Coffee Barker in Cardiff

One of Cardiff's best and coziest coffee shops I think. Tucked away down Castle Arcade, serves really good coffee and bits to go with it. If you're lucky enough to get one of the more cozier seats or booths, you could find yourself not wanting to leave. Turns into Rum & Fizz bar in the night, which is also a great place to head for on a night out

The pictures don't do it justice, they don't convey the warm comfortable atmosphere, tunes and decor, lovely coffee and cake and staff. If I lived in Cardiff, this would be my regular coffee hangout.

Coziest coffee lounge in Cardiff. Lovely warm lighting and polite service. Is quite over priced but nice as a treat if u love cozy places

The coolest coffee shop I've ever been in. We only had coffee but the food looked amazing.

What a great coffee shop in the heart of Cardiff. I found this place because of Google and so glad I did. I would go as far to say the best looking coffee shop I have ever seen. Really unique decor. Breakfast was a whopping £16.49 which is quite expensive for an English breakfast but it did taste really good. Follow this up with a latte and I was a happy chappy. Staff were really great and friendly. Such a great atmosphere and ambience. I will definitely be back!!!

Unfortunately, I have had to update my initial 5 star review due to two changes made in recent months. Coffee Barker is now cashless and therefore discriminates against older customers & those who understand the dangers of a cashless society. They also replaced the nice Coffee cups with glasses, but that's just my own personal taste.

Nice little bistro style cafe in the heart of Cardiff. We sat Parisian style outside. Great for chilling out and people watching. Nice coffee and cake.

Visited today, paid £37 for two coffees and bagels. Waited an hour for food. Both bagels were underwhelming and not worth the money. Such a shame because it's normally so nice. Only redeeming factor is the atmosphere

Definitely a coffee place to go in Cardiff.

Lovely staff and a great atmosphere, one of our party got a scrambled egg breakfast which they said was delicious, our door stoppers were not quite as good. But overall would recommend

Popped in to this gorgeous coffee shop for a coffee and cake mid afternoon. The decor is stunning and there is such a lovely vibe about the place. It was heaving and we did well to find a table. I had a chai latte and it was the best I’ve ever had. Apparently the coffees and hot chocolates were also excellent as was the cake. Very friendly waiting staff. Definitely the coffee shop to be in when in central Cardiff.

Coffee Barker had atmosphere from the start. We were looking for a place to have a coffee as tourists to Cardiff and we happened across this place in the arcade. To get into the coffee shop we walked further into the narrow street of the Arcade and the view was stunning ✨👌🖼️ We went inside and luckily grabbed a seat right next to the window where we could enjoy more of the view 👀 The atmosphere on the inside was warm and intimate. If you wanted to caption the vibe it would be the whole industrial dark academia ✒️ We got a whole ye olde bronze lamp on our table, added to the feel, and everybody loves a repurposed bottle. Long live vases 💐 COFFEE WISE ☕ The coffee was great and the service was quick. It took the entirety of ONE MINUTE for the coffee to arrive from the bar to the table. Couldn't have been any faster 🏃‍♂️💨 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Great coffee and great breakfast. The flat white was extremely tasty and the chunky bread with avocado and salmon was great. Friendly staff, great atmosphere and even the music was right 😉

We only had coffee, but lovely coffee if was, sat in this beautiful Victorian arcade.

Amazingly decorated little coffee shop. Variety of seating arrangements was highly welcome. The leather sofas were a delight. On the expensive side but worth it.

Having your coffee in a Victorian gallery what a treat. Those who know the Parisian passages will surely appreciate the place.

This is a beautiful cafe in an amazing location. I revisited due to the quality of the food I experienced last year when visiting Cardiff. What a disappointment! I just had 2 fried eggs on gluten free toast as I'm celiac. One egg was overcooked with hard yoke, the other egg was strange, it was half and half with yoke and the white was the same. Very clever to achieve an over and under cooked egg. It was made to look fancy with a bit of garnish and spice. The bread, you can get some great quality gluten free bread now from a bakers so had expected chunky toast like advertised, instead I had thin bread that was like cardboard to eat and far from toasted. I had to take off the eggs to put the very nice butter (only good bit) to make it pallitable. I was very hungry and had waited a while so ate it and thought, my last visit. I was going to return with hubby tomorrow before going home but it just isn't worth the money. It wasn't cheap! I now can see why it's not as busy as last year. Sorry guys but you just didn't produce the goods this time.

