The Summerhouse in Cardiff

I visited today for lunch and ordered a ham and cheese roll. The ham was incredibly thick and had streaks of fat throughout. I did ask for a refund but the staff laughed in my face and refused to accept that their ham was too thick. Will never return.

Good selection of delicious food, prepared to order. Service was quick & friendly. Pleasant location to sit.

Really lovely staff and food and drink was excellent. We used twice in one day. Food for everyone and fresh.

So disappointing this year Every year this splendid cafe in Bute Park, Cardiff seems to appoint a new franchisee. Located by the river, squirels running nearby, it’s the perfect place to relax and have a cuppa and a snack.Last year, during covid it attracted lots of people out walking, cycling or just walking the dog. Food was great, a huge selection of snacks, sarnies, toasties, chips, etc. All temptingly delicious and just perfect for this lovely location. Now with a new operator it’s a toastie, ice cream cake and that’s just about it. Nice as they maybe, and far from cheap, there’s not enough choice, not a wide enough selection - and that’s sad. I wonder who’ll be running it next year?

Been spoilt in past with this place - each year the council awards this franchised city centre cafe in the park to a new business - sometimes we see no reason why. Now run by yet a new business group it seems changes have been made which May not go down too well with customers. It’s a perfect location for lunch, a stop during a stroll in the park and attracts many more than contented customers. Previous years you could get a wife range of simple snacks, ranging from roasties to chips, burgers to salads and tasty sandwiches - including bacon. Now all that’s in offers us ice cream. (Delicious though it is) and about a choice of six rolls, including ham, cheese & pickle, tuna and sweet corn etc. At about £4 each they are not particularly cheap - even if tasty and palatable. But it’s the choice we all miss, the selection and variety of tasty daytime snacks more than just rolls. Nice enough - but feel let down by the choice compared with previous pre-covid times

Pleasantly surprised to see the summerhouse open for takeaway food and drink. Well organised queuing system and friendly service. Cold drinks and ice cream and a lovely, sunny day.

Es bueno ver que Summerhouse abre nuevamente para comida para llevar limitada, pero extrañamos al amable y servicial personal regular que, aparentemente, está actualmente de licencia.Si bien la propietaria y su familia son muy agradables, todos extrañamos al personal habitual, con su humor y amabilidad, que realmente le dan carácter al lugar y sirven muy buena comida.Vuelve pronto. . .

Was the best caffe ever I had never had such a beautiful meal or hot chocolate had way nicer staff they didn’t ignore you either

Stumbled across this place whilst walking through the park. Lots to chose from on the menu and the food was tasty and good value for money.

La ubicación es excelente, y si todo lo que quieres es sentarte, obtiene 5 estrellas. Pero había querido café, y el café era tan débil como el agua de los platos. Pregunté si podían hacerlo más fuerte, y dijeron que un Americano estándar venía con 1 disparo (en comparación, el mismo tamaño en Costa tiene 3), y otro disparo fue de 50 p. Ya había dado el resto de mi dinero en efectivo como propina, así que lo rechacé y tiré el resto. No me impresionó en absoluto.

Nos enteramos de este lugar mientras esperamos que un autocar viaje de regreso a Birmingham. Decidimos tomar algo de comida mientras esperábamos. La comida fue preparada rápidamente y muy bien de precio. El ambiente era increíble, había familiares, ciclistas y paseadores de perros que pasaban. Un lugar encantador habría pasado más tiempo allí si no tuviéramos un entrenador para conseguir.

Nos topamos con el Summerhouse por accidente.Aparcamos en Sophia Gardens y cruzamos el puente hacia Bute Park para pasear al perro. Hicimos algunas caminatas decentes y volvimos al Café.Fue durante la Copa Mundial de Cricket, pero tenían un personal realmente agradable.Proporcionaron la buena comida rápidamente ya un precio muy decente.Volveremos, fue realmente bueno.

