Part of the quest to discover interesting places to eat and drink in Cardiff.
Here we cover those places not on the main shopping streets but more ‘off the beaten track’. To see other places we have visited in Cardiff and beyond visit our Seeking Sustenance page.
Llanishen Reservoir Cafe
I must admit that I have mixed feelings about this reservoir development by Welsh Water. I think its because I get weighed down by all the rules in place officials wandering around. That together with the fence around the edge and people walking around in circles makes me think of it more as Cyncoed Open Prison. Having said that they have found a winning formula in the café which has been popular ever sine it opened. After a lap in the winter sunshine we popped in for a Welsh rarebit made with oak smoked cheddar and marmite onions and a sweet potato soup.
Mackintosh Sports Club
The Mackintosh Sports Club on Keppoch Street is intertwined into Roath’s rich history. There has been a building on this site from at least 1782. The club is based in what was once called Roath Lodge and then Roath Castle (because of the crenulations on the roof). After that it was called Plasnewydd about the time the Richards family took over ownership in the 1830s. The heir to the Richards estate was Harriet Diana Arabella Mary Richards who married Alfred Donald Mackintosh , Chief of the Mackintosh clan. Plasnewydd became surplus to their requirements as they already lived at Cottrell House, St Nicholas and owned Moy Hall in Scotland and a lot of land. They bequeathed Plasnewydd to the community on a 99-year lease and it became known as the Mackintosh Institute. When opened in June 1891 it contained a billiard room, reading rooms and games rooms, a well-appointed gymnasium, a skittle alley and outdoor tennis courts. A few years prior to the end of the lease the owners applied for planning permission to demolish the club and build flats on the site. This was refused and shortly before the appeal an agreement was reached for the club to purchase the freehold. The name has since changed from the Mackintosh Institute to the Mackintosh Sports Club. We were here for a quiz and apart from taking a picture of the beer pump I forgot to take any others so the others are from a previous visit in 2022. The beer was good and we won the quiz – something I can’t remember ever doing before!
4 Seasons Coffee House
This building has a long history and was originally the Fair Oak Café, which opened from 8am to 10pm and offered overnight accommodation and stabling. The latest owner, The 4 Seasons Coffee House, opened in 2024 and presumably lacks stabling but does have a tuna and cheese melt pannini, something probably lacking in Victorian times.
Royal Kiosk, Roath Park Lake
I purchased a tasty tub of Marshfield Farm strawberries & cream ice cream and sat on the promenade. I took in the Scott Memorial dedicated to Captain Scott and his four companions who attempted to be the first people to reach the South Pole in 1911 but were beaten to it by just a month by the Norwegian Amundsen. Worse still, they perished in the cold weather attempting to get back to their ship, the Terra Nova.
Canton Cross Vaults
I like calling in here as the pub and former brewery at the back used to be owned by John Biggs in the late 1800s. He fathered six boys, all of whom played rugby for Cardiff and two for Wales including Norman Biggs who for 120 years held the record for being the youngest person to play for Wales. He was later unfortunately killed by a poisoned arrow in Africa. Today the Canton Cross is more associated with football. I had a decent pint of Guinness and thought about the Biggs family.
Chapter Arts Centre
Many children were educated here in its former guise as Canton High School which closed in the 1960s. Chapter was established by artists Christine Kinsey and Bryan Jones and writer Mik Flood in 1971 to celebrate experimentation and radical thought. It underwent a radical refurbishment in the early 2000s and is now a popular film and theatre venue and café/bar. Can’t recall exactly what I had to eat before seeing a film but it was vegetarian and door step size.
The Romilly
After a pleasant walk around the Pontcanna area it was time to pop in for a beer at the Romilly. There used to be a pub sign outside bearing the coat of arms of the Romilly family who owned much of the land in the area but this has now been replaced. The pub however still has a traditional appearance in parts including the dart board area. The man on the beer glass and pump is George Peard, the former head brewer who named the beer.
Vulcan Hotel, St Fagans Folk Museum
The Vulcan, originally in Adam Street, Cardiff, has recently been rebuilt at St Fagans in the style of a 1915 pub. Originally a Brains pub but now serving Glamorgan Brewery beers. The best bits were the giant urinals which looked like walk in showers and moulded out of toffee.
