I wanted to try some Welsh food before we left. I had looked up what I needed to try and found…read moreSnails deli had them. It was early so I was a little worried they would only be serving breakfast but I was so happy when they said I could get what I wanted. I wanted the Welsh Rarebit and the Glamorgan sausages. I had never tried either before. The Welsh Rarebit was amazing. Thick bread and the cheese mixture was so good. I could have eaten it all. I may have to try to make it when I go home. I had no idea what to expect with the Glamorgan sausages. No meat. Just cheese, leeks and breadcrumbs deep fried. I tried it and for Americans, it tasted just like Thanksgiving stuffing! Good, homemade thanksgiving stuffing. It was a surprise. Really good. My friend got scrambled eggs and toast. She liked it. She also got an iced coffee that she loved. The ladies working were wonderful and we chatted about our trip. They were on top of everything. It was such a cute place. Well worth the drive out of city center.

I only very recently discovered this brilliant little Rhiwbina establishment and am already…read moreplanning my next visit. Firstly I ate in the café with a group of friends, and as our table appeared to resemble a giant mushroom, I must admit I felt slightly like a snail. We were all rather naughty and ordered some cakes; I had a lemon drizzle cake, which was utterly to die for though I think I may need to make a few trips to the gym before ordering it again. I'm a big fan of delis so was very excited to check this one out. They sold a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, pasta, fresh bread, and some incredibly unusual spices which we were aloud to try out. I purchased some olives which whilst weren't the best I've ever had (nothing could compete with fresh olives in Italy), were jolly good. Sticking with the French theme Snails also offers weekly French conversations, which I'm told are very popular. A Fabulous cafe and deli, Snails is a real little treat for locals and those visiting the area, oh and be sure to check out their little garden outside (very cute).

Amazing coffee, amazing food and amazing friendly and welcoming staff!!!!read more

Right in the centre of Llanishen village, the Coffee Lounge is without a doubt better than you…read moreaverage coffee shop!. Light and airy, with small tables, a number of sofas, and an outdoor eating area for those sunny days (which are here at last)! They have an excellent selection of homemade cakes, as well as pastries, sandwiches, crisps, and soft drinks, all of which can be for take away as well as eat in. The atmosphere really is great! As i sipped my cappuccino, Frank Sinatra crooned mellowly in the background. One little corner of the shop had shelves with jars of old fashioned sweets (which are the best kind of sweets in my opinion). Ornaments are showcased in glass fronted cabinets. A community noticeboard detailing local events as well as copies of todays newspapers seemed very popular. There is a steady stream of customers, but you can generally get a table with little bother!

I'm so saddened to be writing this review but I feel I have to in order to save anyone the…read moredisappointment I've had. I used to be a solid regular of the coffee lounge as I'm retired and living in the village, visiting at least 2-3 times a week. About a year ago, the owners decided to divorce and the husband continued to run it and I suddenly realised where all the skill had been! The homemade cakes stopped immediately, the fair trade coffee and products were replaced by sainsbury's basics but still advertised as fair trade!! (I wheedled it out of the young waitress there before she finished due to poor treatment). All in all its just terrible now, which makes us very sad here in the village. The owner doesn't live in the village (from up in Pontypridd) and has no care for his regulars or locals. The opening times are totally unreliable now and seem to be purely on his whim. I was in the shop just last week having just been served my lunch at 12:00 and he flicked the sign to closed on the door and refused to serve anyone else with no apology just attitude! When my latte was made too cold by the new waiter, I returned it and asked for another one. He took the late with no apology and litterally threw it in the sink in the kitchen. I think he thinks that just because he steps into the kitchen that we can't hear anything out in the shop! But I've often been sitting on the sofa and heard him mutter 'fuck off' in response to a customer request or having a temper tantrum and slamming plates around!! If he's not behaving such, the he spends his time on his phone texting whilst his underpaid staff are working hard to keep up with orders and taking the flack from customers for his lack of stock! I felt very sad and defensive of his staff, in particular Sue who supported him constantly during his strife, doing her job and the cooking to help. He paid her nothing but minimum wage and would cut her hours when he couldn't be bothered to come in. Sue is loved in the village and to be completely honest I timed my trips to the coffee shop ONLY on the days when she was working! We all wanted her to buy it but whilst he was allowing her to build a business plan he sold it to another Pontypridd boy who also owns a fish and chip shop. So I doubt it will be better. I feel bad for the lad who's bought it as if he's paid for goodwill, the current owner has driven his customer base into the ground and to be perfectly honest I don't want to sound snobby, but we don't want another rough owner here, we want someone who loves the village to own shops here like the card shop and the florist. Don't waste your time, go five minutes to the next village and eat at Snails in Rhiwbina - that's where I eat now a days despite it being a bus trip and I won't be frequenting the next owner either. A former fish shop owner from the valleys in Llanishen? No thank you!

