Cafe at Book-ish in Powys

Such a lovely café with excellent service and we really enjoyed their new menu! Would recommend the Nduja chicken bowl and new potato and chicken salad.

Had a fabulous lunch here. Great food and lovely atmosphere.

Generally, we've had a pleasant experience in this cafe, and the food is tasty, but not this time. When ordering food like the Dahl or Tagine, previously these dishes were served in adequate small bowls, the bowls were always full. Now the portion size is served in large bowl but the portion size is noticeably smaller, you can see three quarters of the base of the dish when presented with the food. Despite raising this concern we were fobbed off that the food portion size had not changed. Not true, we had eaten their on many occasions and it was a remarkable difference. if you're seeking value for money give it a miss.

Really fab cafe with an excellent book shop attached.

Easter in Wales, went here for lunch, best meal we had in all of the pubs and cafes we visited. . Wish everywhere else we visited had been as good and clean as this place.

By the off chance we called in for lunch. We’ve previously only had coffee and cake. We were blown away and very impressed. Three of us visited and enjoyed two of the tagliatelle special and the dahl. The food was outstanding and the service great. Thanks to Ian and the team for the fantastic time.

Had their absolutely superb Shakshuka for breakfast, can't recommend it enough! Freshly prepared for us with the cafe's own blend of coffee beans in the form of latte/ cappuccino. Came in the previous day for great tea and cake so thought we'd try a breakfast. Good decision! Great service too, thank you all!

Lovely staff, nice cafe and good coffee.

Excellent little cafe within independent bookstore. Enjoyed a delicious toastie with the alternative mozzarella filling. Very good service and upstairs seating offers the greatest comfort and best atmosphere.

Lovely little cafe with a bookshop attached. We loved the coffee and the cakes were amazing. The prices for cakes were a little on the high side but very good. We would definitely recommend if in the area.

Very nice place and great service. We will be back!

Warm and friendly atmosphere. Excellent for a fill you up on a miserable winters day. Great coffee too .

Lovely atmosphere and delicious food options. I love that it's part of the bookshop. Good gluten free options :)

Great place to chat and eat coffee and avocado toast I had friends had cake all very good

Busy on a Saturday! Great books too....

Consistently good food with a great ambience and lovely friendly staff who cannot do enough for you. Relaxed atmosphere and well cooked small but reliable menu. Just what is needed form a small cafe

Un sans faute pour ce lieu adorable, cette bulle de douceur pour un petit déjeuner délicieux. Nous avons pris thé, milkshakes et pancakes... Tout était gourmand sans être trop sucré, les quantités parfaites pour réveiller nos estomacs. Bonus pour la playlist !

First visit here & sadly have to deduct a star even though the people and the vibe were great as our pizza was a bit burnt & the waitress didn't remember my cheese request, the flavoured tea also was a bit disappointingly bland :/

this is our chosen regular cafe, very freindly staff, dog freindly too and occasionally we indulge in a delicious breakfast or cake mmmm

Lovely café! Lots of veggie and vegan options. Great service. Lovely environment - includes upstairs seating with lots of natural light. Great find, definitely recommend.

Lovely café! Lots of veggie and vegan options (I’m a vegetarian myself). Great service. Lovely environment - includes upstairs seating with lots of natural light. Great find, definitely recommend.

With great anticipation my friend and I awaited our order of goats cheese salad and Mackrell salad. What arrived was a sad apology for value-for-money meals...at around £8 we could not believe our eyes. The 'salad' comprised of approx 2inches deep of rocket lettuce, aided by 6 halves of mini tomatoes. It became apparent the goat that provided my cheese obviously came from the'mini-me' farm, and the potion size probably was around 2 inches square, and that's being generous of me. The Mackrell potion was the size, reconstituted of a small box of matches. I even got an angry frown from the mature when I asked for balsamic vinegar and butter for the bread. We were both too flabbergasted to complain, but are sure no other will ever be made to the establishment. As we left we noticed a pair of bikers, their proud French accents singing the praises of the beauty of the village. They tucked in with gay Galiic abandon to their newly bought sourdough bread and local cheese from the hight Street shop. They laughed with sheer enjoyment at their table full of generous joy. We walked by, saddened by our luckless meal.

We visited this cafe which was down a side street, the place was rather empty and most other places were busy so that should have been a good indication really but from the outside all looked ok. We had sandwiches coffee and a cake. The coffee was quite nice but the bread on the sandwiches was dry and stale with no butter on either slices of bread. We ate the ham salad inside the sandwiches but could not eat the bread, the cake that looked good behind the glass counter was dry and hard as if it had been there for many days, these were returned as they were inedible. All in all we were very disappointed in the food and will not return to this place again.

Lovely and cozy space for quick coffee and fresh cake. Also pizzas here are super tasty! 🫶🏻

The best Cafe in Wales!!! So delicious, fresh and tasty! Thank you!

