Caffi Maes in Gwynedd

Looking for somewhere for morning coffee and thought we would try Caffi Maes. Prime location on the square in Caernarfon. Sat outside on a grey morning in October. My sister who is a coffee connoisseur declared it the best coffee she had ever had!! Nice place to sit and people watch.

We had the warm goats’ cheese salad - really excellent and good value. Nice and cosy with good views. Friendly staff, all great.

A great cafe with friendly staff and delicious food. I had the English breakfast and it was great! A wonderful atmosphere too.

Popped in due to location of the castle and busy Saturday lunchtime. Managed to get a table inside and ordered at the bar. Food came quick enough and all very good with exception of my wife’s meal due to mushroom allergy and her meal turned up with mushrooms. Quickly dealt with and meal was replaced and food was very good and tasty. Thank you for looking after us.

Bwyd fresh blasus, pawb wedi mwynhau a wedi cael llond platiau a fwyd. Staff yn glen ofnadwy, ac mae'r lleoliad yn wych. Edrych ymlaen i alw eto yn fuan.

Undoubtedly the worst lunch I’ve ever purchased. Cheese, spinach & mushroom toastie sounded appealing. 2 slices of hardly toasted, cheap, soggy white bread with a slice of plastic cheese, 2 spinach leaves and mushrooms. Absolutely awful, are the accompanying bit of salad. Husband had chicken Caesar wrap with no Caesar dressing and reheated chips. Chocolate milkshake was milk with a squirt of some chemically tasting syrup. Young lady that served me and young man waiting tables were very nice. Not sure if this has changed hands since the good reviews, there was a lot of left food also from others around us. Such a great location but needs to be taken hold of by someone who knows the industry because this level of food is unacceptable and word spreads.

Excellent cafe, with lovely staff and tasty, made to order food. Dogs welcome too. We had bacon and chicken toastie, and veggie burger. Really filling and excellent! Our dog’s collar came off, and we left it behind, the staff had taken it in and kept it for us. Thank you!!!!!

Vegan salad was amazing. Packed with loads of different foods, really tasty. Excellent service and reasonably priced. Well worth a visit

Popped in on a bright cold day to warm up. The cafe didn’t disappoint with a naughty hot chocolate with cream , marshmallows and a flake. Very friendly and helpful. Most importantly very tasty

5 out of 5 Friendly folk Decent cost Big portions for the cost Wholesome food Good coffee Nice wooden interior and pretty views

Delicious, fresh, unusual, menu description was perfect, enticing and really accurate. Pub quaint worth a visit and food fabulous.

Lovely friendly staff. Really nice coffee. Brilliant atmosphere. One of my go to cafes in Caernarfon.

This cafe is rightly popular with locals and visitors, and is a very comfortable place in which to have a meal. The staff are friendly, efficient and helpful however, it is the outstanding quality of the food, and the generous portion sizes that make it exceptional. It provides, for example, the best vegan salad bowl I have ever eaten which is packed with a such huge variety of fresh ingredients that it must surely provide all your recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables in one wonderful bowl!

Excellent local cafe with lovely staff. Friendly and welcoming. Had a breakfast bap which was clearly made using fresh ingredients. Worth a visit for a nice breakfast or lunch.

Y lle gorau am fwyd cartef! Best place for homemade food and coffee! Lovely and cosy atmosphere. Diolch!

Popped in for breakfast and cuppa on a Saturday morning. Nice location with great view of Castle and Square. Staff friendly was busy but not noisy. Good selection of foods. Also sit down area outside.

OMG Highly Highly Highly recommended. Breakfast was superb well worth the price. The bacon and sausage where sublime.