Breakfast- very poor and very expensive. Rock hard sausage, overcooked bacon, rubbery eggs, watery beans. Good toast , butter pat and coffee. £16.50 without coffee. Overstaffed bar. Perfunctory, blank, indifferent bar service. Give this place a swerve. Nobody there cares.

Visited this coffee house several times and it’s well worth seeking out for the Coffee or light food . Located in a narrow Victorian arcade, the building is cosy and comfy. Coffee is consistently good and staff friendly.

Café in a beautiful location! The breakfast is really tasty, with good food and nice coffee! I tried the avocado toast and the Nutella latte! Definitely recommend!

Great atmosphere. Lovely food. Warm & welcoming.

Lovely atmosphere and décor, staff also seem kind. However, food is pricy (£20 for full breakfast and a pot of tea) so I was expecting the standard to be high! However, bacon was really overcooked and completely inflexible, the sausage I think was either overcooked or had freezer burn as it was tasteless and chewy on the skin, and the scrambled eggs were pretty bland and arrived cold, as were the mushrooms. I’m really not a fussy eater, I didn’t have time to eat again before a busy day, so reluctantly finished my plate - the absolute saving grace was the (I’m assuming!) locally made doorstop bread and butter! Really delicious! If the chef is looking for honest feedback I hope this helps - I think it’d also be nice to be offered a choice of what eggs to cook with the breakfast. I’m sure however it’s a lovely place to bask in the atmosphere with a good book and a coffee :)

Food prices are a complete rip off

Perfect for a decent breakfast 👌

Great venue amazing space in the centre of Cardiff.

Nice place tucked in the shopping centre. The staff were friendly and the food nice, quite pricey but good quality.

Great visit and fantastic pannini.

Friendly staff, beautifully decorated and top quality coffee!

Had afternoon tea, yes maybe more expensive then elsewhere, but nice food and plenty of it. Took what we couldn't eat at the time home. Milkshake was huge and very tasty.

Lovely place to meet friends and have a drink . First time here

Lovely place. Good coffee and cakes, nice atmosphere.

Excellent coffee and toast like door stops

Yummy selection of cakes. Generous amount of Soya milk with my tea. Great location. All staff were polite and friendly. Would recommend.

Lovely Venue, Great Location By Cardiff Castle, Dog Friendly & Good Service. They Open Early For Breakfast Which Is Great To Know.

this was my second visit to coffee barker, having the exact same breakfast, and i can safely say that it has been consistently amazing. you can tell the ingredients are of great quality, the bacon is thick and cooked crispy, the sausages are herby and tasty, and the scrambled eggs are creamy and lush! the star of the show is, and always will be, the toast! super thick cut (you can tell) homemade bread, that could almost bring a tear to my eye at how good it is! my only downfall is that the beans are a bit thin for me, i personally prefer mine to be more thicker and stodgier. if you’re looking for a good and hearty breakfast then you need to visit coffee barker.

Great service in a relaxed atmosphere.

This place was recommended by the concierge where we’re staying - advertised they serve breakfast until 1pm, decided as my partner was literally halfway through ordering with the person at the counter that they’d just stop serving it early.

The decor was lovely, and seating along the arcade was really nice! Had an English breakfast tea and latte which were average, but overall atmosphere makes this a good spot for a cuppa!

I had a nice time here however I was a little disappointed that my breakfast items came without butter on the toast, this ruined most of my meal as it was very dry without.

Nice coffee, fabulous atmosphere

Super funky venue, lovely atmosphere and décor. Awesome crockery. Great tomato soup and bread, slightly on the pricey side.

We had breakfast in this cafe. The dish was hearty, like an English breakfast. We enjoyed ourselves but the bacon was super salty and even too salty. So we left them because they were difficult to eat like this. The toast was killer. Too good. The café is located in the arcades and the decor and atmosphere are just amazing. I adore. It's intimate. Too bad you have to order at the counter then get your coffee from the counter yourself in addition to napkins and glasses of water. Only your dishes are brought back to you at the table.