Great and inspiring place! 😍 Great food and friendly staff. Such a nice place in little town. Definetely recommend! 🥰

Some of the freshest and most delicious soup I have eaten out, served with soft bread and Welsh butter. Naturally followed by cake and browsing the beautiful books. A highlight of our day!

Busy cafe, delicious salad 🥗 😋 they have events where you can hear authors speak about their books

Nice, chilled out little cafe attached to a great book shop. Breakfast menu was short but the shakshuka was decent. Coffee was great and staff were friendly and efficient. Nice spot to start the day

So disappointing We ordered 2 slices of cake and a ham sandwich. Cakes were dry and not edible, bread for sandwiches also dry and not buttered. Expensive for what u get. Could do so much better!

Not only is the small Bookish bookshop a magnet for readers, with its tightly packed host of absorbing, challenging, utterly readable books for readers of all ages (literature mostly not featured on the dreary shelves of W H Smith), but the Bookish cafe serves a focused menu of cooked in-house truly tasty sandwiches, salads and the most sumptuous brocolli and stilton soup. Love it! Enterprising businesses like Bookish really merit our support and attention: don't buy on Amazon if you can get your books - and lunch - locally.

Often visit the Book- ish cafe , coffee and often poached eggs on toast . Experience has always been brilliant, all the staff are fantastic and so happy in there work and approach towards customers .

This is such a lovely cafe. Super friendly, helpful staff, dog friendly and vegan friendly. Food was fresh & delicious. Great selection of books to browse & buy. Proper tea ( leaves) This was our second visit - highly recommend.

I had the Shakshuka with Tofu. It was one of the tastiest dishes I've ever eaten! I'd drive an hour and a half back to Crickhowell to have this meal again. Simply stunning!

Popped in for a quick lunch and chose the soup of the day - spicy root veg. It was absolutely delicious! Great flavours, chilli kick and some crunchy croutons on top. Served with a huge chunk of locally made bread. Very relaxed atmosphere, friendly service...

Very stylish and relaxing cafe in the book shop, with very friendly and helpful staff and some awesome cakes. Would highly recommend whether you’re looking for a coffee and cake or a meal. Really nice place to relax and lovely and clean and fresh.

Only had coffee and cake but all good

Lovely coffee and Welsh cake in really nice independently run café in Crickhowell. Interesting book selection.

Sorry to understand that Sam has moved on , I was shocked . He was a Benefit to your company . Massive shame to all concerned ! I have noticed lately that the food quality has reduced in standard , only over the last few...

Found this coffee shop open when others were closed and delighted with the coffee and the whole atmosphere, which is relaxed and surrounded by books which one is able to glance through whilst having coffee. Very young and bright helpful staff and definitely a good...

Great spot to review the books you’ve bought and get a coffee and cake! Warm and cosy on a wet day. Wonderful book selection and great cakes.

It’s ALWAYS a delight to visit Bookish café! Fantastic variety of cakes, really great tasting coffee and they do the most perfect crispy bacon in their breakfast sandwich! Yum! Lovely, polite & hardworking team, we were so grateful they gave our four year old son...

Super gem on a fabulous high street full of indie shops! Cake and coffee in a BOOKSHOP what is not to like! Thank you for lovely service and gorgeous food!

Always busy in this place and there is a reason for that. Always good wholesome food and spacious surroundings. It never seems hectic which is a tribute to the staff who are always cheerful and helpful. The bookshop is also worth browsing as there is...

Great place for breakfast and coffee! Fast efficient service and quality food.

Loving the new menu at Cafe at Bookish. Great pizza and the best chicken Caesar salad I’ve had in a long time! Friendly and efficient service as usual

As frequent visitors to Book-ish and having left a review previously (see “Book-ish is de-lish”), we popped in for coffee and cake today and have been left wondering, what’s gone wrong, Book-ish? Served the wrong coffee and given a slice of walnut cake that must...

I visit Bookish - both the cafe and the wonderful bookshop - quite often and was aware that a menu change was planned. As I have a few favourite dishes and knew that one or two were disappearing I was prepared to be a bit...

Went to the bookish cafe as a treat for my wife and daughter as it looked interesting. Sat on the sofa with the non-existent spring(left hand side) under the stairs. Clearly quite busy but plenty of staff and were friendly when spoken to although there...

Ordered a milkshake. It looked good but was luke warm on a hot day. Felt like the milk had been out the fridge a long time. For £4 I felt it was overpriced. Didn’t complain, couldn’t be bothered to but I won’t be going there...

I so want to like this place but we have been in a few times and always seem to have problems. Today we waited over an hour for soup and a sandwich to arrive and our afternoon sightseeing with a friend was wrecked as were...

