who wouldn't enjoy a bacon and egg roll with a pork snag thrown in for good measure all enjoyed on…read morea beautiful victorian Pier? My dad calls Pork Snags, Snorkers... I don;t know wether he is enlightened or demented.

When I worked in Penarth, this was my Friday lunch venue…read more It's got a really great, earthy, relaxed atmosphere and serves great Organic food. We're talking sandwiches, soups and paninis (amongst other things) that taste fresh and delicious. The food here is organic and everything is fair trade so if you like your lunch with a side of ethical practice, this is the place to head.

I just popped down to this place upon the recommendation of this review, and was pleasantly…read moresurprised. I've been living in Penarth for 5 months now, and have wandered around the centre countless times, and still this fantastic little cafe managed to pass me by time and time again. I have only myself to blame though. I'm quite embarrassed. This is an immediately warm and inviting location once you make it past the front doors. It manages to be 'earthy' as Tiffany put it, without seeming exclusive. But this I mean that some places with emphasis on organic and fairtrade food have, in the past, seemed a little more like a local club or ethical police than cafes. Not this place though. I had the soup, despite the lovely clear weather, because it just sounded too tempting to miss out on. And it didn't disappoint in the slightest. Scrummy down to the last. This is a lovely place to have a little sit and relax during a busy day. Go check it out; don't miss out like I did!

My boyfriend and I lived in Penarth over the summer, and we would regularly visit Waterloo Tea a…read morefew times a week. The tea they have on offer comes from all over the world, and is beautifully made (you even get a timer specific to your tea). The food is amazing, (my favourite being the spinach and pistachio cake, out of this world), but above all, the staff are the friendliest people on the planet. We always felt so welcome and they were so sincere. It became almost a second home for us where we would spent evenings eating and playing Jenga, or hours spent journaling by the window. The staff were always there to chat to. Couldn't recommend this place enough.

The Ocho lounge is situated nicely at the heart of Penarth's busy high street. With it's warm and…read moreinviting interior, customers are embraced by a warm and homely sensation when seated in either the upstairs or lower section of the lounge. With rich, tasteful colour schemes and decor, the Ocho Lounge provides the ideal setting for a casual coffee with a partner, or some more serious drinks with groups of friends or work-mates. The selection of hot drinks, alcohol and soft drinks come at reasonable prices. Aside from drinking, the Ocho Lounge also provides a number of tasty meals and snacks. Highly recommended are the soups and paninis, which are hearty and wholesome, making excellent accompaniments to a hot chocolate or glass of red wine. The soups are exceptionally tasty and are served in generously sized portions. The Ocho Lounge is a very nice venue for all ages, but particularly more mature, sophisticated drinkers and diners.

Once the most middle class town close to Cardiff, Penarth has got distinctly more 'Chav' in recent…read moreyears. Still, there are enough people who need their delis, fresh coffee and tapas and so that's where somewhere like Occo comes in. Smack bang in the middle of the main street is this lovely little bar/cafe/coffee shop/whatever that radiates warmth. There are a few things that I really love 1) The huge selection of books and newspapers so you can go on your own without getting bored/looking like you have no friends. 2) There are actual board games! Ranging from the mature (chess) to the not so mature (buckaroo anyone?) All of which are completely free to use for your own amusement. Probably great as an ice breaker for a first date because when the conversation runs dry you just play Jenga. Tuesdays mean Tapas! You can get 3 dishes of your choice a huge amount of bread and a glass of wine for £8. The best part is the beer garden/outdoor space which really comes alive in summer. Not really much bigger than a back garden but I think that's part of the charm.

Loved this little hidden gem. Their menu was surprisingly large for a cafe. And there were many…read morechoices of English breakfasts depending on how much you want. There's a tea or coffee option with the meal and I had a nice latte with soy milk. It was extra warm inside which was nice for me being from CA. The owners were really nice and friendly! Thanks for the nice meal! I'll be back next time I'm in Penarth

It was previously recommended by a Californian so i figured it would be a good place to warm up on…read morea chilly day. It was a good choice, indeed.

