Bacon, Brie and Cranberry Panini

Barker Cafe is probably my favourite cafe in the whole of Cardiff, and I’ll tell you for why. The interior is exactly what I want from a cafe: exposed brick, low leather armchairs and sofas, friendly staff, nice background music, and lovely toilets.

Their range of food is actually quite small, and it’s not that cheap, but what they do do is scrummy (just look at my bacon, brie and cranberry panini. Mmm). And they’re not stingy on the fillings either, like some other places are.

My companion went for the Mozzarella and Tomato Panini (below). Forgive me, I can’t remember the price. I think they’re roughly £6 or £7.

Mozzarella and Tomato Panini

So that was the food; don’t even get me started on the drinks (check out my chocolate milkshake!).

They do just about the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, anywhere. You get whipped cream AND a flake. They do a range of coffees, as you would expect, lots of different flavour milkshakes and smoothies, and some more unusual beverages like white chocolate hot chocolate (it’s on my list of things to try). They also let you help yourself to jugs of tap water, which is always a winner with me. You can never have enough tap water.

The details:

Total bill: (two paninis, a milkshake, a diet coke, and a packet of crisps) approx £17

Atmosphere: 10/10

Service: 9/10 (it misses out on top marks because it’s always very busy, which can affect service times)

Food: 8/10

Barker doesn’t have a website, but here’s where to find it:

http://tinyurl.com/cdhj49f

Amy Davies © gwionthorpe

Amy Davies is the perfect person to kick off this blog.  She sums up exactly what it’s all about – she had an idea and acted on it.  Simple.   She has started the Cardiff Arcades Project, which aims to “document the Victorian and Edwardian shopping arcades in Cardiff, home to some of the quirkiest, individual and independent retailers in the city”. It’s an idea that has really captured people’s attention and Amy has been “overwhelmed by the positive response (she has) received so far”.  It basically involves Amy going in to the shops, taking photos and chatting to the owners and recording it all on her website.  Again, it sounds simple but it just hasn’t been done before and that’s what makes it so bloody good.

The idea came on her way home from work one evening. “I was wandering through Morgan Arcade, taking a few snaps for my Project 365 and on a whim I thought, maybe I should do a project on the Arcades, that would be pretty cool”.  With the help of a few tweets “the project went from a thought to a full-blown project in about 12 hours”.

What started out as photography project, however, has become so much more than that.  “One of the main reasons for doing the project was to take more portrait photos but I found that all sort of stories naturally come out through talking to people.  The photos may be good but they’re made even better by knowing a bit about the person behind the face – the story adds to it”.

Although she clearly loves the arcades, Amy is keen to point out that she is no activist and doesn’t want the project to be seen as anti-big brands. “This project is meant to be something positive, about celebrating the arcades not focusing on the negative impact of St. David’s 2”.  She has nothing against the big stores – “everyone needs an H&M, we can’t all be independent, but it’s important people know they’ve got the option. It’s about having the choice”.  Amy is from Birmingham and compares St. David’s 2 to The Bullring and similarly the Trafford Centre in Manchester.  “It’s nice to have your big John Lewis and other big brands, but when you stand in St. David’s you could be in any big City in the UK.  But when you shop in the old arcades you could only be in one place: Cardiff.  They are such a big attraction; I don’t understand why we aren’t screaming about them?”

I have a feeling that Amy’s project will go a long way to restoring people’s interest (and spending) in the Arcades and raise their profile once again, although Amy is quick to play this down, “maybe a few people have found out about them through my blog, I don’t know.  I have had a few messages from people who hadn’t discovered or heard about a particular shop before. That makes me feel really happy.  It’s also nice to know that people are actually reading my blog and that it may be having a positive effect on people”.  You can say that again.

