Be Excellent To Each Other

(This is partly a response to DocG's brekkers question)


So, where do you like to kick your heels when you've got an hour or two free but don't feel like a pint? And are you more a fan of the greasy spoon or somewhere that has excitingly designed muffins for mumble mumble pounds? And where does a decent breakfast?

For me, the top five places in Cardiff are:

1: Barkers

A new place this. It's in Castle Arcade and is part of Barker's Clothes shop, the gent's vaguely Americana overpriced store of shirts and jeans and things. The clothes therein may be a bit of a rip off, but the coffee shop attached is very reasonably priced. Reasonably spacious, comfy sofas and chairs and decent music at a quiet volume. It also looks nice inside with lots of lamps and shelves and stuff. A large black Americano is £2.00.

2: The Pot

A wee place on Crwys Road, on the right hand side facing North on the stretch just below Cathays Library. It does a very nice American breakfast with pancakes, maple syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon. Also, salmon and scrambled egg on toast. Music policy is good, though space tends to be taken up with whiny babies from time to time. Waitresses are cute.

3: Coffee #1

A small chain of coffee shops in Cardiff. Friendly with very nice coffee and comfy surroundings. They're independent and fair trade and all that, and they have shops on Albany and Wellfield Road, with one next to Cardiff bus station. No music inside, just comfy leather sofas and chairs. Unfortunately the city centre on is sometimes dominated by irritatingly loud business meetings.

4: Garlands

Small coffee shop with a good menu in the Royal Arcade. Alas, it might not be around much longer, but the apple and black pudding salad is very nice, and the breakfasts are good. Has an old 18th century feel, though the place is entirely fakeroo.

5: Ramons

Ultimate greasy spoon. Reasonable quality big hearty breakfasts for cheap-cheap prices. Has the all important black pudding. Belly Buster breakfasts are impossible to scarf, but if you do down it all you get it for free. The place to go before the Pipes & Ales pub crawl. Hygine suspicious. Lord Rixondale once won a year's free breakfasts there. He went every day, as he was a poor student sans loan.

Bubbling under:

AJ's (on City Road) and Calcio's on Crwys Road. Quality standard student breakfast places. Gruff Rhys of SFA can be found in Calcio's from time to time, he used to live above it.

Shot in the Dark on City Road. Very comfortable coffee shop and bar with excellent music and furnishings. However, rather too pricy.

So, what are your favourite cafes and coffee shops near you?

I like Shot In The Dark (used to go there from Uni), Cafe Calcio, and Ramons. The Pot sounds highly relevant to my interests, so thanks. In Cardiff, I also like the New York Deli, which is in High Street Arcade.

You lost me at "and don't feel like a pint"

There's probably a new version of Orwell's "Moon Under Water" essay waiting to be written, describing the ideal coffee shop. Quiet, comfy, good coffee and proper home-made cakes, free of squalling babies and braying businessmen tables not all squished together and maybe a really light and airy upstairs bit where you can sit an read a book for half an hour without being wapped by prams and shopping bags. Good hot chocolate for winter, and sandwiches that aren't manky pre-packaged things from the chiller.

The best one locally that I can find is actually more of an Italian restaurant, but in the day it serves the best coffee locally and some food. It's hardly perfect, but the waitress doesn't mind if you spread your paper over a four-seater table and sit for an hour with one drink.