Probably the best Sunday lunch in the city, if you can persuade someone to bring it to you

My tranquil village street used to be regularly invaded by a spivs. They appeared from nowhere, Burton suited and immaculately gelled in hair. Their mission: to convince me that my pitiful life could be transformed if only I changed my broadband company. But a couple of months ago they disappeared, and ever since I have been wondering where they and their clipboards might be. Now we have the answer - witness the line-up of waiters at Park Plaza on a Sunday lunchtime.

And so they strut around, looking as confident as ever. And just as before, you quickly realise they are there only to extract money from wallet with the minimum of interaction. Communication is certainly not a strong point, as exemplified by the evaporation of our telephone booking. Even the menu likes to keep its cards pressed to its laminated chest with the 'LKB' soup and 'LKB' sandwiches. And don't bother asking for any explanation of the (excellent) selection of breads you'll be offered unless all you're after is some incomprehensible mutterings. And from there it was a slow procession of, in turn, wrong dishes, food not arriving at all, dishes with significant items missing, and indifference to any attempt at attracting attention.

All of which is an enormous pity, because chefs are doing really good work on the food. The lamb and beef were both cooked to a standard not easy to achieve on a Sunday lunch production line, there was a great range of greens, and gravies were rich and plentiful. Starters didn't exactly fit the Sunday theme, but the 'white and black pudding', effectively a terrine, matched its accompanying apples and beetroot admirably and the smoked salmon on bruschetta would have satisfied both an Italian and Scandinavian. There's a good choice of desserts too, and if you go for the brioche bread and butter pudding you won't have too many regrets.

Is this the best Sunday lunch in Cardiff? In the food department, yes it may well be, but sadly there's some way to go with the service before this becomes anything like the homely experience it should be. Then again, for £12.50 we're not sure you'll currently find a better two-course Sunday roast in the city.