There are a whole lot of cafes in and around Penarth, and this is one of the better ones…read more This is a great little cafe upstairs in the home and garden store, Hamptons. The Blue Pelican Cafe is a lovely little place acting as getaway from the hustle and bustle of Windsor Road. They have a wide and exciting variety of sandwiches and salads, as well as cakes and hot food. You can even get a cream tea selection served on a tiered tray, should you so wish. My friend and I ordered the soup (honeyed carrot!) and the Thai Salmon. The soup was massive and delicious, but the salmon was a little disappointing. The salad was clearly just bagged, and the salmon was smothered with a cheap-tasting sweet chilli sauce which, although I like spicy, was too spicy and a lot of people would feel strongly about that, I think. However, this is not really the kind of place you could go and relax for hours at a time with a book. The staff have attempted a relaxed and exotic feel by wearing Hawaiian shirts, but they just look silly. This is the kind of place where women take tea; take heed and be careful not to break anything. Perfect place to bring you grandmother.

When I'm up early enough (which is not that often) and when I'm sober (which is even more of a…read morerarity) The Blue Pelican Cafe is my favourite breakfasting spot. Expect to find really yummy smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for around a fiver, that give the impression of being a lady of leisure only without the price tag to match.

I'm a huge fan of Compass Coffee. We were in Cardiff for a…read moreday and a half, and wanted to grab breakfast before getting on the road north. Honestly, Cardiff doesn't have a ton of exciting breakfast places, but this place makes the cut. Situated in the marina, with the patio overlooking the yachts, boats, and ships in the marina, it's a great view. But, the food rivals the view. Honestly, nothing is overly exciting and wild, but the variety of choices, good combinations, and litany of options for customization makes it perfect. Whether you want the monster Skipper or just a light order of toast, it's high quality and delicious. The ingredients are mostly local, and ridiculously high quality, and nothing on the menu is over 10pounds. The coffee is incredible, which was a nice relief from the Costas of the week. Also, they have some killer cupcakes. We grabbed a few to take on the road with us, and I'm pretty sure they were consumed in under an hour. Really good stuff.

Great brunch food, INCREDIBLE coffee. Had a large mocha - can't go wrong starting your day with…read morethat.

Very nice staff with OK food. You know that sort of thing that happens when your grandmother tries…read moreto be "modern" and it just doesn't quite work? So she makes a curry but dumps in a load of canned corn? This place is like that. It seems to understand that people no longer want their cafes to be dirty, greasy bare-bones places but doesn't quite understand how to respond. So, you get food that is bland and cakes that are baffling, such as their incredibly dense cupcakes topped not with icing but thick cream. Or their hilariously tiny servings of ice cream. I try to support it because it's a local business -and the staff are very friendly - but I would never go out of my way to come here.

This is a small health food store in Penarth, selling a range of products from lentils to lip…read moregloss. They have a good range of food, including preserves, nuts and pulses. They also have fruit and nut bars, protein bars and supplements. I went in looking for diabetic sugar alternatives, and was pleased to discover that they not only stocked it, but charged the same decent price as Holland & Barretts. There is a wide range of natural and organic cosmetics, shampoos, lotions and the like. They have a great range of sea salt scrubs in a number of enchantingly tempting flavours. This shop is not all fancy and hippy like you might think. Instead it's a sensible and well laid out store that does exactly what it says it does; provides health and beauty products. And a good range at a good price.

Pro Health and Nutrition is like a mini-Beanfreaks (for those of you familiar with the Cardiff city…read morecentre health food store), offering a wide range of products from pills to protein shakes. The store interior is a bit dated and the carpet could use replacing, but the stock here more than makes up for it. I even found Tom's of Maine deodorant, which I've only seen back home in the States, priced at £3.80 (it's aluminium free, which is apparently better for you. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen). Pro Health also carries a wide range of beauty products, many of them natural and organic (I was pleased to see an extensive selection of items made using tea tree oil), as well as protein supplements, nuts, and vitamins. Pro Health also sell poncy teas like Clipper, which I fail to find at competing stores, so major points for that.