Once a Victorian pub, The North Star has undergone a beautiful boutique conversion complete with organza drapes and huge ornate picture frames. Add to this subtle mood lighting and you have a wonderful ambience in which to sample the culinary delights on offer.

Whilst the main daily menu is Italian themed, the Friday and Saturday specials feature a strong Welsh influence. All the food is sourced locally and, where possible, is organic. The lunchtime menu runs Monday to Saturday and starts at £2.99, while on Sundays a delicious roast is offered with a unique twist – you can order your own joint of meat to be served at the table.

Vegetarians are very well catered for here, with no less than six meat-free items included on the starters menu. We tried the bruschetta al pomodoro, the bruschetta al funghi and the dough balls with spicy tomato and creamy cheese sauce (£3.50 each). These were followed by two very generous portions of pasta – rigatoni arrabbiata (£7.50) and the spaghetti polpette (£8.60). We rounded off the meal with a panettone bread and butter pudding and a cappuccino chocolate mousse. It came as no surprise to hear that their meatballs were recently voted the best in the UK by Olive magazine and the restaurant was placed in The Guardian’s ‘top five eats in Cardiff’.