Turog Bread, Derwen Bakehouse, St Fagans Museum
St Fagans Folk Museum seems to be offering a lot more these days in terms of sustenance. I visited the reconstructed bakery originally from the Aberystwyth area and had a Bara Caws (cheesy bread) and a loaf of Bara Brith (not the whole loaf – I took most of it home!). And very nice they were too.
Mr Latte, Marlborough Road
Well this was a pleasant surprise. I don’t know why but I wasn’t expecting much, I guess having seen it converted from a garage and never having poked my head in. The food and the welcome were all good and it was a pleasure to meet Mr Latte himself. Yes that is his actual name! We had brie and chutney panninis, chocolate jaffa cake, salted caramel brownie and of course a latte. Our dog too was made a fuss over.
Hug Paeng, Donald Street
A new experience for us. This is a place making homemade Thai food which is ordered online then either collected in person or delivered to your home. It has been going for about three years. The menu is seasonal and rotated so what you had last time may not be available next time. We certainly enjoyed our choices. We had homemade veggie spring rolls to start followed by some wonderfully presented Sen Yai Pad Tra Krai Tofu (stir fried homemade wide noodles with grilled tofu, fried tofu , kale, carrot, mushroom, lemongrass and galangal served with a chili dip) and a Grilled Chicken Green curry (homemade green curry with grilled chicken tenderized in coconut milk and includes butternut squash, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, green bean, courgette and Thai basil) with some steamed Jasmine rice.
Ty Melin Bakery, Cardiff Marina
I had been for a guided walk around Cathays Cemetery and then decided to scout out a walk I was going to lead from Cogan to Cardiff Bay through Penarth Marina and along the barrage. I therefore jumped on the No9 bus to Sports Village and visited Ty Melin Bakery to fuel up before the walk back. What better then than one of their giant almond croissants, a meal in itself. All the better for being able to eat it overlooking the marina.
Olive Tree Cafe, Rumney Hill Gardens
I occasionally do a walk that takes in Rumney Hill Gardens and as I was passing today I spotted this little community café that I had never noticed previously and popped in for a mug of tea and piece of café and a chat with the friendly staff.
Ranger’s Hut
I’ve been meaning to call into the Ranger’s Hut in Waterloo Gardens for more than a year but have not been organised enough to coincide with their opening times (Fri pm, Sat & Sun in summer). It’s an offshoot of the nearby Waterloo Tea and makes good use of an old park building that hadn’t been used for many years. We had a blackcurrant cone and a chocolate and stracciatella tub.
Greedy’s Kitchen
A recent arrival in the area is Greedy’s Kitchen in the forecourt of the newly opened MKM Building Supplies shop. I had a sausage and bacon roll with onions which was a real feast and served with a smile.
Memo Bay
The Memo Bay café on Cardiff Barrage opened in 2023. We’d enjoyed our walk around the bay and visiting the Captain Scott information boards. It was time for a rest before heading home. Nothing better than a coffee and bit of cake.
Jivey’s
The Jivey’s coffee van regularly parks ar the north and of Roath Park Lake. I had a very decent flat white together with a chocolate and orange welsh cake all the way from West Wales. I sat and watched the ducks before completing my walk.
Penylan Pantry
The Penylan Pantry has been on the corner of Kimberley Road and Blenheim Road now for over ten years. Before that it was a health spa and I think I remember it in the 1960s as Calnan’s Greengrocers. It sells a range of produce as well as being a popular café. I treated myself to a nice bit of homemade cake and a flat white.
Albany
The Albany Hotel opened in 1895 and had stables where the beer garden now is. A real gem of a place and my favourite pub in the area. We chose the SA this time, names I believe after the initials of the brewery founder Mr S A Brain. My only complaint is that Brains beers are served much too cold these days but each to their own.
Lake Spice
Originally the site of the Pine Tree Café and then the Grotto restaurant with its mirrored walls and very small dance floor at the very end of the restaurant and some people even recall a monkey outside. The Grotto was later demolished and rebuilt as Brahms restaurant, then became Juboraj and now Lake Spice since 2020. I had a tasty Lake Spice Special Biryani described as a feast of chicken, lamb, prawns, mushroom with aromatic spices and basmati rice topped with an omelette served with vegetable curry sauce.