After spending some time with Amy it is quite obvious that the project is also having a very positive impact on her too.  “I’m quite a shy person but this project has made me so much less shy. I’ve met so many fantastic people, done so many things and had an unbelievable time in just a few short weeks”.  She is now making new friends, good contacts and even gaining some paid work from the people she’s meeting in the arcades.  How cool is that?

I really enjoyed meeting Amy (in New York Deli, High St arcade by the way).  I’m really chuffed that she had the guts to turn her idea into reality and I’m sure there are a lot of shopkeepers who’d agree with me!  Check out her website and, more importantly, check out the shops and the arcades – they’re wicked.

Amy Davies is a journalist and photographer living in Cardiff.  Having moved to Cardiff 5-and-a-bit years ago for University, and never having the decency to leave, she now calls it home.  During the day she boards the train for her daily commute to Bath working on a photography website, and most of the rest of the time she’s either taking photos, writing things, baking cakes or a combination of all three.

Like many of the world’s major cities that have China Towns and Little Italy’s, Cardiff has its very own mini New York in the confines of the Deli located in High Street Arcade. The days of the first shop are long gone but not forgotten. Jolt Cola, (which is now sadly banned in this country for its horrific levels of caffeine) some toasted rye bread and USA today, perched on a wooden bench staring across at Air Circus contemplating whether I should buy a yoyo or new skates is still fresh in my mind.

At the current shop, the counter is home to some of America’s finest ingredients for sandwich making. Pastrami, Salt Beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and gherkins with a feast of confectionary delights perched on the top of the counter. I always stare at the brownies but opt for the Carrot Cake.

This week the clubbers came in force, a four strong squad, each member ready for sandwich eating war, with talks of hoagies, grinders, clubs and cakes. This time, an order of 2 Reuben’s, a meatball grinder and a pastrami and Swiss cheese hoagie was made.

The Reuben at the New York Deli consists of Pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, gherkins and Thousand Island dressing. A huge sandwich is presented, with the colours alone scoring the sandwich highly, buts it’s the explosion of flavour that this sandwich delivers which gives it full marks. Meaty and fresh, a light sour taste is delivered by the gherkins that sit between the Thousand Island and coleslaw combination. This is a seriously good sandwich!

The meatball grinder, warmed in foil is a messy affair but the clubber remained silent throughout his consumption and finally stated “Amazing! But now I have to clean my face”. Be warned, meatball grinders come with plenty of sauce so extra napkins will be needed.

The hoagie is a food marathon. An enormous submarine roll is piled with food that requires you to pick out filling before being able to close it into any form of holding sandwich. Our tip is to get a fork, eat half the contents alone, then fold the roll with the remaining filling inside and eat! The pictures say it all.

Rating:

Price:               3 /4

Taste:               4/4

Look:                4 /4

Service:           3/4

Originality:    4/4

Score: 18/20

Situated in one of Cardiff’s central suburbs, Canton, this small and friendly cafe has one of the best breakfast menus in the City. As its name suggests, it specialises in waffles,  both sweet and savoury. For £6.50 for a full Welsh breakfast with a cappuccino is good value for money. What also separates it from many of the greasy spoon cafés which are nearby, Waffle is a bi-lingual cafe,  with the menu written in Welsh and the staff Welsh speaking.  A friendly and welcoming place to start your day in the life as a Cardiffian. 

2.  Many visitors visit Cardiff, by-passing the site which makes Cardiff status thus.  Llandaff cathedral is situated in the North West of the City, and is easily accessible by bus, car and by foot. There has been a sight of religious worship here since the 6th century but much of the cathedral’s architecture is Victorian in design, but was heavily damaged during the Second World War, when the roof of the nave was damaged by German bombers.  Only Coventry cathedral was damaged more during this period.  The most striking features the figure of Christ created by Sir Jacob Epstein to George Prices design, unveiled in 1960. While you are in the vicinity of the cathedral, many people like to wander around the grounds, and Llandaff Village, where a young Roald Dahl spent his lunch hours gazing into the windows of the sweet shop, today a popular Chinese restaurant.