Nous avons pris le petit déjeuner dans ce café. Le plat était copieux, à l’image d’un petit déjeuner anglais. Nous nous sommes régalés mais les bacons étaient super salés et même trop salés. Nous les avons donc laisser car difficile à manger ainsi. Le pain grillé était une tuerie. Trop bon. Le café se trouve dans les arcades et la déco et l’ambiance sont juste topissime. J’adore. C’est intimiste. Dommage qu’il faille commander au comptoir puis prendre son café depuis le comptoir soi même en plus des serviettes et des verres d’eau. Seulement vos plats vous sont ramenés à table.

We had a coffee, got in just before the rush so got a nice seat outside in the passage, lovely place, will definitely be back for more soon as we can

What a lovely place...!! Called in for lunch, but their choices were limited so left. Will definitely be back for coffee

I've eaten breakfasts from New York, Hong Kong and Dubai. This was, without doubt, the best breakfast I've ever had!

We had a fantastic full cooked breakfast at Coffee Barker. The produce was absolutely delicious but the doorstep toast stole the show! The icing on the cake? The individual portions of fairly locally made butter. It was delicious! All items were nice and hot too. I also loved the large pot of tea! The only issue for me was the seats are not too comfortable. The choice was either high stools, or low settees/chairs. As I have a lower right leg full of metal, this was a bit uncomfortable. The toilets are down some steep stairs too, but they can't help that! Great for a short visit, but I couldn't have settled in for another cuppa! It certainly would not put me off visiting again though as the food was really good.

Great coffee shop, quick service, fabulous coffee and the sausage and egg door step sandwich for breakfast was enough to keep me going all day. Would recommend.

Lovely spot to relax in Cardiff. Great coffee. Lovely breakfast. I had scrambled eggs on rustic toast. There was as good range on the menu. Great atmosphere but by far the best part for me was the service. Lovely attentive staff. Nothing was too much trouble.

Can't say enough brilliant things about here. My default place for meetings that are of a more gentile manner. Great, great great breakfast. Toast is proper doorstep toast I'll be back as soon as I can!

We didn't eat, but the coffee was great, as was the service. Really chic atmosphere there too, great to chill out there.

Totally recommended site. The food is delicious, plus the bread for the sandwiches or toast is huge and very juicy. The staff is very friendly. The decoration of the place is very curious, vintage style.

What a find! Lovely staff, tasty food and cakes, and so atmospheric and cosy. We were visiting Cardiff for the weekend and came in for coffee but ended up having lunch and tea and cake! What a fab place, so quirky but welcoming. We could have stayed all day. If only they did rooms too! Really worth visiting and I can't wait to return.

Only good if you want to sit in a cafe with mind blowing interiors - absolutely stunning! However , the coffee and food are below average at best. Not worth the money spent unfortunately.

I only had a coffee while I waited to have an appointment. Wish I tried coffee barker year's ago the atmosphere was grate

Atmosphere is a feast for the eyes, so authentic, lovely food & people .. didn’t wanna leave - a must visit in Cardiff

Lovely, lovely, lovely place. Filled with lots bobs and bits to keep your eyes busy. Nice music that isn’t blaring in your ears. Cool location. Good cafe to sit and read or get work done. Had a black americano extra shot, it was amazing. Perfect temp, quality coffee, extra strong.

Very cozy place to drink tea and have a good time

Nice atmosphere, I like the interior design of this coffee. Been there twice and definitely visit more!

I'm very confused about this place. It has got a perfect city center location, interior decor and helpful staff. The cake and coffee were decent but the vegan sausage sandwich was not nice. The sausage was dried out and had no taste. You need to reconsider picking a different brand. They don't generally taste good when re-heated or overcooked 😞 Good luck!

Great atmosphere but they use super low quality kitchenware and their teapots are rusty. They even claim that it’s tea marks. They are not. Check your kitchenware if you don’t want to eat/drink rust.

We can't say anything about the food because we only drank coffee there. We can recommend this as well as the ambience.

Huge portions. Nice ambience. Excellent-2 ladies loos and 1 male. They had to que!!!!!

This great little coffee bar/cafe/restaurant is tucked away in one of many arcades in Cardiff's castle quarter. Staff are friendly and there is inside and outside seating. Menu is short, but drink and food options should cater for most tastes. Prices are comparable to others in the area.

