The Big Rock Cafe in Gwynedd

Popped in today, (I haven't been for a while) and chose Welsh Rarebit. It was pre made and whizzed under a grill to heat. It is served without any garnish, on a very thick slice of bread with an extremely thin layer of an egg, cream, leek and mustard concoction, with Zero cheese and Zero flavour, and to top it all it was barely warm. I asked for it to be reheated , but sadly even that offered no improvement. It was basically soggy eggy bread. For £5.50 I expected better and at least some cheese. Big Rock used be great, but has sadly been declining since Graham left, imo. They need to up their game because there is now far better to be had in Port. I for one won't be returning.

The atmosphere was very welcoming with a lot fire in each room to warm us up after the rain had poured down on us. Dog friendly too which is always a plus for us! The food was great and we thoroughly enjoyed our short time here. Would return.

Lovely and friendly staff. Warm and welcoming. Great coffee and fantastic food! Fresh bakery with sweet and savoury treats. Round the back, extended seating and clean facilities. Great family atmosphere

I fell in love with this place whilst holidaying in Wales. Great coffee, great service and vegan jam doughnuts amazing 😋 Very quirky inside and nice atmosphere with plenty of seating. Will certainly be visiting again when in beautiful Wales ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Fantastic place ,either for just a hot drink or food . Individual style cafe /coffee shop. The Barista was very professional. Serving great coffee. Had a delicious rock cake . Good value for money.

Very hot day and I had a half hour wait before an appointment, so I popped in for their refreshing elderflower, lemon and mint slushy. So delish! It was quieter inside as the children are now back to school, so I had the comfy sofa to myself. Checked my email on the free WiFi, then had a nice chicken salad to go. Lovely homemade coleslaw, which is definitely not diet friendly, but very tasty.

Amazing! The best cafe in Porthmadog / surrounding area. We have been a couple of times before and staff are always friendly and happy to help out. We had a verity of foods, salads, burritos, cakes - and they cater to vegetarian/ vegans too. Great quality food. We visit yearly to Porthmadog and this place is now a regular stop off after a day out! Look forwards to returning next year, and have our adventure flapjack to remind us of the trip 😊.

Quaint looking cafe with goods displayed tantalisingly. I opted for the scotch egg, which was overcooked and dry, with little seasoning. My son opted for a bacon and cheese pastry which again disappointed. My wife, who is vegetarian, enquired to see if any fresh butternut squash hommity pies were available (as the ones on display were uncovered and had a few flies on them) only to be told they were to warm to serve, without any options to wait. The chumba wumba cake was really good though. Cover the food and smile occasionally!

Coffee was really good But I have to say I did find the man behind the counter quite stand offish I just feel it could of been a nicer service than it was !! We used to love coming in here for food but I doubt if we would rush back which is a real shame

The best place to eat lunch in Porthmadog! Love the menu, the staff were so helpful and tons of space to sit and eat.

The best cafe/bakery in Porthmadog!! Wether it's fresh bread, cakes, salads, coffee or breakfast you are after this is the place to go 😁. The staff are friendly and chatty, even when the guy making coffee could barely hear me ( sorry I've been ill my voice keeps going). And Yes the Coffee is better than Costa!!! I will be back next month with the family, apparently I owe my brother a coffee for coming here alone today 😂

We have been to this cafe many times before, which speaks volumes by it’s self. The staff are always pleasant and helpful and the food is incredibly tasty. We always call in whenever we’re in the area.

We always look forward to visiting The Big Rock Cafe when we’re in Porthmadog and it didn’t disappoint. My Sisters fell in love with Chai Latte and the homemade jam doughnuts were amazing. Can’t wait to go back.

Word of advice, when you almost cremate your sausage rolls royce don't pack them hidden from your customer so they don't know what they're buying. Used to love this shop but won't be back again after this experience, very disappointed in the deviousness, good way to lose customers and recommendations.