A fantastic park needs a good cafe and this just hit the spot. Decent coffee in a great setting - perfect

we were walking in the park and decided to stop for coffee, found out this spot has it all : great coffee, great sandwiches, hot potatoes even personal made salads, amazing service and great lication. come and enjoy.

A lovely surprise to find this cafe. We were looking for somewhere to have breakfast and I had breakfast bap with mushrooms and a tea. Very filling and really quick service. Well worth a visit and lovely weather to site outside and enjoy the food. Well worth making a detour into the Park for. Will defiantly come here again, next time I am in Cardiff.

Enjoyed a lovely hour watching the world go by yesterday drinking coffee and a wonderfull fresh cheese and tomato toasted sandwich staff and service was spot on even though they were very busy. I nearly bought a special doggy ice cream as they looked so nice will be back soon.

First rate coffee in a very pleasant location. The staff were friendly, the music was decent, and they even do ice cream for dogs. Highly recommended.

The staff here are so friendly , the food is lovely , you don't have to wait long for the food. There are plenty of seats , with parasols.Prices are low , its a lovely atmosphere if you want to sit alone or as a family .Highly Recommend

This is a very friendly cafe not far from the city centre, ideal for a walk in the park.

Our family had gone to Cardiff to visit our daughter for her birthday.

Stopped off here for a quick hot chocolate and a sandwich. Very friendly staff, good service. Great value for money. Plenty of seating.

This is a great dog friendly place and the staff are fantastic, quick to get your order and quick to get your food sorted. We went here after the Secret Garden Cafe in Bute Park refused to give us water for our dogs in 25 degree heat. The Summer House Cafe were welcoming, polite and did everything they could to make us and our dogs happy. Free dog biscuits as well.

Delightful space.Lots of seating.Very good coffee.. Just the place for people watching on a lovely day

A good chill out spot: NO CITY NOISE. Good quality coffee. Friendly staff. Good vibes. Good music. And even dog friendly.

I justed had find out if the cafe was on trip advisor,now I,ve found it, I justed wanted to share the place and to say you always get a warm welcome and a mean coffee and toast.

El servicio es excelente, el personal muy amable y un montón de asientos. Les encanta los perros y tienen cuencos de agua y trata, incluso venden helado doggy! Tienen una gran variedad de sándwiches fríos y calientes y comidas.

Llegamos a la cafetería en una larga caminata a través de Bute Park.

Sí, es una cafetería al aire libre así después información sobre comida no es muy relevante, ya que sólo tienen café y pasteles galeses, que recomiendo. Bienvenida muy amable, pedidos servidos rápidamente con una sonrisa de bienvenida, perros con agua y un regalo. Bancos de madera bajo toldos básico. Lo usamos con frecuencia cuando caminar nuestros perros.

A cafe where dogs are welcomed, water and treats provided for them. Staff very friendly and usually have coffee and toast in mornings. Plenty of covered areas and umbrellas and even have heating when it is very cold.

First time i went to the summerhouse and i loved the place. The staff are all friendly and make you feel very welcome. I love the fact that dogs are welcome as well and there are water bowls left out for dogs and they serve doggy treats. Would highly recommend and will b goin back again xxx

There was a slight queue which was efficiently dealt with. On being served I was greeted with an apology for being kept waiting. My order was taken and passed to the kitchen area immediately. I ordered a Tuna Mayo Sandwich and a cheese salad one along with 2 teas. Within 5 minutes my freshly made tea and sandwiches appeared. They were made with lovely thick bread. I hadn't ordered salad with my sandwich and queried this when I went to collect my order to ensure they were mine. The order was checked and I was asked if I would like mine made again without salad. I said don't worry it looks lovely - and indeed it was.

We used to love it here but not any more. Some staff are very friendly but others are surly. The coffee is now in paper cups. There are no comfy seats, no blankets, no little biscuit on the side, no doggie biscuits, no sweeteners (unless you ask for them). As someone else said, staff can't wait to shut. We were yet again refused coffee today at 2.40pm even though they're not supposed to shut until 3pm. Cold drinks only because "we have to clean the machine". Who wants cold drinks on a day like this? The last time this happened it was a lovely day and we saw them turn away scores of people, lots of whom were foreigners who had just got off the bus. What a bad impression of Cardiff to give them!