Gorgeously eclectic café situated in the beautiful Castle Arcade. It was very busy when we popped in for a coffee, but thankfully we managed to find seats inside. The weather was pretty grim, and although the outdoor seating is sheltered within the arcade it was still pretty cold - sitting inside was much more cosier, comfortable and warmer. I really enjoyed absorbing the cafés gorgeous decor - and the Chai Latte I ordered was equally superb.

Had some breakfast here whilst I was visiting Cardiff. Really liked the coffee & avocado toast with chorizo (really proper bread). Coffee was also really good. Only thing I was slight underwhelmed by the juices as they weren’t fresh juices. Really nice staff though & great atmosphere.

Very nice place, food is great. The interior is the highlight for my visit, great ambience and aesthetic. Would visit again!

Gorgeous coffee and snacks in a fabulous atmosphere. Beautiful decor and background music. We will be back. Thanks

We went to Coffee Barker twice during our two day break in Cardiff. Coffee Barker is located in the Castle Arcade. The Castle Arcade is part of the three Grade II listed Victorian and Edwardian arcades in Cardiff. All of the arcades have some amazing original architectural features, which make the arcades quite special. The interior of Coffee Barker was filled with low seating (armchairs and sofas) and (coffee) tables. This created a perfectly relaxed setting. First time we ordered the Tuna Melt Paninis. They were presented with a good side salad portion. The Paninis were also fairly substantial. Served on a super soft panini roll, the tuna mix was nicely blended with mayonnaise, red onion, tomato and pepper. For me there was a little too much red onion as I have a low tolerance of onion but after the removal of some, it was delicious and cheesy. For drinks we had a cappuccino and a hot chocolate, which were both good. On our second day we returned for brunch. We ordered Scrambled Egg with Chunky Toast. We chose to share a couple of sides of tomatoes and mushrooms too. The scrambled eggs were plentiful but could have been more moist than they were. I was glad of the wet that the tomato added. Overall the breakfast was pleasant.

Lovely relaxing place to visit and good selection

Amazing scrambled eggs on toast the service was great too definitely would recommend going

Visiting Cardiff to watch a match at the Arms Park we wandered around looking for somewhere to lunch and really struck lucky in the Castle Arcade. We both opted for baked potatoes with two fillings. It was served promptly with a decent amount of salad, not a mini salad garnish. Coffee was good. All in all a great find with very cheerful staff. Next time I'll try a doorstep sandwich, they looked great!

Met in Barkers for a business meeting. Had to leave as a workman decided to start drilling right next to us and we couldn't hear ourselves think! This was at 3 pm and the cafe was really full. It's shame they couldn't do repair works when the place is closed.

Visited for breakfast and coffee which was lovely. Food choices were good and what I chose was delicious. The coffee is lovely, able to choose plant based options too. Overall, a very lovely visit, would happily recommend and visit again.

Friendly & welcoming nice vibe great coffee Will definitely return , relaxing place to be & spend time out

The poached egg was completely overcooked and very rubbery. The toast was cold. It's a beautiful cafe, but it was also very cold in there. Staff seemed friendly.

Disappointed and cheated!! Called in for lunch with friends. Very quiet at the time of visiting on January 12th. Not very busy at all. Sat at a front window seat therefore used front bar to place order. Placed my loyalty card on counter. Ordered two cappuccinos one Panini and a jacket potato. The young lady served up the cappuccinos and said the food would follow shortly, took payment for the order but ignored the loyalty card. I asked if she would stamp my card holding it up. To my disappointment and surprise I was informed that I could not have the loyalty card stamped at the front bar, only the far end bar. At no point was this made clear to me even though the card had been in clear sight while ordering. Also why take food and coffee orders from this bar if you cannot use the loyalty facility offered by the Barker's chain!!

Pretends to be a separate place to the surrounding places but is really the same place

A pleasant enough coffee shop, though the price is higher than I think is justified. The drinks were nice, but I have had better elsewhere in Cardiff. The cakes were pleasant enough, but don't really stand out from other coffee shops. The ambience and vibe is lovely. Comfortable seating in a beautifully styled environment does make it feel like you are somewhere a bit special. It's a shame the staff don't reinforce that atmosphere with effective service. Though pleasant and polite enough, it has felt understaffed when I've visited, with long waits for service. Not particularly accessible for wheelchair users due to layout and furniture.