Thus is part of a chain, with Juno and Ocho also in Cardiff and Penarth. All three are cool places…read more The mood is relaxed with low lighting. A mixture of recycled wooden furniture, sofas and a mix of long, small and coffee tables means there is somewhere for the larger dinner groups to a relaxed coffee with a friend. The food is staple but good quality. The burgers, salads and sandwiches are all excellent. There is a really good range of beer, cider and wines. The staff are really friendly and helpful. Attentive but not intrusive. There are children's menus which double up as colouring sheets, and there are a selection of box games to play. All in, a good place!

Tried to have lunch here today but had to leave as I was left so angry and frustrated…read more I'm allergic to bell and chilli peppers and because that's not one of the main 14 allergies the staff were completely unhelpful when it came to asking about ingredients in their food. They could tell me if the soup was safe (it was not) because the chef made it but would not let me even look at bottle of chutney so I could make my own judgement call. Will not return here due to the completely unhelpful attitude.

This secret garden cafe is truly a secret - I'm surprised there are no reviews on Yelp yet! Open…read moreseasonally and located within Bute Park you can only access the cafe on foot or non-motorized transportation. It's literally located within beautiful garden walls and the atmosphere is simply magical - lush green plants, brick walls, charming lights, wooden tables, and on the way in you'll pass through a massive wooden door with intricate carvings. The coffee, drinks, food and treats are all delicious and made with quality ingredients. I stopped by twice while visiting in town for a conference nearby at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and had to take my lunch to go, but could have easily spent hours in this cafe. It's a bit difficult to find if you're not familiar with Bute Park, but well worth the reward if you do visit this charming cafe.

Situated in the beautiful surroundings of Bute Park, the Secret Garden cafe appears to be the…read moreperfect place to stop for a drink and a bite to eat. The menu offers a good selection of paninis, sandwiches and hot food, as well as both hot and cold drinks. We arrived at the cafe at lunchtime on a sunny (but cold) February day - and this is where things started to go downhill. Things didn't look too hopeful when we arrived to see a queue of people from the counter right out through the cafe gates. However, we found a seat and I joined the queue. 40 minutes later, I had finally reached the counter. We were originally going to have a panini each. However, when somebody came up to the counter to ask whether they had been forgotten (they had obviously ordered food some time ago, and were still waiting), we decided not to. I ordered a coffee and a hot chocolate. The coffee was nice, but the hot chocolate was appalling. It was obvious that the cafe were using the cheapest cocoa powder they could get their hands on, and just adding hot water (not even any milk!). It was so bad that my girlfriend had one mouthful, and decided to leave it - £1.95 down the drain. Overall we were very disappointed with our visit. I appreciate that it was busy, but any half decent cafe should anticipate trade and ensure that there are adequate staff to cover it - this was blatantly not the case on this occasion and I feel sorry for the 3 staff (1 serving and doing drinks, 1 cooking, 1 waitressing) who had to try to manage the woeful situation. Overall - could do better. Much better.

Chapter isn't just a cinema, its a centre for arts of all kinds in Cardiff. It has quirky art…read moredisplays, great theatre and dance performances, comedy nights and hosts lectures and debates, not to mention scrabble Sunday. I wish there were more places like this in Cardiff, places that work with community and offer up something less mainstream that provides the arts scene in city a really good base. Defiantly think its worth checking out their brochure and find out whats going on, and get down there and support the place.

