Garlands

Reviews

• Adam E.

  star star star star star_border 8 June 2026

  Good food, great service nice little quirky place! I would definitely recommend popping in for break fast. Gluten free pan cakes available, only negative note was that they had ran out of gluten free bread, but the pancakes were delicious

• Joshua P.

  star star star star star 30 May 2026

  Oh my gosh... this place was so good!  My friend and I have been exploring various parts of Europe and we wanted to make a pit stop at a nearby "Doctor Who Experience"...  we needed a place to eat and found this place on Yelp (seeing "pancakes" really caught my attention as a stereotypical American).  Although the seating area seemed small, it was large enough to fit all of our plates and eat comfortably; the ambiance was wonderful and mostly composed of polished wood, and lightly playing classic rock songs that "everybody knows" without dominating over the chit-chat my friend and I carried throughout our meals.  If I were a local, then I could certain see myself becoming a regularly and possibly hanging out here.
  
  I really liked the menu!  It's very difficult to find places with such a good selection and offering so much with their meals (so many places seem to offer only the entree); even if a place does offer a "selection", then it's always such a strange combination food that doesn't make sense.  These guys really stick with and master the basics, and offer what seems like a reasonable mixture of food.  For example, they still offer the traditional hot chocolate with whip cream, but you could order a "deluxe" with marshmallows or a cinnamon version (nothing crazy, right? -- and it sounds good to me).  To really top off everything, they'll even let you customize a little bit!  I've honestly had a difficult time at other places, and so I was thrilled when they let me make some changes...  I had read earlier that the Vegetarian Breakfast was awesome, but I don't like tomatoes or mushrooms very much (I'm not a vegetarian by the way), and they allowed me to switch those out for avocados and spinach!
  
  I ordered the Vegetarian Breakfast with avocados and spinach instead of tomatoes and mushrooms, and I chose to have the rosemary potatoes (an option they offered compared to hash browns).  This dish was humongous and they really filled the plate (picture attached).  Fantastic because I love to eat.  This plate was extremely surprising as even the basics items were rich in flavour; I have to admit that I have no idea what the vegetarian sausage thing was composed of (I'm ignorant), but I asked about it and was told there is cheese inside of it...  super delicious and the texture was just right.  The pancake wasn't the pancakes I was expecting (American pancakes using lots of flour), but it was some other thing with light vegetables in it (I think corn and peas).  It was a very gentle taste that didn't require any dressings/toppings, which is perfect because I dislike syrup very much and typically eat my pancakes plain.  This plate had the traditional beans like most other breakfasts in the UK, and came with two pan-fried eggs and a thick piece of toast...  I love jumbling those three together and eating it.  I'm not sure if the toast was homemade or not, but it was very thick with a fluffy texture; I saw a bunch of other bakery items posted on their walls and on the menu, and I was very tempted to order more (I saw a some kind of stuffed scone that looked interesting).  My friend ordered some kind of salmon on bagel thing (cropped picture attached -- cropped my friend out to respect his privacy)...  I don't like fish (sorry) and he's kind of a quiet person; so: I cannot really give a review on his behalf.  What I can say is that he doesn't usually finish his food, but he made an exception for this place.  Between my friend and I, we spent less than £20 on our meals and drinks combined (less than £10 per person, which is very surprising for the amount we got in return!)
  
  Lastly, the service was wonderful!  They were very quick to seat my friend and I, and gave us a reasonable amount of time to look over the menu, but didn't make us sit and wait long for service - there was a good a sense of urgency and the waitress was very knowledgeable of the menu and was able to make recommendations when I asked about customizing my order.  I didn't keep track of time so far as how long it took for the food to get to our table, but we didn't wave to wait long; the same went for the Americano that I ordered.  Everyone who worked there was very polite and seemed happy about their work to me.  The other girl at the counter joked with me that it was "hard" working there because the food is too good and she's trying to be health conscious (maybe it wasn't a joke - I really enjoyed the food).  I had actually forgotten my backpack under the table and the waitress ran outside and caught me just in time!  She definitely went above and beyond and was really happy.  Very pleasant... would like to go again... and I recommend to others; if friends and family ask me about Cardiff, then this'll be the first place I'll talk about.

• Michael B.

  star star star star star_border 28 May 2026

  Small restaurant with an intimate atmosphere. Great French toast and a good, traditional English breakfast.

• Stephanie R.

  star star star star_border star_border 24 May 2026

  Extremely pleasant spot off the main road for some tea, coffee, or lunch. They have a wide selection of Welsh rarebit and hot chocolates, both of which I highly recommend. The ambience is really warm and inviting. However, the service was pretty slow.

• Amy L.

  star star star star star_border 23 May 2026

  I love Garlands. They are possibly my favourite breakfast/ brunch spot in Cardiff.
  Situated in Duke Street Arcade (near to the arcade entrance opposite Cardiff Castle), they are a cosy little cafe with a mean English Breakfast - the "Full Meaty".
  
  Fairly priced, breakfast comes in at just under £10 if you get a meal and a drink.
  
  Though I'm no vegetarian, their Welsh Veggie Breakfast is one of my top menu items. I highly recommend the laverbread pancakes and Glamorgan sausages (both come with the Welsh Veggie Breakfast.)
  Other Welsh dishes to try are the Cawl, Welsh Rarebit and the Good Morning Mumbles (beware, the seaweed in this last option is quite an acquired texture!)
  
  I've yet to try it, but the Coronation Chicken Jacket Potato has been highly commended by a few friends.
  
  The only criticism I can make is that the service has been a bit slow on a few of my visits.
  
  Note: It's cash only and it can get quite busy, especially on Saturday afternoons.