My family and I LOVE the Cafe at Bookish (we’re local btw GoldberryWhatever…). The food is great. The coffee is fantastic. And the staff are supremely helpful, friendly and happy to go the extra mile for my - demanding! - kids. On one occasion they...

The perfect pit stop after having a browse around Crickhowell’s many independent shops and boutiques and small businesses. Very friendly staff, a varied menu and lovely coffee… and there are books!!! What’s better?!

I urge anyone thinking of visit, to definitely visit. Having recently read an amazing article and seeing the cafe named one of 'The 39 best independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland', we decided it was only right to come and visit and see. The...

In need of coffee, we went in through the side door, not through the book shop. Bit draughty downstairs, so upstairs we went and were delighted. Very modern and the end wall is all glass with a lovely view of the mountains, really gorgeous. Ordered...

Lovely cafe with friendly staff and good food.

Ordered arrived late and wrong. I went here with five other adults and a child. One of our orders (chicken noodle soup) turned up at room temperature — they must have just reheated it in a microwave and not left it in long enough. We had asked for extra chilli twice, finally getting it after asking a third time. The pizza was also warm rather than hot, like it had been sat there for a while, even though it came out first, which didn’t bode well. My milkshake was the wrong flavour. One of our meals turned up after we were all almost finished—the waiter said it was because it was very busy day but, looking around, there were a few tables empty and one group just having drinks. If that’s too busy then maybe the cafe needs to reduce the number of tables to ensure good service.

A small coffee shop. Nice and friendly staff and good selection of cakes. The coffee is pretty decent as well.

We stopped here for lunch (mid-week). Really nice environment (recently refurbished by the looooks of it). We ordered a tuna mayo sandwich and a panini with breakfast tea for two. The tea came almost immediately, BUT the food took so long to arrive that the...

Nice little cafe tucked away down a side street. We visited on the way back from a walk along the river. Good coffee cakes

A varied menu that caters for a range of tastes and dietary requirements (vegetarian and gluten-free options available). Staff were welcoming and the waiting time for food was reasonable. Would definitely recommend for a lunch visit.

Refuge on a rainy day! Lovely lunch, Food imaginative, fresh and good value, Excellent coffee (I am fussy). My order did take a bit of time so patience is a virtue. Nice decor, chilled. Service excellent.

Excellent coffee, cakes and lovely staff. Perfect for a cycling stop before climbing the nearby hills

What a hidden gem. Food is all freshly made and delicious, staff couldn’t be more helpful and friendly, views from upstairs of the surrounding countryside are lovely. We LOVE bookish!

Our favourite morning coffee stop with our dog. Always made welcome. Breakfast and lunches really good

Lovely Cafe with decadent hot chocolate and a lovely breakfast. Radio on and if you're lucky one of the staff will sing along a bit.

Now I know how Millionaires Shortbread got its name …. You need to be a millionaire to afford one at this cafe. I was astounded when two coffees and two shortbreads came to £14.70 The coffee I could find on the menu at £3.10 -...

Fab cafe, popped in for coffee but couldn't resist the breakfast menu, had a lovely pancake stack with stunning bacon and maple syrup and checkout the teacakes as they were huge. Also had a wander throughout the bookshop and purchased a couple of books that...

Excellent place, food is delicious and the staff/management couldn’t be more accommodating. Definitely recommend and would come back.

Ordered 2 pininis for £14, goats cheese and vegetables which sounded lovely. Not even a tea spoon of goats cheese in each baguette with no taste. Shame.

We made an eight-hour round trip from Lincolnshire to visit the cafe and bookshop (with family who live on the Welsh border) and it was worth it! The food was delicious - we all have different dietary needs and wants and there was something really...

Four of us visited for lunch, and we all had a really tasty meal. All of us chose something different, and all enjoyed our meals. The varied menu and good quality food satisfied all of our different dietary requirements. Great choice for vegetarians, especially if...

Excellent cafe, with fantastic home made cakes and great service, and very helpful and friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Lovely cafe, super friendly and helpful staff. I am lactose intolerant so I’m always wary of eating out. Great coffee and vegan cake. My daughter has the chilli which she loved.

Arrived at 3:50 for a drink - place was busy but there was one table free - we were told we couldn’t sit there as they had been too busy and weren’t going to serve anybody else despite having a closing time of 5pm! There...

Dog friendly little cafe Behind the book shop, serving simple cooked breakfasts and sandwiches etc for lunch. My pancakes were microwaved, not cooked fresh, but I still really enjoyed my breakfast.

We came to this cafe especially because they catered to people that have a gluten free. We were disappointed to find there were no gluten free cakes and no alternatives were suggested.

Ordered 2 sandwiches and nachos. Wow! The bread was proper doorstop bread and the sandwiches were generously filled!!! Absolutely delicious. Highly recommend! Great friendly staff too.