Chapter Art Centre, as a single entity, offers one of the most comprehensive programme of events to…read morebe seen outside of London. Comprised of a cinema, gallery, theatre, café-bar, dance studios, workshop spaces and bookshop, it is, quite literally, an all singing, all dancing, creative hub. It also happens to be one of my most loved havens in Cardiff. I spent the best part of Monday there, (which wasn't my intention... it's just a very difficult place to leave!) I regularly ensconce myself in the newly refurbed café, lunching out whilst taking advantage of the extremely quick wifi they provide. These days there are plenty of sockets so that everyone who wants to can plug-in, (in the bad old days I have had to queue to get to a socket when I ran out of juice... there just weren't enough to go round). The facilities have improved across the board since vast sums of money have been spent modernising the space. There are two schools of thought regarding the refurbishments, with the old guard firmly protesting the changes, and people like me, who think that it has lost nothing of its charm, and are grateful for the improvements that have been made. I guess not everyone appreciates change. Oh well, done now!

Crumbles is a café, take away and catering establishment that works on a similar basis to Simply…read moreSteve's on Clifton Street in Roath. But, it has to be said that the similarities end right there... the principles of the business may be identical, but the end results couldn't be more different. Simply Steve's is a classy modern establishment that produces patisserie products that make my mouth water when I merely think about them. Crumbles, on the other hand, makes sarnies, panini's and burgers, and whilst they employ a great deal of care and consideration when performing these tasks, they are without doubt in a different league to Simply Steve's. The café is pleasant enough, and they have won awards for their food. Prices are competitive... so, essentially they are good at what they do and have pitched it just right. Not every business can be as imaginative and innovative as Simply Steve's! They do a really well priced full English breakfast, which means that they can be forgiven for not being at the cutting edge of epicurean advancement.

Crumbles catered for my father in laws funeral on Wed 5th Dec. Excellent food and service,…read moreeverybody was raving about it. Well done Anita and Crumbles.

This is probably my favourite bar in Cardiff bay…read more One of the reasons for this is because most people do not regard it as a bar (more a coffee shop) and it is therefore never over run unlike the bars over the other side of the bay like Salt and Terra Nova. Sitting inside is very pleasant as are the staff, especially the manager, who I think i called Hugo but to me its big selling point is its outside area. It over looks the oval basin and faces the sun. I have spent many a summer day having a few cheeky ones chatting away whilst the sun goes into the bay. So if this isn't your bag - stay away (that way there is more room for the rest of us who do).

One is an independent little bar inside the already impressive Wales millennium centre…read more We went for tapas, you can chose three dishes that come with pitta bread for around a tenner, we were feeling a bit flush so had the champagne option which cost us £17 (7 quid for a glass of champagne is a bit mental retrospectively). Of course I chose the veggie options which included Garlic Mushrooms, Mediterranean vegetables and feta in oil and a good stack of pitta. It was yummy, not exactly mind blowing but really tasty. What does make this place unique is the fantastic view over the bay, so essentially that's what your paying for with your £7 glass of champagne and limited tapas menu. It was worth a visit but it's not the kind of place I'd go regularly.

They have the best tasting desserts. A lot of varieties to choose from... Will definitely be back…read moreon our next Cardiff visit.

From the owner: Local Coffee Shop, specialising in home made cakes, sandwiches, cooked breakfasts and afternoon…read moretea's.

Photo link: https://www.drivehq.com/web/dragonpm/dragonpm/images/dragonlogo-grey.gif…read moreThis is a great new coffee shop. Fab atmosphere and amazing staffGreat coffee food. I am now going to be a regular there ! Highly recommended. A great location to meet people for business also.

Great coffee shop just outside of city centre!! Good location. Great staff and superb coffee!! oh…read moreand don't forget the food and cakes!! Nom Nom! Open 7days a week!! :)