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Walcot Group has opened its second Solina restaurant at 27 Westgate Street in Cardiff, opposite the Principality Stadium.
The 220-seat restaurant served more than 600 covers on its first day of trading, marking the latest expansion for the family-owned hospitality business.
Solina opened on 28 September within a Grade II-listed city-centre building previously occupied by a microbrewery.
An open-plan kitchen places pasta-making at the centre of the restaurant, with chefs producing fresh pasta from scratch on site each day.
The Cardiff opening follows the launch of the first Solina on Bath’s Grand Parade in September 2024.
Walcot Group is run by James Still alongside his parents, Martin and Debbie, who have more than 35 years of experience operating pubs and restaurants.
The family bought the Pear Tree Inn in Whitley, Wiltshire, in 1997 and later owned the Methuen Arms in Corsham. Walcot House opened in Bath in 2019, with the group subsequently expanding across the South West and South Wales.
James Still said: “Solina is all about handmade pasta at a price you can come back for every week. We’re a family business, and we do things the same way in Cardiff as we do in Bath. Our chefs make the pasta fresh every day, and the meat for our ragus comes from our own butcher’s shop. Cardiff has given us an amazing welcome, and we can’t wait to become part of the neighbourhood.”
Head Chef Miriam Delogu leads the kitchen in Cardiff, joining Solina following more than three years with Bosco Group, where she progressed to Executive Head Chef.
Delogu has family roots in Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna and learned to make pasta with her grandmother in Italy. Cardiff was also the first city she lived in after moving to the UK 15 years ago.
She said: “Opening Solina Cardiff has been a huge project and I’m incredibly proud of what the team has created. For me, Italian food is about generosity, simplicity and bringing people together around the table. That’s really what we’ve tried to capture in the menu.”
The restaurant makes its egg pasta using Shipton Mill Type 00 flour and its semolina pasta with Martimucci S4 semolina produced from Italian durum wheat.
Ingredients including datterini and Cuore di Bue tomatoes, olive oil and selected seasonal fruit and vegetables are sourced from Italian suppliers.
Meat for the restaurant’s ragus and other dishes comes from Green Street Butchers, Walcot Group’s butcher’s shop in Bath, which buys whole carcasses from independent farmers.
The group’s production kitchen prepares the ragus from scratch, while the Cardiff team produces its pasta, focaccia and desserts on site.
The menu includes Lasagne Fritte with béchamel, roast tomato sauce and Parmesan, and Wild Mushroom Arancini with pistachio pesto mayonnaise.
Pasta dishes include Pappardelle with Duck Ragu & Parmesan; Radiatori with Sausage & Pancetta Ragu, Roasted Red Peppers & ’Nduja; Rigatoni with Slow-Cooked Beef Shin Ragu; and Tagliatelle with Cornish Crab, Datterini Tomatoes & Chilli.
Vegetarian and vegan dishes are also available, alongside gluten-free pasta on request.
The bar serves cocktails and mocktails alongside wine and draught beer.
A first-floor mezzanine is due to open following the restaurant’s launch, with further plans for a roof terrace and dedicated event space.
The restaurant operates on a walk-in basis, with customers able to join a virtual waiting list when the venue reaches capacity.
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