Really lovely food in the café with very friendly staff. Great service. The bookshop is stocked with interesting books and the menu in the café is imaginative. All the evening events look good too. Highly recommended.

Great sandwiches, the portion sizes were huge. No complaints from us! Also very good coffee, probably the best iced coffee on our trip. Service very friendly and prompt too.

Visited here with friends on a day trip to Crickhowell. The menu is extensive but the food is delicious and is suitable for those with dietary requirements, which is always a bonus! Staff were really friendly and the service was very quick! Would definitely return!

Slow service (staff member too busy talking to visiting friend and then chatting in the kitchen) and both Americanos were weak and not hot. Not one of the 4 customers bothered signing in on paper or using the QR code, and staff weren't interested.

Terrific food - Pea and Mint soup, nachos with salad and Moroccan Chicken Skewers, all brought by friendly, efficient staff and a very good price. A delicious, relaxed lunch. Our favourite place to eat in Crickhowell. Also has a brilliant independent bookshop attached.

A lovely, unhurried and delicious lunch - pea & mint soup, Morrocan chicken skewers for very hungry husband, classic nachos for me. Lovely friendly service, delicious food, great value.

Always have a lovely experience at the Café at Book-ish. The space is bright and airy, with a big loft and plenty of space. Whether you're after a meal or something sweet, there's plenty of choice and the food is always great. The staff are...

Popped in for breakfast on a day trip to Crickhowell, not long after they'd reopened after lockdown. The whole place was spotlessly clean, the staff so friendly and welcoming and the seating and tables comfy (and well spaced out!). The coffee was wonderful, and the...

Our food was brought to us on a tray that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. Our table was filthy and lots of food mess on the floor and seating from previous diners. Had to ask for cutlery. Had to ask for condiments....

Not too much time for lunch at the minute but enjoyed a lovely take away today from bookish cafe. Myself and colleagues enjoyed Bookish Daal and a Veggie pizza. Hot, fresh and delicious! Will definitely return.

I come in here all of the time with friends and always enjoy myself. Delicious teas, nice cakes and a good variety of food. Nice to see that they accommodate both vegan and gluten free option.

Cafe at Book-ish had a great menu with many options for us as vegetarians and for my gluten free husband! A beautiful environment with a sunny loft, perfect place to relax in Crickhowell! Highly recommend for anyone as there is plenty of space for families and getting together with a group of friends :)

We popped into the bookish cafe this morning for a treat to take away and were so impressed that we will be back as soon as we can eat inside (even though it is an hour and a half round trip!) Excellent service and really good prices. Such a good choice and the food was delicious. We particularly recommend the waffles!

I have really missed Bookish in lockdown. Not only does it have great staff, a fantastic selection of books, it also has a brilliant little cafe where you can collapse after the vigorous workout of looking at books, buying books...When they are able, Bookish also put on great author events where you can meet and hear from the writers of some of your favourite books. If you are really lucky there is also wine. All the food groups covered then.

A delicious lunch at a very modest price and with delightful service. Felt very safe throughout. I had the vegetarian pizza which was wonderful but very generous - they kindly packed half of it up for me to take away, my companion had the falafels which she enjoyed immensely; they looked delicious. The staff are so very kind and efficient and the whole lunch was a really positive experience in such difficult times. Thank you Bookish!

We've always loved Cafe @ Bookish and been happy with the food and service but Emma and her team have upped their game since reopening. Comfortable, safe surroundings, efficient and friendly staff and the best pizzas we've had for a long time added to fab coffee and amazing cakes - what more could we ask!

Dropped in for the first time, great welcome from these happy smiling people, all Covid considerations in place, efficient service and best of all best coffee for ages and mushrooms on toast to die for, other half was well taken care of with his chicken and chorizo in focccia bun. Will be back soon.

Had the most amazing Lamb Cawl. So much flavour and really cheered my insides and outside up! Huge soft chunks of granary bread with plenty of butter. PPE all sorted, distanced but still felt part of the cafe atmosphere.

The coffee here is superb! Also had delicious dippy eggs and a really good vegan chocolate cake 😁👍

Oh my goodness, group of 5, the first 3 asked the price of the cakes and refused. We got caught. Sliver of raspberry cake, cold as presumably recently defrosted? £4. A slice of cake that really was a wedge of a small loaf, maybe 2cm at the widest point then decreasing to 1cm, that'll be £3.50. I know it's a tourist place and COVID means takings are down, but this was pretty mean potions for that price

Ordered two coffees and one piece of cake which cost £9:00 coffee cost £2:50 each so cake cost & £4:00 for a thin slice, total rip off I think will not be returning here again.

We visited this cafe 3 times during our short stay nearby. Love the white chocolate and raspberry cake. Very spacious and felt very safe with covid policies in place. Great Welsh rarebit!