Arrived to lots of dirty tables, requested it was cleaned (from the blonde girl with pig tails) while checking if it was table service or til order. We waited for table to be cleaned with no joy then ordered food at the till a full English was £9.50 and reminded the same girl. Sat with our coffee(arrived quite quickly) and OJ which was dropped off to the dirty table with somebody else’s leftovers meals in front of us. After having our drinks I decided to chase the table being cleaned and found a gentleman to clean it who was very helpful and apologised for it not being done sooner. Waited for food for around 25mins and noticed that our order hadn’t come, however people who’s order numbers were 6 or 7 in front of us were arriving. Food eventually came and was not particularly warm and it was an average cooked breakfast, sausages weren’t great quality. Toast was cold. The gentleman came back out to apologise however overall it was a terrible visit. I would avoid in future

Stopped for coffee and a cake. Lovely flat white and apple cake. Sat outside with view of the castle

Arrived on Steam loco from Beddgelert, stopped here for lunch- the best toastie I’ve had in yonks! Garlic mushrooms spinach n cheese, ever so tasty and with a gorgeous oat latte! Staff friendly and offered our dogs water bowls when we were served.

Great place with castle view 🙂 very friendly staff. Simply but nice food,delicious coffee A lot of seats inside and outside

Called in Caffi Maes for lunch as our usual cafe was closed (Y Gegin Fach)The coffee was revolting and the kitchen staff need to learn how to spread butter properly but preferably not on stale bread. My advice is give your customer the little butters to do it themselves, (and not margerine which is awful). We will stick to the other cafe !

We walked into what must have the best views in Caernarfon. (What a missed opportunity) We asked a staff member where there seats upstairs? As she had just come down , we where told ‘ I don’t know ‘ We climbed up ( no safety rail here if you got small kiddies be aware of any one is disabled no chance ) It was very hot it was grubby the menu was on a dirty crumbled piece of paper . By the way you make your way back down the mountain to order your food at the counter . The prices are and I kid you not are £8.75 for a toasty £7.75 for a sandwich thank goodness we weren’t looking at a meal . We promptly walked out after climbing down the stairs . It felt grubby and unclean the staff seemed young and uninterested . We won’t be coming back .

Great little spot to grab breakfast, right outside the castle. Breakfast was delicious and nicely presented. Would recommend for a stop to fuel the day.

Me and my wife went in on a Friday lunchtime.We were seated quick.I had a Welsh hamburger and chips, the beef patty was very delicious, the homemade coleslaw was nice too. Not a bad burger.The wife had a jacket potato with prawn Marie, good portion and comes with good size side sealed.We also orded a potato and leak soup to share too, it was a bit salty for both of us i'm afraid.Overall staff were friendly, food served fast. Clean and pleasant eatery. Definitely worth a visit.

We arrived at around 1:40 to get a quick snack before going into the local castle but the service took longer than an hour, along with 30 mins of waiting to order. The food was good but not worth the wait, we were late to going to the castle as we got our food at around 2:50.

Stopped for lunch with my two dogs, met by Rachel - very friendly and helpful - the dogs were given water bowls, very quick to bring food and drinks - gorgeous lamb burger 👍👍👍 highly recommended - huge thks to Rachel

We had a light lunch here while visiting Caernarfon. The wrap we chose and coffees were perfectly fine and it was nice to sit outside and have a close up view of the castle. It was a busy day with quite a queue for service. However the ordering process was efficient as were the staff.No complaints.

Walked in at 4.23pm and staff didn’t look very pleased to see us. Granted they’ve probably been busy but we only wanted coffees! We asked for an extra chair and sat down. Not one member of staff seemed interested in serving us so we simply walked out. They hadn’t noticed and we’re not especially busy. Doesn’t make me want to go in again. Customer service is sooo important.

A very busy cafe. We ordered coffee and had to wait for quite a while. Staff appeared to be overwhelmed.Only one toilet for men, women and baby changing. A lady with a baby got to the toilet before me and by the time she was finished there was quite a queue.

Was not pleased at all. There were plates everywhere when we got there with no staff clearing them.We had to ask the staff to clear the table. The food was very overpriced for what it was, I had a lamb burger which was small and came with goats cheese which was the same size as the burger. My hubby had the maes massive which was undercooked with overcooked onion rings.When our drinks arrived my saucer was badly chipped and seeing how the staff treated the plates no wonder why. They had a black bucket which they just dropped the dirty plates, cups, cutlery and if any food was left on the plate that as well.Also there were loads of food on the floor (nice slip hazard). Not once did a staff member come and check on us. Safe to say not the best experience.Would have just left one star but the view of the castle was nice.