Wow! I feel I am abit of a sponge cake enthusiast and the huge Victoria sponge cake I bought was incredible! Probably gonna last me a while but that’s not a bad thing either I also bought some monkey bread which is equally delicious and also an artisan loaf which I will be eating for my breakfast, such friendly staff also!! I came in shortly after closing and was warmly welcomed in anyway thank you so much! What a lovely little cafe that I will rant about to everyone :)

THE BEST doughnuts ever. Freshly made, huge, jammy and chewy. THE BEST doorstep sarnies. Slabs of soft white artisan bread, good fillings. AMAZING Eccles cakes. Jammed with fruit, sugary, crunchy pastry. REDICULOUSLY gorgeous Lotus biscuit slab, deeply chocolatey and dense brownies, huge cookies, and those iced topped buns are a meal in themselves. CHILLED and VERY COOL server (must be the boss - ginger beard guy - you are the tops :) My son accidently dropped his Lotus slab on the floor as he was leaving the shop - snatched it up, 20 second rule. But chilled, very cool guy insisted he replace it with another one but when we got outside found he'd put two replacements in the bag. THE MAN. Thank you - made my son's day! I return to Black Rock cafe every year when I'm in Portmadog. Love sitting in the cosy, quirky cafe with my dog when it's pouring outside, or snatching a fantastic lunch to take to the beach. Either way, don't miss this place. Sorry to have found you closed during covid times when you had to care for a relative. Hope life is easier for you now.

The best bakery in Wales. You can smell the delicious aromas before you see it. As a chef I always search out small independent food businesses. This one doesn’t fail my senses. We bought a fresh spelt loaf last week and we’ve spent the whole week dreaming of coming back for another hot, nutty, loaf. As we arrived .Aled greeted us and told us the heavenly smell we’d experienced walking down the high street was the warm hot Welsh cakes coming out of the oven. We had one each with salty butter melted all over the top. I just don’t have the adjectives to describe the sensation… Supporting local is easy with this quality on Porthmadog high street! I’m off to hack a wedge of gorgeous loaf for tea. Don’t miss it

Last year I would give them 5*s. But having gone there for lunch on Friday, I have never seen a place go downhill so fast. I should have expected something when we turned up at 12:30 to find no queue. Previously there would be a...

A lovely and welcoming place with great coffee. Their baking is amazing too, the cinnamon buns are beautiful.

I visited this cafe during my visit to Porthmadog recently and WOW the Monkey Bread was stunning! It was freshly made the morning I bought it and I don’t think I’ve tasted anything like it. I ended up taking one home to my Father who...

What a lovely find - a warm welcome and the most perfect bakery goods - we sampled the homity pie, the muddy welly, the burrito - all were superb - we were only in the locality for a week and returned for a second visit...

I was visiting somewhere nearby for a family birthday and made a special trip into Porthmadog to visit this bakery. I’d followed the bakery on Instagram months before after researching food places in the area because this one looked the best by far! I came...

Its not often I'm surprised by a cafe but this is one time I'm glad I took the opportunity to try out somewhere I wouldn't normally go into! The enticing factor for me in this case, was the delicious looking breads and cakes in the...

We were really pleased to find this place on our weeks holiday in Porthmadog. The food is amazing and quirky. All tastes are catered for, vegan to meat eaters, breakfasts and lunches as well as a selection of baked sweet and savoury stuff to take...

We both ordered Welsh rarebit on white bread. One on white and one on wholemeal turned up but the waitress ignored the error so my partner took the wholemeal. Both were very bland and burned (just like mother used to make). We were so hungry...

Always lovely bread here but takeaway meal very disappointing. I ordered nachos, it was served cold with very little cheese and what cheese there was was tasteless. Service was also slow considering it probably only took a couple of minutes to prepare. If I was...

Friends recommended this cafe bakery for its delicious breads We were greeted by a charming young man / manager who welcomed us and our ginger girl doggy in to the shop area Huge choice of delights to choose from including local coffee We left happy...

One of my favourite cafe’s in north Wales. However, I was disappointed this time after ordering the Big Beef Lobscouse which has only one dice of beef in it at £8! It was very tasty but not far from being the vegetarian option. Coffee was...

Lovely cafe for breakfast, very cosy with real fire, the bread was amazing! Quirky decor inside & reasonable prices, enjoyed breakfast here twice on a recent trip.

The lobscouse was excellent as too the donuts, queues prove how popular it is but worth the wait, plenty of seating and a great ambience

I’m really disappointed with these cafe -we went in because of reviews on TripAdvisor We were the last sit down patrons on Sat 17 Sept before they closed. The rest of the restaurant had cleared when we left. We forgot a pair of sunglasses on...

I got a take out coffee and several different treats including carrot cake, monkey bread and cherry bun. All were amazing. The queue was long and waited a while but it was well worth the wait. The barista was really friendly and welcoming. Love this...

Sadly for a tourist town I dont think Porthmadog has much to choose from in the way of cafes/tea shops so this was a real find The service was great and very friendly--if you you enjoy banter this is a plus A great range of...

Visited here while in Porthmadog while enjoying the train journey. The service was good and the staff were very friendly. Cakes are amazing and recommend visiting here if you’re in Porthmadog.