3. An unconventional way of heading into the centre of ‘town’ from Llandaff is to pick up the Taff Trail footpath. On a fine day (yes some times the sun shines!) people who work in the city enjoy taking a walk through Bute Park, the grounds which were given by the fathers of Cardiff, the Butes. Many say it’s Cardiff’s answer to Hyde or Central Park.  Why not grab a coffee and A South Wales Echo (the local rag) to digest the local news in the serenity of Coopers Field? Weather permitting.

4. Cardiff is renowned for its Victorian (formerly smoky) pubs. A popular watering hole in the center of the city is the Queens Vaults, opposite the Millennium Stadium. Full of Victorian character, the outside resembles The Oliver St.John Gogarty Bar in Temple Bar, Dublin. Reputed to be haunted, this pub sells some the best ales in the city. My tipple is a Pint of Brains S.A, named after Samuel Arthur Brain, the founder of the Brains Brewery, colourfully nicknamed Skull Attack by the locals.

5. The Welsh are said to love their sheep, cheese (in Elizabethan times) and to love hating the English. No comment. One thing as a nation, and in particular in Cardiff we love is our Rugby Union. Cardiff is blessed, with having a number of teams play in the area, Glamorgan Wanderers, Cardiff RFC and Cardiff Blues. In addition if you’re lucky enough to be here during the international season, you could watch the Welsh national team play, if not in the stadium, watching in one of Cardiff many pubs is equally as atmospheric. I recommend the Mochyn Du pub. For those who are not as keen on sport but still would like to get some understanding why the Welsh love of the game take a tour of the Millennium Stadium. The tour includes access to the changing rooms, Royal Box and a walk down the tunnel to the pitch.

6. Full of Victoriana and Edwardian architecture Cardiff’s shopping arcades  and indoor market are a hidden gem of the city among it’s modern shopping centers, Queens Arcade and the new St David’s 2 development. High Street, Castle Wyndham, Morgan and the Royal Arcade remind many of the Bolognian Arcades, and within theses Victorian labyrinths are housed some of Cardiff’s best loved shops. A favourite among young Cardiffians is Hobos Vintage Clothing Shop in High Street Arcade.  One of Cardiff’s stalwart shops Wally’s Delicatessen which has been running since 1939, which has recently opened a new branch in the new St David’s 2 development. Indeed, Cardiff is full of historic shops, one of whose logo is emblazoned across t-shirts. Spillers Records is a must visit, a record shop which has claims to be the oldest record shop in the world. If you’re peckish for a bite two places locals would recommend are The New York Deli in the High Street Arcade, which makes possibly the best sandwiches and wraps in the city.

7. Fed up of beating the pavements? Catch the Aquabus from the Millennium Stadium down to Cardiff Bay along the river Taff. A truly unique way of travelling to the bay, to see a different part of the city, an area influential in the history of the city, once the busiest port in the world.

8. A great place to eat in the bay, and a popular one as well is Woods Bar and Brasserie serving delicious meat, fish and vegetarian dishes described by a friend of mine as Welsh Cooking of a very high standard.  For those watching the wallet, Harry Ramsden’s, one of the first restaurants to open as part of the heavy re-development of the bay in the nineties, serves great fish and chips and is also a popular choice among Cardiffians.

9.  Wales is the land of song. Official. You can’t come to Cardiff without paying a visit to the Wales Millennium Centre, known locally as the Armadillo, which is considered to be the cultural hub of Cardiff.  The WMC is home to many companies, most notably the URDD youth organisation and the Welsh National Opera. It’s well worth seeing what’s on here if you are visiting. If you can’t catch a performance, take the tour of the building, which takes you backstage and into the impressive auditorium.

10. It been a long day. What better way than to finish it with a walk along the front of the bay, watching the sun set behind the barrage with an ice cream from Cadwaladr’s, ‘Wales’ best kept secret’.