Lovely little cafe just outside the castle. We were in need of a quick drink and snack after travelling and before our visit to the castle. Staff welcomed us in and were really helpful, friendly and kind, especially with our two children. Perfect coffee and cake too. Thank you!

We sat downstairs which was a mistake because it was gloomy - turn the lights up or put some music on. I suggest if you can’t sit outside you go upstairs ( one loo only)Took a while to get to counter to order as it was busy, thought we’d wait for ages but service was quick and portions were massive - have sandwich or baked potato for lighter bite. There’s a kids menu but mine are teens so we weren’t offered that. Five dinners and drinks came in at just over £50. Delicous!They do nice cakes if you don’t need big meal.

We decided to stop for refreshments at this caffi which is very central and overlooks the castle. It was not clear until we asked but you order at the counter and the food and drink is brought to you. The staff where a little disorganised but the drinks arrived reasonably quickly. Helped by the good weather on our visit we sat for a while watching the world go by and enjoying the veiw.

Had a lovely breakfast here, best full fry up we’ve had in ages. Service great, lovely little area downstairs although has outside seating on square. Recommended.

We visited this morning for a breakfast. The young staff were all very friendly and very helpful. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Would definitely recommend a visit

Although I only had toast, marmalade and coffee, it was all timely served and hot. It is in bc a nice setting with views of the castle. Would recommend

Visited for lunch on a weekday in early July 2021. Plenty of seating outside and in, although beware of quite aggressive seagulls if sitting outside.Location is everything here - situated in a square within feet of the castle walls - great view. Wide range of food served, from burgers, scampi etc to jacket potatoes, salads, and sandwiches. All freshly made to order. Wide range of hot and cold drinks including draft beers. We both had jacket potatoes - cheese and beans for my wife and prawns in marie rose sauce for me. Both served with salad and coleslaw. Mine was delicious.

Blumin gorgeous 😍 had a jacket potato with cheese and beans and the amount of filling was fabulous. Fresh salad and pleasant staff. The location is perfect right next to the castle and all very reasonably priced. Highly recommend a visit guys xx

Great little place overlooking castle Excellent lunch and interesting Tuna toasties loved them Nice staff and clean loos

Pre coronavirus visit for family group breakfast, we pre ordered in advance and were given space downstairs which was perfect for us with kids and chatter we were probably quite noisy. I had the welsh rarebit and was not disappointed, served with bacon and tasted amazing. others had full welsh fry up and there was smaller versions for the kids. coffee was fresh and good selection of teas on the menu. right next to the castle this is an ideal place to stop for your coffee or meal. Outside seating for those who had dogs or were smoking.

It was a wet day when we visited. We were hoping to go inside with our dog, but you had to go down a flight of steep stairs. I went up to order at the counter, to find everything wrapped up in cheap cartons. We opted for an eccles cake and a scones. We had our drinks brought to the table. The scone was stale and unpleasant, my dog enjoyed it. The coffee was lovely. Feel it was more like a McDonald's experience. I know these are unusual times. But standards shouldn't slip. Such a shame

Had a lovery breakfast and coffee but unfortunately it came with plastic knife and fork in a polystyrene box. Possibly due to corvid but there are more environmentally friendly options.

If you are looking for breakfast (or a hot drink) before 9 on a weekeday in September than you do not have a lot of choice. We had seen this cafe teh day before and had a nice simple breakfast of coffee and toast sitting in the square.The coffee was Ok and at £1 for 2 pieces of sliced wholemaeal toast with butter and marmalade the foot was excellent value.

Being one of the busiest and widely used caffes in Caernarfon I thought it would be one of the best places for a coffee.The food is great, and truly is a lovely place to take the family.But when it comes to coffee it misses the mark.Watching the “barista” (as I do when buying any coffee) I noticed that the pour was too quick, resulting in a watery and tasteless creation.The steam wand was encrusted with left over milk residue which was at least a day or two old and had turned a dark chestnut colour.The resulting steaming of the milk turned the milk into a frothy mess, closer to meringue than the silky smooth milk required for a flat white.To finalise - I will not be returning to Caffi maes for a coffee, and am too scared to drink the cup I bought through fear for my health.P.s - track and trace book at the front of the building is clearly breaking data protection laws, but the fact I and no one else was even asked to sign it shows how much they care

Very Poor service, expensive food. For some reason they do not have plates and cutlery, food Is served in plastic trays to be eaten with plastic cutlery. Not what you expect when paying premium prices.Un-experienced staff.Food is avarage. The cafe is in a very nice location near the castle.Overall disappointed in the experience and wont be returning.

