The Secret Garden Cafe in Cardiff

Wonderful little coffee shop in Bute Park. Vegan options for both bakery items and the potatoes!

Genuinely great quality food. Cook obviously knows their taste combos, not the standard drab cafe food. Reasonable prices and great drinks selection too. Been here twice in 2 days for sweet and savoury

Absolutely amazing food and coffee, and staff are so lovely and friendly. Couldn’t recommend enough.

My favourite place in Bute Park.

My favourite cafe in Cardiff hands down! Set in Bute Park in the city centre, attached to the walled plant nurseries, and surrounded by greenery, flowers and birds. Go early for peace and birdsong, at lunch or tea time for lots of dog-walking visitors, and any time for a friendly welcome and creative, seasonal soups and bakes. Some dishes on offer are more successful than others, but I love their experimental nature, which means I can try something new every time. Two small things to be aware of, however. As this cafe is in the park, covered seating is limited, so you are a little exposed to the elements. Also the loos are pretty basic, and can be muddy on a wet day, but clean enough.

Great place! One of my favorites in the city. There is always a large selection of vegetarian dishes, delicious pies and tarts. If you bring your own cup of coffee, you get a good discount. Special thanks to the owner - she creates an incredible friendly atmosphere. I want to come again and again!

Very busy for Monday, but the snacks and coffee were still great. The staff were polite and friendly and the scenery just beautiful with the Autumn leaves in full colour.

OMG. This place is sooo slow. Staff seem disorganised. Only 2 people in front in the queue, yet it took over 30 min to get a coffee and a bacon sandwich. Food was nice, but only go if you have nothing better to do than queue and wait.

I utterly loooove this place ❤️ so unique

The staff are always so lovely and friendly. They have one vegan ice cream and one vegan soft serve and change the flavours often which is lush to see and they're really good. The ice lollies are really good too. A great place to stop while in Bute park and I hope they're around for years to come. 5 stars for the service alone tbh 💚 I also love how their packaging is super sustainable, even the ice lolly packaging was compostable!

Gorgeous food using wholesome ingredients. Had a quiche with salad and coleslaw it was really tasty. Every part of the meal had gorgeous flavours and was very reasonably priced. It's in a perfect spot for a dog walk lunch, just wish they'd open more places!

It's a challenge to visit Bute Park without a stop at this beaut of a place. Lovely homemade food and drinks, plenty of vegan options, and that stunning wooden door! There's good reason there's almost always a queue. You will never regret ordering one of their veggie samosas!

Booked Jade for a facial treatment and it was fantastic. Jade was professional but friendly. She was technically brilliant and I felt very relaxed. I almost fell asleep! Would definitely book again with Jade. 5 star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dog friendly. Best coffee and cakes

Very friendly staff … delicious Home made cakes … I strongly recommend this place

Nice little cafe in Bute Park and all hot drinks are £2.30 when you bring a reusable cup!

Must try the ice cream and they have free water fill so if you are around the Bute park you can have a refill

La cafetería tiene una zona exterior y una terraza interior cubierta con un toldo. La comida no la recomiendo, ya que estaba fría y era muy pesada.

First time here, had a delicious iced latte in the sunshine. Staff were lovely, very friendly and welcoming. A joy to be here🙂

What a nice coffee shop in the middle of Bute park All the food is home made Don't hesitate to come to try it and help this business, they deserve it.

Stunning spot. Amazing place to visit on a sunny day, great coffee and very decent prices. Well worth a visit!

Lovely cafe, please don’t close! :(

Love, love this gorgeous little cafe in the heart of beautiful Bute Park. Best coffee in Cardiff (and I'm really fussy!). Super friendly staff and my dog always gets a free biscuit too.

The most wonderful cafe, with the best cake and gingerbread latte and loveliest staff

Fabulous find in the middle of the beautiful Bute Park Such a friendly place ps They do wash their hands after giving out treats 👐

a great local coffee shop to visit, always busy and buzzing in the park. Lovely place to catch up with friends and go for a walk/sit in the sun. Coffee is always exceptional with a great discount cup scheme always bringing me back :) keep up the good work guys

Probably the best coffee and bacon and egg roll I have had in the UK! Also very lovely service 🙂

One of the best cafes in Cardiff. Great friendly staff, good food and discount with keep cups.