Nice place to have brunch in Cardiff's City Centre! Cozy and intimate environment

Spent 2 hours in the bar, it had a lovely atmosphere and the music was great, the service was very good , My partner and I will return and highly recommended the bar

Asked for two large Sauvignon was given it in warm glases complained to barman and was given another 2 warm glasses as if they had just come out of the dishwasher complained again and he filled the new glasses with ice and left me to get on with it myself. ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE CHILLED WINE OUT OF THE FRIDGE DOES NOT GO IN WARM GLASSES

Long wait, over priced, poor quality. Visited on a quiet Tuesday morning (only 5 tables take) however, took 45 minutes to receive advacado egg on toast which had zero taste and bead and egg freezing cold. Wayyyyyy overpriced. Plenty of better and cheaper places around. Won't be back. Poor service.

Second time I’ve taken my mother out for a coffee and a bite to eat.Lovely laid back atmosphere in comfortable surroundings.Great coffees plus hot food such as tasty paninis. I’m old enough to remember Barkers clothes shop where I used to go to buy a shirt on a Friday lunchtime for an evening out so it’s lovely to see that the building is still being used. Lovely courteous staff and friendly customers.Definitely return at a later date.

Waited and waited, nothing happened. No service, despite 4 staff behind the counter. And, it wasn't even busy...

My parents love it in there and when they visit we always go. A Cardiff staple. Always enjoyable. With personality.

Lovely comfortable seating and excellent service. Great atmosphere fir a family gathering. Very pleasant helpful staff. Wound recommend to anyone visiting Cardiff shopping centre

was very busy though so lots of plates and cups hanging about, good, quick service, lovely spot in arcade and nice place to spot for a lovely coffee

Delicious breakfast, comes in very big portions so you get a lot for what you pay for. Very filling and tastes may vary, but overall, very delicious breakfast. Some of the hot drinks might not be as warm/hot but either way, very nice food!

Amazing coffee shop, atmosphere and decor alone worth a visit but their coffee and food also divine x hit pricey for coffee but you expect this in city centre and overall experience means can justify spending bit more x

I love this place! There's always such a nice atmosphere. For lunch there's lovely paninis or baked potatoes for example. Coffee is good too.

Always a beautiful experience , gorgeous coffee in beautiful surroundings with friendly customer focussed staff

My favorite place for coffee in day and a checky gin on weekends lol

Really tasty food here and lovely atmosphere! I got a brownie which was really nice. The only reason I haven’t given it 5 stars is because I thought that the hot chocolate was quite overpriced, £5.50 is too much for what was a really nice, but pretty typical hot chocolate. If you are willing to pay for the lovely atmosphere then i definitely recommend but just don’t expect cheap drinks.

Warm and snug, ideal for a cold winters day. Great coffee and service. A good place to go to while away spare time or meet friends or family.

Very reluctant to review as I dont want people knowing just how fabulous this place is. We have been a few times now and is such a lovely place ..one end is a very atmospheric bar with lovely lighting and comfy seating the other end is a cafe with the most delicious cakes & also comfy seating ..this place is our number 1 go to when we r ready for sit down with some lovely drinks & cakes ...perfect! The service has always been superb too 👍🏻

Beautiful place! The staff are very friendly and polite and the food is delicious! I always visit when I’m the town centre.. it has a calming effect when life is so busy. Well done 👏

I actually went three times in three days. This is my favourite cafe in Cardiff. We first discovered 5 years ago and then didn’t visit Cardiff again until recently. In our 3 visits we had the mixed berry smoothie twice - it is excellent / hot chocolates twice - excellent/ food - eggs on toast, Indonesian chickpea soup, tomato and mozzarella panini and rocky road. The panini and rocky road were so big and that I wrapped them up and picnicked on the remains on the way home. Location lovely. Seating lovely. Jazz music lovely.

Wonderfully aesthetic coffee shop/ brunch location. Great music and cozy vibes. Many vegan options available :)

Very atmospheric coffee shop in the heart of Cardiff. Well worth seeking out in the arcades at the Castle end of St Mary Street