Really sweet little place with nice outside tables with nice views of the castle and the market square. Breakfast was generous and tasty. Coffee good too. Friendly efficient service.

Lovely food to be had always and lovely attentive staff. Highly recommended for quality food at a good price.

Gai ddiolch ir holl staff am ei gwaith caled. bob tro ydan ni yn galw hefo alffie y ci ir caffi mae pawb yn ty hwnt o glen gyda ni. Bwyd bendigedig a lleholiad da ar sgwsr caernarfon. Diolch o galon i chi gyd x

The food was really great and the girl who took our order was so lovely. (We should have got her name but she had red hair and a big smile and should be praised by management for her brilliant attitude!) The reason stars were taken off was simply because some of the cutlery we received was dirty with dry food stuck on and one of the beer glasses had something stuck to the inside. So the pot-wash might need better attention to detail but everything else was great. Also the tiny pub is really cool too!

Having waited for 15 minutes to be served we were then told there'd be a further minimum 15 minute wait for drinks. Go round the corner to Costa which is a deal more pleasant and had a wait of less than a minute!

Nice caffi with outside seating. Service can be a little slow but they were busy. Nice choice of cakes, particularly impressed with the gluten free options. Would definitely return.

As a tourist myself, I was disappointed by the behaviour of some others as they queued to place their orders. But the staff were so patient and polite with the American woman who prodded the cakes to see how fresh they were (clearly VERY fresh and covered with clingfilm so there was no hygiene issue - just bad manners) and then changed her mind, I felt they deserved a special mention. According to my receipt it was Rachel who was amazingly lovely and calm at quite a busy time. It was a glorious day and we sat outside to enjoy our dirnks and teacakes and the view of the castle.

Absolute shambles of a cafe. An employee of yours dropped a plate of food on my mobile phone and cracked my phone screen. My number, name and email were taken but it was a good job I took the cafe number, email and managers name of Ffion. This happened over two weeks ago, I have called your cafe 6 times (some calls which your colleagues ended the call the moment I asked for the manager), I have sent 3 emails and also sent 3 Facebook messages as your employees advised this may be the best way to contact you. Each time I call I’m told the manager will be in that afternoon or the next morning around 10am which never happens - one employee even told me the manager just comes in as and when. A male employee confirmed today my messages have been passed on yet no responses have been received. As advised in my numerous emails, Facebook messages and telephone calls the quote received to fix the mobile phone is £370 and if I do not receive a response from yourselves I will be seeking further legal action. This situation is proving your establishment and members of management are unprofessional and do not have due care for their customers. Today I have called 10 times, 3 times the phone was put down when I asked for a manager and twice it was picked up and left on the side.

We loved our rarebit and coffees! Veggie Breakfast was fresh and soooo buttery and yummy! Loved every bite of it! Diolch!

Definitely stop hear for a coffee and some Walsh cakes a treat for everyone the staff are very friendly and helpful and the coffee is good to overall excellent enjoy

Really would recommend this caffe. Friendly staff. Elela and Paul made you feel welcome and as I said in title delicious Welsh cakes

We wanted to get some lunch on Sunday and wandering around caernarfon realised most of the restaurants were shut! This ended up being lucky for us as we ended up at Caffi Maes. The adults ordered burgers and the kids had box meals, all of them were superb! Even the chips were a highlight! Highly recommend!!

Very, very busy at lunchtime but there is a constant turnover, so tables come free quite quickly. The food was tasty and fresh. Bar in the cellar with good range of drinks.

Very close to the castle and on the square, hence the name Maes. Worth visiting to sit and soak in the view of the castle and to see Lloyd George pointing.

Cosy bar, with good food. Also served excellent cakes and coffee in the afternoon. Tables and seats or on the square with great views of the castle.