Lovely little cafe with nice seating area out front and toilets in the back. Absolutely love their soft serve ice cream! Flavour changes every week, always a different combination so nice to try something new :) Didn't love the hot chocolate or pastries we had last time, but the coffees are good. Good little cafe to pop into if you're in the park :)

The sausage rolls are excellent! Highly recommend this place!

Love their kombucha in the summers, and hot chocolate in the winters! It's a beautiful little business with a lovely bunch of people, and let's not forget their amazing location. Carrying your own cup is better for the planet, however, their cups are unique and worth getting your hands on at least once.

Lovely cafe..great setting with patient if very busy staff...next door amazing good value for plantd

Thank you so much for making up such a fresh, delicious and nutritious salad when i asked for something gluten free and vegan. Sorry i was panicing about the time. You were all brilliant and much appreciated.

Lovely spot in Bute Park with some outside tables. Excellent oat milk coffee and a good range of vegetarian and vegan brunch and salads. Lovely cakes too! Friendly and helpful staff

LOVE this friendly cafe where the staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome. Food is excellent quality and there's a real concern for the community/environment. Take your own reusable cup for a discount on hot drinks and enjoy the amazing brownies 😋

What a lovely place to pause and enjoy a coffee and a snack, we had a muesli pot and apple cake. The staff are friendly and helpful, the loos are clean. The view is great too, huge whispering willow, lawn and an old, old olive tree.

Nice place for a coffee during strolling in park

I absolutely love the coffee which is tasty and not expensive at all if you bring your own cup.

My favourite place to meet friends. I have only had tea there but will investigate the vegan and gluten free food.

I visited with my mom. I've used the toilets here before but never stopped for a sit down snack. My mom was very impressed and wants to revisit next time she is in Cardiff. She thought the frittata was amazing. I was pleased to see they had proper 100% juice options, not juice with chemicals in, so kudos for that.

My little foster daughter was hungry, so I decided to take her to the secret garden with my 2 dogs, one well behaved Frenchie and my puppy Cockapoo who is little bit anxious, but is still being trained. After queuing 20 minutes I ordered and paid for our food and sat down, my puppy started barking at another dog in the queue, so I moved to the back table out of the way. I was in the process of calming him down when one of the staff members loudly and very rudely told me that I had to leave straight away because my puppy was annoying everyone in the courtyard, there was nobody else sitting in the courtyard only people queuing. We hadn’t even started our food or drinks. I was so upset and embarrassed, we left straight away and I had to throw our food and drinks in the bin. When we were outside a young couple who witnessed this came over to see if we were alright and told me nobody seemed that bothered about my puppy. Over the years I’ve often visited Secret Garden with my dogs, children and friends, but after my treatment today I will never go back there again.

Nice cafe in the heart of Bute Park, l like the yard with trees and different plants front of the cafe. I got a latte and carrot cake. The food is okay, but it could have been better to provide different options of cakes.

The lady at the cafe was nice and the food sounded good, but unfortunately it turned out to be very disappointing. The chorizo sausage rolls had soggy bottoms thanks to the super fatty meat. The flapjack was really dry. It was a shame because it was expensive as well.

Lovely cafe in a beautiful setting, with a great selection of cakes and snacks. The hot chocolates are amazing!! Friendly staff and a really nice, relaxed atmosphere. Can't wait to go back!

Ordered two filter coffee’s which were warm, bacon bap £5.50 then extra £1.50 for a egg & a egg roll which they both were small, it came to £16.50. No toilets available due to covid! Seriously this was a rip off & will never return. Staff were pleasant

We visited here for the first time today. What a great find, the coffee was made well and tasted great. The food was home made, different to a normal cafe offering and served pipping hot. Thanks and we'll be back!

Location and seating are great. The coffee is super as well. But the food wasn't good. I tried the frittata and the carrot cake.

Nice place for drink café but out side the café. Unfortunately we sit inside the café on bench i see dogs 🐕 hair flying in air and staf give some thing for eat to dog and hand touch mouth and nose of dogs.Even dogs touch pows on food serving area. Staff member don't was hands served with same hands to clients. I love animals but it's not a standard for a café. Dogs should be stay out side of café shop.

This is one of my favourite cafes in Cardiff since I moved here. The coffee & food is always amazing and the staff are all so lovely and chatty even when they’re really busy!

very pleasant place but dogs allowed in food serving area one dog this morning had his paws and nose on the food serving counter . Bland food.

I was walking through the park yesterday and felt a bit peckish. Had a quiche,it was awful. Shop made pastry,mushroom not cooked,cheese indescribable,and Tom's not cooked. It went straight in the bin.

