Right before flying to Italy for the holiday season, we decided to take a one-day trip to Cardiff. Capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff is definitely one of UK’s greatest cities for eating and drinking.

In this blog post I’m going to share with you my personal highlights of the day.

The map

Cardiff is relatively small and you can just walk around and see a decent part of the city; however, as we had less than 24 hours to spend in town, we felt like we just had a small taste of what it’s capable to offer.

The whole city centre is full of independent bars and restaurants. We would have loved to try a lot of them, and we’ll definitely do it in our next visit—after all, it’s not so far from home!

We careful researched where to eat and drink without leaving our hotel’s area (St. Mary Street), and these were the places we eventually decided to visit.

Morning coffee: The Plan

The Plan from outside (ph. The Plan FB page)

Address: 28-29 Morgan Arcade, St Mary St, Cardiff CF10 1AF
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8:45am-5pm; Sun 9:45am-4pm
Online: theplancafecardiff.co.uk/

It’s an independent coffee shop in the heart of the Morgan Arcade. I would happily recommend it for their espresso, delicious if you’re into those third-wave coffees.

Lunch: The Grazing Shed

The Grazing Shed

Address: 1 Barrack Lane, Cardiff CF10 2FR
Opening hours: Mon–Thu 11am–10pm; Fri–Sat 11am–11pm; Sun 11am–9pm
Online: thegrazingshed.com

“Best burger in Cardiff” (according to many reviews) and craft beers: I couldn’t have missed this place!

They have a cider, a lager, a pale ale and a non-alcoholic lager available. I went for the pale ale—called Super Tidy Brew, which has got both the restaurant logo and the local brewery’s name (Crafty Devil) on the can.

Super Tidy Brew

The burger was pretty good—nice and thick patty, the way I like it. I tried their John Wayne burger with Cheddar, smokey bacon, BBQ sauce and cajun mayo. The ale was a nice rye pale ale, not too hoppy, a perfect match with the burger.

They also had craft sodas: I tried both the orange, passion fruit & jasmine and their cherry cola. I definitely prefer the cherry cola—the former was a tad too sweet for me.

Unfortunately there were no glasses for the beer—so I could only drink it from either the can or a paper cup. Not the best ways to enjoy a proper craft beer… and it’s a shame.

After-lunch coffee: Uncommon Ground Coffee Co.

Uncommon Ground Coffee Roastery (ph. UGCR FB page)

Address: 10-12 Royal Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1AE
Opening hours: Mon-Sat, 7:30am-6:30pm; Sun 10am-5:30am
Online: uncommon-ground.co.uk

Coffee roastery and coffee shop, with a rather distinct atmosphere and super friendly baristas—they tell you everything about their cakes if you ask!

The espresso was perfect. It had less fruitiness than The Plan’s, and maybe it’s closer to a classic Italian espresso.

Loved their seating options—it’s full of sofas and there’s plenty of space to work with your laptop.

Dinner: The Potted Pig

Address: 27 High St, Cardiff CF10 1PU
Opening hours: Mon-Thu 12-2pm / 7-9pm; Fri-Sat 12-2:30pm / 6.30-9.30pm; Sun12-2.30pm
Online: thepottedpig.com

The Potted Pig (ph. TPP FB page)

It’s an upscale restaurant with a drinks menu dominated by their huge gin collection and a number of cocktails they make with those.

I opted for their signature cocktail—the Garden of Wales, with Tanqueray, elderflower, apple juice and orange bitters, served in a Martini glass.

The Garden of Wales

As they had a good list of after-dinner drinks too, we decided to ended our drinks tour of Cardiff in that restaurant, finishing off our dinner with a nice glass of Tawny Port.