This cafe is situated in the middle of town and is easy to find. A nice spot to sit in or out.

Ok so let's start with the positives. The food is ok and the Resteraunt is in a nice location. When I ordered I was told they couldn't mess about with the menu even tho what I asked for was on the menu. This seemed to get a very childish reaction by someone who appeared to be the supervisor but I did receive an apology later saying they were busy which I accepted.

Visited for breakfast which were well presented and good portions. Impressed by the coffee - well made and smooth. It is an order at bar cafe directly opposite the castle and water and all that seemed to be open at 8.30am! We would return it was an un rushed experience seemed to be lots of local cyclists and locals which is always a good sign

Stopped for tea and cake - ordered, paid and sat out front. Inside were 4 teenagers that were clealry more interested in chatting then serving. Other members of our tour group had already been waiting a coniderable time. After we had waited far too long, I went in and complained about the long wait and was assured that our drinks were coming. After further unacceptably long wait our teas arrived - they were just warm. Went in and complained. There were no managers available - just the teenage children so I commented that "you children need supervision". Gosh did they look like they had been scolded. They gave me dagger looks from then on. Spoilt what was a great day at the castle.

Sat outside facing the bustling Castle Square. Good inexpensive toasted sandwiches and coffee. You queue to order inside but service is quick and efficient. Good lunch option.

Lovely friendly staff. Good veggie options. Nothing was too much trouble. Nice tables outside in square. Quick service. Café backs on to part of Wales's smallest pub.

Food is always good and lovely to be able to sit on Y Maes with the dog when the weather is nice. Welsh rarebit recommended. Staff are very friendly. Just watch out for the seagulls that come looking for food if siting outside.

Had a burger and chips and a ham with chips and egg. Lovely food, the burger and chips were lovely and the ham was absolutely gorgeous. Waited a short time but was worth it. Very friendly staff too.

After visit the castle we decided to have late lunch at Caffi Maes. There were some other places we could eat at the Castle Square bit this one looked the most appealing. I must say the food was really tasty, the portions were good size. We also had coffee and cakes which again were tasty. The biggest drawback was the wait. The cafe has a lot of tables outside and it was a busy day so we waited three quarters of an hour, easily. Good job that the cakes you buy at the counter so we did not starve to death while waiting for our lunch ;-)

After myself and my partner had visited the castle we decided to stop at this caffi for lunch. I am unable to rate the food as the Seagulls got to it before I'd even had the chance to pick up my knife and fork. My advice if eating outside be very wary as the Seagulls are lethal. I complained to the caffi staff about what had happened and asked for a refund. They refused a refund and also we had no apology or any goodwill offer towards the cost of the meal we never ate. £20 for absolutely nothing........my review......EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!

Excellent service by pleasant courteous staff. Everything was freshly prepared and well presented . Spotlessly clean , I am now a regular caller here.

After a three hour stint in the castle, this cafe was like Mecca. I had the Welsh rarebit and followed it with a tea and Vicky sponge. I cannot move. I am in foodie heaven.

This looked like a really quirky and nice place to pass some time while waiting for our coach (50 mins).... I waited in the cramped queue for over half an hour to get served, then waited another ten minutes for the drink to come out to us (we only ordered a latte) which meant we had less than 5 mins to sit and drink it. I used the toilets in the small pub that is part of the cafe (downstairs) and the door doesn’t open properly, has the hand dryer as an obstacle on the other side and smells horrible. I was very disappointed as the place looked like it would be lovely, the latte was ok though, and I saw a good range of products while queuing (gluten free, dairy free etc).

Mynd i Caffi Maes bob tro dw i yn y dre - hyd yn oed pan mae'n brysur, mae'n le braf iawn i eistedd efo panad a sbïo ar y byd yn mynd heibio.

Went in the basement bar to catch a light bite. Pleasant enough reception. Interesting use of an old cellar space.

Due to this cafe's location in the square adjacent to the castle, it gets very busy indeed. As a result of this, we had a long wait for our breakfast to arrive at out outside table. Having said that, the staff are extremely friendly and apologised for the delay. What we had (bacon bap, sausage bap) was nice and tasty so can't really complain.