Nice little place to stop and refresh

We had a wonderful afternoon at Bute Park, stopping for lunch at the secret garden cafe. The service was very good, and the staff very helpful. The food was very tasty, however in my opinion, some sections of the menu should be reviewed. The ‘kid’s menu’ consisted of a ham sandwich, cheese sandwich and hummus and salad sandwich, each labelled as £4 each. I should have checked what was included before ordering - I wrongly assumed ‘kids menu’ indicated sandwich, drink and an additional item, for example biscuit or crisps, as it usually does in cafes. Disappointingly, we were given only a sandwich, having to buy drinks and crisps separately which made the meal cost far more than I had anticipated. The food tasted wonderful, however this cafe should consider changing the kids menu to either indicate it includes a sandwich only, or modify the price to reflect the items included.

Great take away tea and coffee this morning after our morning stroll thank you.

Great coffee, lovely outdoor space for the kids and a ping pong table - bring a bat and get those balls out

Such a lovely hidden treasure with friendly staff and a great selection of yummy cakes catering to various dietary choices

Great coffee and cakes but service rather slow

Female staff failed to mention that they had no skimmed milk and when I noticed angry male staff using semi-skimmed, she tried to tell me that skimmed milk does not work with frothing machines. Angry young male then involved me in a discussion that doubted the science behind the fact that skimmed milk is better for some people whose arteries tend to furring, and had to have the last word, and how nasty that was. He accused me of 'torturing cows', because I continue to have cows' milk. Note to young people: Some middle-aged people just need skimmed milk and decaff. Also, that spoilt the one walk with a friend and coffee out a week for which I have time.

Love this place. We're so lucky in Cardiff to have such beautiful green spaces

Perfect coffee! Great service too with really friendly staff. Will definitely be back for more 🙂

Great coffee and cake, service can be slow but worth the wait. Lovely setting too but could do with more seating.

Amazing food, friendly staff, well worth the wait in the queue.

Always good service wth a pleasant chat great coffee

Lovely little cafe in a glorious setting, friendly staff selling quality food

Can say the staff is veryyy kind person and very helpful well they have 2 people per shift and they make very good jobs and too friendly

Really lovely cafe and great location. Great drinks and food but a little too expensive for me.

Too long a wait for coffee. Staff far too slow and "detached" from customers. 20 mins wait for a coffee with only 5 people

Delightful staff excellent coffee just a perfect coffee stop.... keep it up. Thank you. Anthony

Only had a coffee but staff very friendly and helpful. Coffee was hot and tasted great. Definitely go back again maybe try the cakes next time, which looked very tempting

Super Garden Cafe! A must after a long walk thru Bute Park

This is a lovely café serving delicious food (with excellent vegetarian options👌). Very friendly and helpful staff. Really great place to stop for a takeaway coffee on a stroll through the park!

Went this morning, walked around The fields and park and finally come across the The Secret Garden for a coffee 😃 Well 😐 it can stay secret as far as I’m concerned, I know we had to sit outside but £5.50 for a bacon roll?? (extra £1.50 if you wanted a bacon and egg roll) This was apparently cooked fresh but within 10 steps of walking to bench was cold?? Luke warm coffee in small cups, two mouth fulls. Not impressed won’t be going there again and the staff, learn some manners and customer service. From someone who works in customer service. Overpriced and rude.

No secret about the best little coffee shop in Cardiff

Beautiful cakes in a lovely setting tho service rather slow, Covid nothwithstanding.

Amazing coffee and cakes and service was exeptional, worth the wait in the que.

My first visit to this cafe today and I really liked it. Good choice of sweet and savoury snacks. We had sausage roll, frittata, ice cream, apple & vanilla cake and flapjack. Also a very nice Jaffa hot chocolate. It is takeaway only at the moment due to covid restrictions. Staff were very friendly. We had my friend's dog with us, as we were walking her in bute park and she was given a treat by one of the staff. As others have pointed out, there was a bit of a queue but in my mind, that's just testament to their popularity.

Good coffee and food, environmentally sound and local produce used.

Covid pandemic safety not adhered to by some staff

Mientras esperaba en la cola el viernes por la tarde (16/10/20), me decepcionó ver que el joven que estaba sirviendo llevaba su máscara facial incorrectamente. Lo usó debajo de su nariz. Obviamente, me tomo muy en serio mi seguridad, especialmente durante la pandemia, por lo que me fui sin ordenar.Realmente no quería hacer esto público, pero envié este mensaje directamente a Penylan Pantry y me ignoraron.