Three Arches
The Three Arches on Heathwood Road was opened on the day of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. It was was designed by the famous Welsh architect Sir Percy Thomas who also designed St Fagans Museum. Its name comes from the nearby railway viaduct and even the pub sign has three arches built into it. It is part of the Brains (now Marston’s) chain. The Brains Reverend James was very tasty tonight.
Caws Cenarth at Roath Farmers Market
Caws Cenarth make their cheese in deepest West Wales. We visited Roath Farmer’s Market to pick up some cheeses for Christmas. We had the Leek, Balsamic Vinegar and Perl Lâs blue cheese and very nice they were too.
Dioto
A new addition to the local café scene is Dioto in Upper Kincraig Street. It offers variety of hot food, cakes and wine. It is tastefully done out and they like their music. We had coffee, cookie and a mince pie by candlelight.
Clubhouse Coffee
If you take a walk to this relatively new café in the Penylan area on Clarendon Road you’ll get a warm welcome, and you’ll be even warmer if you choose to have a cheese and chilli jam toastie like I did. No need to turn the central hearing on at home now for the rest of the day!
Cardiff Golf Club
After delivering a talk about the ‘Mackintosh family of Roath’ to the Cardiff Llanishen Probus group I was kindly treated to lunch at the venue, Cardiff Golf Club, and a very fine lunch it was too. I also noted that the club’s Chairman’s chair was dedicated to Pilot Officer Gerald Tudor so spent some time later researching him and adding him to the Roath Virtual War Memorial.
Sibling
Another little gem hidden away on Lochaber Street, Roath Park, just a short walk from the Rec. Serves good coffee and the chocolate truffle brownie was delicious. Its been here a couple of years now and is child, dog friendly and laptop friendly – just the place to come to see a collie sending e-mails.
Blŵm
Now here’s a bit of a hidden gem. Blŵm has been on Fairoak Road in Cathays for a couple of years now. It serves Coaltown Coffee, a local Welsh family run Roastery from Ammanford. Just as importantly it serves good cakes. There’s also a big offering of craft on sale. After an hour wandering around the cemetery opposite as part of research I do on the Roath Virtual War Memorial it was time for a break. Nice friendly atmosphere in the café. I had a pecan cookie with my coffee.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Time for a bit of jazz from the students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. We happened upon Polish jass night. The Tomos Watkins beer was rather good, as was the guy on tenor sax.
STAR Hub, Splott
I was out doing a walk from the Peter Finch – Walking Cardiff book that traces the track of the old Taff Vale Railway – Roath Branch. Not the best walk in the book but it had its highlights. I stopped off at the STAR Hub for a bit of sustinence in the form of four bite sized cheese samosas. Then headed down through Moorland Park, Portmanmoor Road and on down to Cardiff Bay.
Bean’s to Coffee
A recently opened coffee and cake shop, moving into the premises previously occupied by Grooms Barbers. A fine selection of cakes on offer and a warm welcome. The carrot cake had a good flavour as did the coffee.
Ten Maryport
If only all shops were named after their address it would be much easier to find them! The café has been here since about 2010. I chose a seafarers panini, which had a cheese and tuna filling, and a flat white to go with it. The panini was done to just the right level of crispiness for me.
Cardiff Dough and Co
A company born during the first Covid lockdown in 2020 and started selling from a pop up shop on Clearwater Way, Lakeside. Their doughnuts are now made in a bakery off Wentloog Road, Rumney and transported to fesivals and farmer’s markets from there. They have a retail counter at the bakery where I bought a tasty selection and was proudly told about the dough-making process that makes them taste so good.
Penylan Fish Bar
There’s been a chip shop here since the 1970s. I remember calling in after spending the evening in the Three Brewers pub next door. Whenever I go past I’m amused by the ‘Award Winning Fish and Chips’ banner which reminds me of the hilarious Rhod Gilbert award-winning mince pie routine. They were doing good business here on a Saturday night and I enjoyed my portion of fish and chips.
Cardiff Capers 