(7/10) 
Oh… if only Cardiff had more places like Buffalo instead of the plethora of trashy chain bars that have spread like The Plague throughout Cardiff centre. Everything about Buffalo feels original – the ceramics around the bar, the range of quirky lampshades, the intriguing collection of pictures on the wall, and no two seats quite the same. There's also a decked back yard for those balmy summer evenings. Judged on décor alone Buffalo is up there with Cardiff’s trendiest bars and clubs.
But Buffalo also offers an extensive lunch and dinner menu. We started with the antipasto not bad although no olives came as the menu had promised and three small slices of baguette should not be describes as 'a selection of breads’ . For a main I had the Field Mushroom and Goats Cheese Burger which just about lived up to its £7.75 price tag though the salad garnish seemed a bit of an after-thought. My dining partner opted for the Chilli Con Carne. Good spice there though, as with the starter, the ‘homemade salsa and sour cream’ that was supposed to be with the dish failed to appear and had to be requested.
No Italian ice-cream was available (may be they should put their menu on a black board !) but a refreshing sorbet was produced in its place. Selection of beers was limited and no draft ale on tap (showing my age again).
All in all a very comfortable and chilled-out place. A little bit of work needs doing on the food for it to live up to its description on the menu. One suggestion would be that the chef does not serve the food on massive white plates a la gastro-pub style - the food is not quite up to it and looks a little lonely on a white void. On a positive note, our Rasputin look-a-like waiter was very friendly and did manage to find our missing food items.
p.s. Buffalo also becomes a club in the evenings – anyone been ? let us know.....
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I have been to Buffalo a few times. And although the club is a nice building the people that go there are not. Fancy mixing with the most arrogant ponced up "shoreditch twats". this place screams out to be slapped in the face and have some real life pumped into it. I've eaten there aswell and there not a lot to be said about it. Food was bland, service was slack, beer was warm...
All in all it's a let down for Cardiffs independent bars with the fashion of over pricing and garish decor.
1/10
I must say that I have been very disappointed with this place. The interior is excessively shabby (some of the chairs look like they were stolen from a skip outside an old people's home). The food we endured was very slow in coming and when it eventually arrived (after some prompting) it was stone cold. My theory is, it was forgotten about and sat in the dumb waiter (not to be confused with the abnoxious barmaid). The food is over-priced, the chairs have staples sticking out of them (the uncomfortable way) and your order is never quite right when it arrives.
2/10 and that's being generous!
A few years ago, Buffalo was pretty promising. It was a chav-, student- and chav-student-free (rare in Cardiff), relatively stylish place for late drinks and chat.
Over the last 12 months, however, it has become 'known' and now, it should be avoided if possible. There are two main reasons - the bar staff and the punters.
The bar staff are the worst I have ever experienced. They are very slow; they tend to serve the person who is closest to them, rather than those who have been waiting longest; and they often leave the bar for no apparent reason.
They are crap at washing glasses (there are piles of empties on the bar) and they seem more interested in chatting up the punters or each other than serving the customers.
On numerous occasions they have run out of beer. Early on a Friday or Saturday night? Do the owners of Buffalo know anything about bar management? Having enough beer at the weekend is on the first page of the 'how to keep punters happy' textbook.
Talking of punters.... the Philharmonic/Flares/Tiger Tiger/etc masses have now added Buffalo to their agenda. Screaming women and posturing men... Ok, so they dress a little better and are slightly more attractive but there are still plenty of uncooth morons.
Ironically, the omnipresent bouncers don't seem bothered; they just stand there and let it all happen.. for example, a guy was so drunk, he fell backwards onto a table of (empty) glasses ... the bar staff had not taken them away, of course ... and he cut his head open really badly. His mates carried on drinking and the bouncer did nothing... thankfully there were enough of us sober, civilised people to get him to an ambulance.
Buffalo has lost its way. But the owners have probably not noticed. There are huge queues at busy times and the owners must be raking it in.
Cardiff still needs a civilised place to go for a late drink and a chat. Is it really that difficult? You just need to enforce a door policy; train some carefully selected bar staff; and order enough beer.
My advice overall is ... go to the Philli... Buffalo is essentially the same place but in a nicer area.