Lovely little place. The food is very good. The table service took awhile, but in general, a nice little place to stop for lunch.

In Porthmadog doing some shopping and people were queuing outside this place from morning till lunchtime. I'm thinking - if its that popular it must be good so we queued to have lunch. Weird system - there is only 1 queue irrespective if you want...

The best vegan carrot cake EVER! We bought two pieces of carrot cake, a sourdough loaf, a vegan swirly olivey thing and two elderflower, mint and lemon slushy things and were beyond chuffed with our purchases.

Staff were brilliant and so friendly. Food was absolutely amazing. Hands down, THE best sausage roll I’ve ever eaten EVER. Have never been somewhere and wanted one of everything from the menu. Wish I’d found this place sooner! Would very highly recommend

This place opened my eyes to how great lunch should really be, 5 of us each enjoyed very different food choices, and all of us - fussy eaters, loved what we had, you can taste the quality of ingredients, drinks, again different for each of...

It's rare to find somewhere where the food, ambience and customer service are all ace! Reasonably priced, the food tastes better because it's made and served with passion and enjoyed in a beautiful setting ❤️Thank you to Aled and the team.

Had lunch here today. Homity pie, smoked mackerel and two salads. All nice and fresh, tasted great. Quick and polite service. The cakes etc looked great but didn't sample them.

we had breakfast cobs which were lovely full of bacon sausage and egg. The Mumbai chai is as good as have have had in India. We will be back! Also the bakery has lots of great things garlic nibs were great and lasted 2 days....

Called here Thursday 30th June. What an amazing place, with lots of seating at the back, also a toilet. A great choice of food , pastries, breads etc to eat in or take away. the coffee was lovely just a shame in cardboard cups which...

What lovely friendly service!!! We had coffees and snacks when visiting this charming cafe. The service was friendly and efficient and the drinks and food were very good. The bread we took home with us was also excellent. We will visit again. This is a...

Lovely coffee and tea. However, I assumed they were short staffed, because when my partner ordered flapjack she had to buy the whole slab as he said he did not have time to cut it. Not my usual experience but a little off putting

We went to Porthmadog for the day & 'stumbled' upon this little gem. The bread & cakes are baked onsite. There are options for vegetarian/vegan, etc. Prices are very reasonable & you can takeaway or eat in, in lovely surroundings. The staff were lovely too....

I visited this lovely little place on a trip with friends, I asked if they had any gluten free vegan cakes, at this time they didn’t. Aled very kindly baked me some big delicious scones to collect the next day. Best scones I’ve ever tasted!...

We popped into Big Rock for a bite to eat in the morning on our way to a day on the Ffestiniog Woodland Wanderer. It was that good we went back 5 hours later for lunch. The food is delicious, the staff are attentive and...

We called in for lunch & loved the place. The staff were helpful & chatty and the food delicious. Lovely salads to go with your choice and great cakes. I had the tastiest Welsh Rarebit I have ever had and I’ve had dozens. The bread...

For years we have supported this local business on our frequent visits to Porthmadog. However, last time we were unceremoniously ejected from the premises in the light of some weird and arbitrary ruling they have introduced regarding dogs. Apparently, our beautifully behaved sheep-dog is more...

Returned again for lunch. Lovely place and the food was excellent again right opposite the factory store. A small door ) see photo on a corner leads in. You could park in the side street round the back.

Lekkere koffie en lunch en hele fijne atmosfeer. En de scones waren echt verrukkelijk! Personeel was ook vriendelijk en behulpzaam.

I visited this cafe around 2 days ago and I jsve to say it’s fantastic the cinnamon buns are amazing , the best sausage rolls , my husband loves the cob loafs . We drive there couple of times a week for our bread and...

Love this place. So friendly, great bakes and a cosy spot to settle in with your treats. Definitely recommend a visit when you are in Porthmadog.

Staff are so lovely & the coffee is delicious! Can’t miss out on getting some of the jammy donuts, they were absolutely amazing and would highly recommend to anyone passing through. Brilliant little cafe, will definitely visit again

Been visiting the Big Rock for many years, always friendly and quite often very busy. Busy is testament to the quality. So today was a whistle stop tale out, 4 donuts and a scotch egg. The donuts were delicious (as expected) and with the added...

We came across this little shop on holiday and the donuts looked amazing!!.we went back the next day to get 4..and I can honestly say they were the worst I've ever had.tough..rubbery..obviously not made that day.i paid 6.00 for 4 ..and any of the supermarket...

