Neena have recently expanded the amount of computers they have to about eight or nine and with good…read morereason for whenever I pass it seems to be busy with the diaspora from Eastern Europe and Indian Sub-Continent as well as the odd student looking quite out of place. Prices a quite good, £1 for an hour of surfing, the printing is cheap and they'll scan documents for you, though at 50p a sheet it seems a tad much. International Phone cards are available and as the yellow and black sign indicates they do Western Union money transfers too. Service is quick if a little distracted but hey that internet thingy is addictive or so I've heard. Which may explain the greyish and rundown interior, you're probably too preoccupied with the screen to take in your surroundings, though when I was in there last I was engrossed by an aphid crawling along the printer. I do hope it's a pet.

A Western Union shop with other useful features such as internet cafe and long distance phone…read morecalls. The shop also has photocopiers and colour printing. It's a bit small with only four computers. The only close alternative is the internet cafe above Varsity on Richmond, which is slightly better. The shop allows people to transfer money quickly between countries.

Easy Link Internet Café is more spacious than you would expect. It doesn't enjoy a particularly…read morelarge shop front, but the shop itself extends quite far back into a deceptively large building. Having said that, it's not easy to miss this very visible business, with its red and yellow signage that leaves you in no doubt about where they are and what they are doing there. As well as providing a good number of Internet dedicated desk top machines that are separated by partitions for privacy, they also provide a number of office services including faxing and copying. It is also possible to make cheap international calls, as well as having your laptop fixed and maintained. Mustafa Jassem is the Senior IT Technician and owner if this well run business, but the shop is managed by someone else. I wish I could remember his name, as he's a really lovely guy, ever helpful and pretty jolly with it. Specific IT services include virus and spyware removal, virus protection, data recovery and back-up, onsite laptop repairs, (no home visits), network and wireless installation, as well as the sale of accessories and components. Mustafa: 07501 88 03 03

The best thing about The Kitchen is that it offers free wi-fi access. I really like going here for…read morea lunchtime break from the library because you can either buy food from the cafe, get a snack from the vending machines or bring your own - it's perfect. It's really good to get away from the austere silence of the library and go somewhere where you can get without being glared at. The first day I went there I'd decided to give myself a full hour lunch break from my work because I'd got a lot done. I treated myself to a little bit of cake. It was gorgeous. And that's the main reason I'm always going back!

The Kitchen is essentially a student hang out joint where you can go grab a quick flavoured coffee…read moreor go all out and get some lunch with an array of light bites such as jacket potatoes and panini's. If the savouries are not on your mind, you can opt for a piece of cake or a selection of pastries - this is most definitely my downfall, well you can't have a cup of tea without a piece of cake can you? There are comfy sofas and a lovely flowery decor welcoming you to come and sit for a few hours taking advantage of the free wifi. It always amazes me how this place is so clean by day, seeing that during the evening it turns into the Cardiff union's nightclub with many a scantily clad student, coffee being a billion miles away from their mind. This is just a great spot to meet up with friends, have a beverage and some food without costing the earth.

Internet City is a popular internet and laptop repair shop at the city centre end of City Road…read more They have a lot of desk top machines for internet use, that are conveniently partitioned to allow for a more private means of publically going on-line. This makes using Skype, gaming or even watching a film entirely feasible, without feeling as though the rest of the world is watching you. Clearly a good headset is required to make Skype conversations possible... you can either bring your own, or use one of the Internet City headphones without charge. They also have a couple of international phone booths at the rear of the shop. Again, these have been built with privacy in mind, and allow you to talk to friends and family around the world without feeling in any way self-conscious. I've not used their laptop repair service and so I cannot vouch for this. But they seem to stock a selection of accessories and consumables, and so it looks as though they are equipped and know what they are doing. They also offer money transfer with Western Union, but with the controversy surrounding this company, as well as the charges applicable, I think you'll find that it's possible to wire money more inexpensively at Nazzal On-Line up the road.

I have rarely needed to use other internet cafés except to receed into the online universe that is…read morethe gaming fraternity. As internet cafes go this ones got the international phone booths the private desk areas that hide the computer screen from your neighbor and the setups to use skype, email, use the internet or do some work on the fly. With the advent of skype I would of thought all international phone calls would be made from a skype enabled computer, but it hasn't fully changed yet. If you are an international student you will be happy to know they offer western union money transfers, they may be on the excessive side when it comes to the fees and applicable charges so check alabany road for better deals. This internet café charges more than I was ready to part with especially with what I had in mind, would easily exceeded £10 and when there are other internet cafes that cost £10 for the day you can understand why I didn't sit down. The shop also offers laptop repair and accessories sales for peripherals.

Internet Land is not simply an internet café. They are also PC repair centre as well as a mobile…read morephone shop, stocking quite a lot of mobile phone accessories including SIM cards for all providers at £1.99. They also provide a limited range of office services including: faxing, printing, copying and laminating. As well as being able to use the internet to use Skype they also have phone booths for making international phone calls. In addition, they sell phone cards that make the cost of foreign calls a lot more affordable. This is quite a popular internet café, and is my favourite in this area. This is mainly due to the fact that they serve a decent cup of coffee, (Kenco), and their rates are competitive. They are also always open when I need them. Being a small hub of the community they also permit the use of part of their shop window for the advertising of local businesses. They charge as little as £0.50 for this service.

I really like Nazzal On-line, one of the several internet cafes on City Road. What sets it apart…read morefrom the others is that it actually makes a real effort to be a café as well as an internet shop, and so it achieves its objective where so many others miss the mark! Nazzal On-line has been around for about four years, although it only took up residence on City Road two years ago. Before that it was located in Canton where the throughput of custom was considerably less than the new site. Kamal Nazzal, the proprietor, opted to move his business to Roath due to the large Polish community that lives here. As well as offering internet services at reasonable rates, and well priced food and drink, he also provides a money transfer service specifically tailored to the Polish community. Nazzal On-line is also the Polskie Biuro W Cardiff, which means that Kamal Nazzal can transfer funds from the UK to Poland for £5.00 regardless of the size of the sum being transferred. In fact, the same charge is levied to most countries globally with little exception. The service is operated by RIA and beats the rates that Western Union are able to offer, and hasn't got the same controversy surrounding it as its competitor!

This place is quite plainly decorated but for that I appreciate it, as many other places around…read morehere seem to be trying too hard to be something that they quite clearly are not. This place kind of provides everything that you could want with their internet access and the good food and drink. Surely something's got to be wrong? The service? No, that's great too. In fact, the only real problem that I could find - and believe me I looked for it - was that this being an internet cafe means that you can't sit in and play on your wi-fi. I would be very happy to sit in here ordering endless cups of tea and doing my work but I can't afford to at 80p every 30 mins, when I've got paid-for internet at home. Walking past outside, take a deep breath in. The smell is wonderful