Beautiful hidden cafe, open Wednesday to Subday, closed Monday and Tuesday. Located in amongst trees and the river, a real gem. Healthy food options, coffee, teas and sweet desserts. Worth a visit, in the arboritum oasis of Bute park

Really great food and drinks. Unique flavours of soft serve ice cream: vegan pear and cardamom! Compostable packaging/utensils. Nice outdoor seating and COVID precautions (although some customers were still too close). Really long queue on weekends and nice weather days.

Very busy today but the queue was kept moving. Unfortunately not many vegan snack options so had to settle for a coffee

Some of the best food and drink in Cardiff. Where possible, everything is sourced locally and they're super friendly. They've a nice set up in the new coronavirus world too, with a one way setup and benches and space outside in the park to enjoy everything.

Lovely place where to enjoy a coffee, service is very slow, polite but too slow. They only were accepting exact change or card on the day I went, the person in front of me had to leave without her order because didn't have the exact change, it would have been nice if there was a sign or customers were warned about this before queuing for 15 minutes.

Great little cafe with great views and a toilet, well worth a visit,the surrounding parkland is stunning,dig friendly as well 👍

Charming little place, friendly staff and very nice hot chocolate

Recently discovered, I now look forward to stopping by here when in the park

Great place to stop for a coffee or bite to eat. Just a shame due to current climate the toilets are closed 😢

Based in the beautiful Bute park. Great place to rest and refresh.

¡Amo este lugar! Opciones saludables realmente creativas en el menú. . . mucho hornear y cocinar en casa. Puede que tengas que esperar un poco en los días ocupados, pero bueno. . . las cosas buenas vienen a aquellos que esperan. Ayer, mi pareja y yo disfrutamos de una limonada de jengibre y fresa y un helado de vainilla y fresa. . . ¡sublime!

Lovely little gem! Really appreciate the sustainability and environmental considerations. Good vegan options 👍

Good coffee in lovely location.

This coffee shop is legit my go to place in Cardiff. The staff are always very helpful. I can’t even praise them enough. There should definitely be more places like this in the city. They have this unique space in the park and they use their own crops to create delicious dishes. Honestly 100% recommended

I have only purchased take away hot drinks and cake here whilst on a walk. Lovely looking Cafe Great Staff the grounds around the cafe are beautiful, Lovely to sit down on the benches outside. Coffee is very nice and not that churned out standard stuff you get in most coffee places. Hot chocolate is rich and tasty. Cakes are very good. There are toilets on site Only problem i have had is service can be a tad slow.

All I can say is that I walked in saw the price and walked out you would of needed to off win the lottery to have a meal there

Great place for all the family enjoying the parks in Cardiff. Ordering food swift and easy but then it comes to a grinding halt. Tea and cake 15 min wait for a takeaway. Staff friendly but just need to work on the service proposition and pace.

Enjoyed my sausage roll lunch in this cute outdoor cafe in the middle of Bute Park. A healthy menu with organic and veggie options. Pleasant landscaped courtyard sitting area with plants.

Looking for a yummy lunch on our rainy walk. Poor choice of food. Pricing for kids food not given on the menu. Very expensive, £4.50 for a kids cheese toastie. With very strong cheese that the kids wouldn't then eat!! Grrr! Tasteless soup. Very disappointed. Won't be returning

During the week it's lovely, one of my fave places in Cardiff. But on the weekend it's not worth going to. I don't know if they just need more weekend staff? Wait 20mins to even order coffee, another 20 to get it, and then you receive it in takeaway cups, and food on paper plates? Really wasteful, and a totally inferior eating & drinking experience to that offered in the week. We would never go to penylan Pantry and be served on paper plates, and if we were, due to some huge hypothetical problem, I imagine it'd be with appology, discount and embarrass. Bit strange.

Secret Garden is a charming little café in Cardiff’s Bute Park. All the tables are outdoors, or you can order take-away. The menu is limited but good, using local organic ingredients. It’s chalked on a board and changes from time to time. Try the toasties (toasted sandwiches) or sausage rolls (vegan choice is available). They serve coffee drinks, tea, and an organic kind of soda. You can sit among business workers at lunch, joggers having a break, and mothers with small children. Dogs are welcome.