About to enter when we spotted a rather confusing notice on the door to the effect that only very small dogs were now permitted inside. Fortunately managed to bag one of the two tables outside and enjoyed lunch. Two other couples with dogs were not...

Popped in for afternoon break last Saturday. Great toasted Teacakes and a decent cup of tea. Lovely people serving and other food on display looked good. Not expensive and good service.

Visited again in Feb, always a delight. Love the new smaller menu. Took a huge bag of their spelt rolls home for the freezer. Thanks guys!

Delighted to come across this bakery/cafe whilst passing through, the food was out of this world. Fantastic savories and pastries to take out. I was so impressed I went in the cafe and had the welsh rarebit. Friendly staff, cosy ambience & decor with a...

Allow dogs, which is a must for us. Friendly atmosphere, warm seating by the fire. Sausage roll was just enough for a mid morning snack. Flat white with oat milk was just the right temp. Highly recommend, freshly baked bread, mini quiches. All good

Lovely cafe roaring fire going unusual menu but excellent food well worth a visit great selection of hot drinks after struggling to find cafes open this time of year so a lovely surprise

I’m tempted to say that this is a hidden gem but that’s not strictly true, as The Big Rock Cafe is on the High Street and in full view! It is a gem of a place, though, with a menu that is relatively simple but...

We stumbled across this gem a couple of days ago after 20 years coming to Porthmadog for twenty years on a regular basis. The food and service is fantastic.

Just fantastic food, bit of a queue but that just hinted how good tbis place was . We had takeaway and were delightfully surprised by the quality of the food. Well worth a visit will certainly be back when in Porthmadog

Quaint place with a great ambiance and good food. It’s a good place for an informal lunch. I had the jacket potato with goat cheese and cranberry and tomatoes. It came with a side salad in an enamel mug. Will definitely come back again.

Absolutely fabulous very friendly food was delicious 😋 had prawn salad chips,and fish and chips,generous portion staff amazing

Amazing food. We had a platter one afternoon and then another the next available day they were open. Even bought other bits that we liked so much like their Mackerel Pate and breads. The breakfast sandwich was great too. Will probably get most of our...

Great little cafe with lots of delicious savoury and sweet treats. We came back more than once on our week long holiday and everything we had was yummy! Cinnamon buns with frosting were amazing!

love this cafe food delicious lovely organic sourdough bread and wholemeal loaves.The cakes are tasty .The staff always busy but friendly .

Visited here recently, great that it's dog friendly. I found the menu a little confusing with lots going on, but when the food came we were pleasantly impressed by the taste and quality. The quiche and salad was so good, lots of little extras and...

This is a gem in the crown of Porthmadog! We have visited this area for many years now and we decided to take a chance just a week ago. Brilliant service, Lovely People and good quality food. Extra shine for catering for the veggie/vegan crowd!...

First impression - WAW. The decor and set up is lovely. Staff were very friendly. Ordered a pie and a chocolate brownie. The brownie was perfect, beautiful! Unfortunately the pie was overpowered with garlic so we couldn't finish it. But would return again!

If you like sausage rolls then go no further than the The Rock Cafe for their amazing ‘Sausage Roll Royce’ It is just to die for. Pork sausage with yellow hotdog type mustard mixed with sauerkraut - wow! The pastry covered with sunflower seeds is...

We visited last Saturday, a great little shop! Fab one way system through the shop to allow for a covid one way system. The shop owner is a genius to ensure you walk past all their fabulous cakes! We initially had two sausage rolls for...

Best take away lunch! Delicious food, and a really good tea and coffee. We had two vegi options and they’re so big that one between us would have been plenty. Highly recommended, don’t let the queue put you off, it gives you time to decide...

Having lived locally we knew the food was great, but had never had any more than normal interactions with the staff. Yesterday I made a big order and as I was going to my table I dropped a coffee and mini donuts. The staff were straight there, sorted me out, helped me take the rest to my table and got me a fresh coffee. The young lady behind the counter came out a bit later with fresh donuts for us which really made our day. Can’t say enough good things about Big Rock Cafe.

What an amazing find! We called here whilst staying in Porthmadog on holiday. The food was delicious, the staff were lovely and friendly. It is the type Of place I will be dreaming of returning to when I am back at work with a boring sandwich. Loved the bible verse on the napkin, made my day.

