come across and will not be returning. What are Brains thinking, that could potentially one of the best bars in the area!
Posted 25th Jan 2010 1:52pm by Cardiff100
Terra Nova Cardiff Bay
My son and I ate here in September 2009. We sat on the balcony , very pleasant. Our food took an hour to arrive. Mine was cold and sent back. No apology from the waiter. One and a half hours later yes you've guessed it, my food arrived. Apalling customer service. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Food very substandard. Having owned two restaurants, one in UK and one in France, am continually disappointed by the rubbish food and service one is expected to find acceptable. Brains seriously need to sort this venue out.
Posted 10th Jan 2010 8:27am by lizziec
Awful Service
Sammy_Boy has got that spot-on. Not only is the service dreadful.....it has always been dreadful and frankly one has to assume that Brains don't care after all of these years of doing nothing about it.
Go in there while it's busy and too few staff struggle to manage the bar while an assortment of "managers" or "supervisors" wander around aimlessly doing nothing at all and refusing to make eye-contact with their customers (most of whom have been waiting for 30 minutes).
Go in there when it's slow and there will be one member of staff there managing to make it take 10 minutes to get served anyway (though strangely the zombie supervisors/managers still lurk around doing nothing).
A shame because it could be a really good bar/pub if it was run by someone who cared and knew what they were doing.
Posted 9th Jul 2009 5:49pm by pubster
Service
Terra Nova is without doubt one of the Jewels of the Bay. However the service there is about the worse you will experience in Cardiff, as in most pubs the bar is an area where people congregate, this should be banned by the proprietor (S.A.Brain), due the the curved shape or the bar this means service is extremely difficult, usually the only place to get served is at the end which is for staff access, needless to say at times they will ask you to leave it clear, leaving no clear access to get served. Please, please S.A.Brain, get your act together and ensure the bar is kept clear for service, it can only be good for buisiness.
Posted 5th Apr 2009 2:39pm by Sammy_Boy
i wont be back
i took three freinds here last weekend. it was below zero outside and very windy. as i have little hair left i was wearing a hat. not unreasonable you may think.
the bouncer didn't think so. as i stepped in through the door, before i'd even placed a foot inside, one of the bouncers growled at me to take my hat off. no please or excuse me, or would you mind, just straight into aggression.
i am a middle-aged man that has never ever caused trouble in my life. i was stone cold sober as i was driving and this was the first place we visited. i resent such over an over zealous and agressive attitude from some hired "heavy" and i won't be back.
Posted 4th Feb 2009 7:58am by larrythegecko
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