We visited the cafe on a lovely sunny day ages ranged from 5 years up to 40 (ish)! There was plenty of choice on the menu for the adults and the children. All the food was great, plenty of seating (we sat outside) and the serving time was good. There is a link to a bar downstairs for those wanted a lovely cold cider on a beautiful sunny day! Yummy cakes too!

Had a good lunch sitting outside here in the gorgeous sunshine. So a lunch with a cup of tea for two, ham and eggs and chips, and an enormous salad with roasted vegetables and hoummas, certainly fitted the bill for us on this Easter Saturday and was very reasonable at about £20. Caernarfon was pretty busy and the castle square was full of people eating, drinking and visiting, whicThe staff were friendly and extremely efficient at a very busy time.

Welcoming staff, reasonable prices, high quality. Everything you want. Do try the Rarebit, very nice. Added touch are the real flowers on each table.

Lovely little cafe with an outside seating area right outside the castle and over looking a bit of the harbour. Roedd y coffi yn bendigedig hefyd/Coffee was excellent too

Had lunch, lovely proper chips with ham and egg. Excellent broccoli and stilton soup. Good service and prices.

came here fro breakfast. Was told that the standard full breakfast came as it was - I hate beans but no they came too. bacon cooked so much it was impossible to bite through. Awful coffee Such a pity as no need

Lovely place, cakes looked delicious but we were there for lunch, run very efficiently by nice staff, quickly served .

Good for everyday café food of a high standard, including one of the few places you can get genuine lobscows. Good cakes. Reasonable prices. Welsh staff. Lovely to sit out on the square fro your meal - but beware the seagulls; locals grab a table inside!!

Good breakfast, good service, good size serving. Good selection of choice. Food arrive quickly and was hot.

Went in with my Mum to order something for lunch.

Great food in the Christmas Dinner evening. Black pudding and goats cheese starter was excellent. Lovely turkey dinner and a cointreau and chocolate cheesecake. We had several bottles of wine that were not too expensive. Great night

Caffi Maes is on the Castle Square ‘maes’ in Caernarfon. They have a comprehensive menu. I had the soup of the day, spicy chicken, mushrooms and pulses. Absolutely delicious and warming. The quality of the bread could be improved though. Coffee was delicious and the service was good. Staff speak Welsh and English and it’s great to hear Welsh spoken there. Thank you - Diolch

I had the best mushroom soup at this restaurant; I still dream about the taste of it and wish I could duplicate it. I accidentally left my camera behind and the staff was kind enough to ensure it was returned to me and included a lovely, warm note.

After we had wandered around Caernarfon, taking in most of the tourist attractions, we felt like a cup of coffee and maybe some cakes.

Popped in here as alternative to a full breakfast - bacon roll and coffee was great value and good service and nice atmosphere -not posh but friendly and welcoming

Stopped in for coffee and Welsh cake before visiting the castle, then returned for lunch. Good food, fast service, friendly staff.

Popped in before visiting the castle for a pick-me-up and was really nice. Friendly, good few cakes and nice cup of tea. Recommended

My husband & I first visited Caffi Maes a couple of yrs ago. Today 26/10 we returned to enjoy another tastey lunch. Dog friendly - entry through door down side street into amazing little quirky pub bar area. Our 2 Jack Russells received a warm welcome & we sat on a dinky cushioned little settle with table. Although I have many allergies there were many things I could safely eat. Lovely meals. Such friendly staff, friendly 'regulars' & super food. This place is a real joy - love it, love it, love it!

Located just across road from castle entrance.

Muy lindo lugar para degustar un muy buen café. Después de visitar el castillo, es el lugar ideal para descansar. El ambiente es hermoso y la atención muy buena.

I would say that this cafe is practically self-service. You have to find a vacant table first, then get you own menu, then go downstairs to order, get you own can of pop from the cooler, and take these and plastic glasses (not particularly clean) back upstairs. When the food arrives, you then have to go back downstairs to get your own cutlery.

I’ve always heard good things about Caffi Maes but never visited until today Sunday 30/9.

I have visited this cafe on many occasions and have also written a previous review extolling its virtues. However on our last visit service was poor to say the least.