Always an excellent range of sweet and savoury baked goods. Great for picking up more unusual picnic items. Wide range of products such as a particularly tasty muesli mix. There’s even bags of day before The breakfast and lunch menus are very varied. Staff are always friendly and helpful. Note: The arrangements to cope with Covid restrictions work very well

Great selection of food located in the centre of Porthmadog and a nice 'feel' to the place. The rarebit was delicious and the sandwiches and pizza had a big thumbs up from the family. Excellent !

this is my go to place when in porthmadog always a welcome and staff and food brilliant. try the cinnamon rolls or the small donuts with melted chocolate

I really wanted to like this place, but I've been a little disappointed by both visits. The first time both me and my dad commented that the cake was dry, and today my quiche was a little dry. Everybody else's food always looks delicious so maybe I've been unlucky! The cafe itself is lovely, the menu is imaginative and varied, and the staff are upbeat and pleasant, so I wouldn't rule out another visit.

Wholesome food and friendly staff. I really enjoyed their stromboli - Italian picnic bread stuffed with spinach, peppers, olive, seeds and cheese.

Seems a lovely bakery with very good food. My falafel salad was delicious and eveything was obviously homemade. Star knocked off for badly wilted rocket leaves - no excuses for that really, but the other salad items were imaginative & tasty. The bread slice was generous and delicious. Would’ve preferred my napkin NOT to have had a religious verse though!

Great coffee but the food is awesome , the fresh doughnut still warm from the oven was simply wonderful, the cinnamon bun that my wife got was delicious . Good one way system and hand gel available to help with cleanliness with lockdown easing .Great food , great coffee and great value

The cherry swirl buns are to die for. No trip to Porthmadog is complete without stopping to pick a couple up. Staff are always so friendly and helpful Five big fat stars from me ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fantastic choice of sweet and savoury foods, great little find. Loved the choice of vegan/vegetarian options

Perfect place to beat the bad weather. Spent many hours here reading the papers whilst eating the fabulous food.

I had a lovely lunch at the Big Rock. The variety of food is out of this world and every one will be satisfied. The sweet and savoury products are equally amazing, I'd love to go back!

Loved the atmosphere here - which was a blend of bohemian and old world coffee shop. I was impressed that a local church holds a regular meeting here. My only regret that the WiFi reception was extremely basic. Lots of locally made things - and I had an excellent Scotch egg

Every town should have a cafe like this! The freshly baked bread is utterly delicious, great range too at reasonable prices (especially when you consider the quality of the ingredients) - I had the soup today and it was delicious, loved the pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs and spicy yoghurt to sprinkle on top. The salad bar was gorgeous a kind of apple and pickled cabbage one was my fav. My son declared the pizza the nicest he’d ever had. The staff are friendly, the service was quick and professional, the decor is stylish yet quirky. It feels like a top notch cafe you’d find in a trendy area of London or Manchester but with more heart and soul and cheaper. Also try a scotch egg. They’re like the crack of the scotch egg world. I’ll dream about that scotch egg.

We came across The Big Rock Cafe on a cold and misty day and were tempted in by the promise of a nice warm open fire. The cafe specialises in selling its own baked bread and cakes and the choice was amazing. As we were cold we chose the soup, we helped ourselves from a big tureen and selected from a range of different breads, the soup also came with a Vietnamese style yogurt which had a unique flavour.The cafe seemed to be very busy even though it was midweek and it was apparent that a number of them were regular customers.On our way out we purchased the local speciality, bara brith, which we had later in our hotel room and it was delicious!We would recommend The Big Rock Cafe to anyone looking for something a bit different.

Visited here for lunch and there were plenty of seats available (not in the tourist season may I add). There was an open log fire which made it very cosy on such a wet and cold day. The menu was really interesting with lots of choice, there is also a special board. Everything appeared to be fresh and homemade.We ordered the falafel bhaji and meatball baloney from the specials board!Absolutely delicious! Will be back soon!!

This cafe is lovely and homely offering all sorts of goodies coffee tea, very friendly. I do try to pay a visit when I am next in porthmadog This is where the locals gp to meet up.

Its a magical place, lovely baked goods, and a room at the back with sofas and a crackling fire to snuggle down to splendid coffee / tea and toast.

Visiting Porthmadog, we stopped off at the Big Rock Cafe in the middle of the High Street for coffee & cake.

What a pleasant surprise! I wish each town we travel to had a similar pit stop. Great food and baked goods. Fantastic atmosphere and relaxed, quirky and modern interior.

Didn't eat here but bought monkey bread and scones. Monkey bread is one of the best things I have ever eaten - sensational.

Good food, pleasant staff, and a big warm hall to sit in, maybe an old converted chapel? Family and pet friendly