I was refused tap water also with the management citing "too much chlorine in it" as the excuse! Service and customer relations was very poor.

Called in for breakfast and was refused tap water. Spoke to the manager who also refused and showed no interest.

I went with my mum to have breakfast, we thought it would be a nice change to have it in the park. I asked the lady for toast and bacon she said we don't do it - we do toasties! she kept repeating this in a rude manner to which I replied surely that is the same - she said no! what don't you understand?... after her pointless arguing she then said yes it is toast! I gave up and I ordered something else. After our toasties - My mum who is disabled - asked if she could use the toilet at the side. The lady behind the counter said NO! it is for our disabled customers and my mum then explained she was disabled, the girl then said no, sorry I cant let you! Absolutely disgraced! I couldn't believe it! so we just left.

This is one of our regular stops when enjoying a walk through the park. Due to its popularity you may often have to queue for for your order and wait for service. This is no big deal as you can sit and enjoy people watching or squirrels playing. The quality of food can vary depending on the time you choose to visit but we have never been disappointed and found the staff helpful.

Great location, service needs to be a lot better than this to reflect this lovely park! As has been said before, looks like a pub garden with regimented pub tables. Nothing attractive about it. Staff can't wait to close even before 5 on a beautiful summer evening, very poor show. Coffee horrible when it eventually came, cake was ok. Need a decent w.c. here too! Feel the cafe is nowhere near as good as it used to be, staff just not interested, bit depressing, Secret Garden better.

I absolutely loved this place.. sandwich bread cut fresh every morning by the staff members(I actually stood there watch the one girl the other morning). The bacon/sausage/egg bap in the morning with any hot drink for £3.50

I've been going to the Summerhouse in Bute Park for many years - it's such a great asset to the park. Wonderful location and usually (weather permitting) a hive of activity. This year a new franchisee has taken over the venue and reading from the recent reviews, it would appear to be not quite as good as it used to be. THAT WAS CERTAINLY NOT MY EXPERIENCE. The toasties were giant size and tasty, with heaps of cheese and onion in one, and thickly cut ham and loads of tomatoes in the other. As good a toastie as you will get any where. The sandwiches served on another table looked equally inviting as did the jacket potatoes. If you want to do a comparison, there was no side salad like before, but in my mind the quality of the sandwich has gone up instead. The previous observation about instant coffee too is bewildering as there's a smart coffee machine by the serving counter. Thankfully I cannot agree with previous comments - but it does make you wonder if they were genuine or perhaps, just maybe, a little biased for some reason. Judge for yourself. Say I sent you....

Cheap roll with bland sausage and dry egg followed by burnt tea cake and lukewarm, weak coffee. Nothing more to say but avoid and go to secret garden cafe nearby.

Lukewarm cappuccino and a burnt toasted tea cake. Won't be going here again. It could be so much better and is in a great location in Bute Park.

We were interested to see what this cafe was like under new ownership. It turned out to be a change for the worse. We had two rolls - each of cheap shop bought white bread, with no salad provided. The menu is extremely ordinary. I was given instant coffee from a tin! The girl serving seemed to have no idea of the difference between instant and ground coffee. Cold milk is poured from a plastic bottle, with no individual jugs provided. The wooden tables are laid out in regimental lines like in a bad pub garden and each is provided with a small pot of plastic flowers. A beautiful park with lots of visitors deserves better than this.

Didn't eat there then, was too disgusted with the place, have eaten there before, and to be fair the food and drinks were quite reasonable

Came here with high expectations. I was very dissappointed. This place is nothing more than a stationery burger van offering very very low quality, greasy cheap and nastie food.Lovely location but shame they can't be bothered to give their customers anything more than the awful food you would get at a dodgie burger van.Very dissapointed considering the lovely location.God knows what animal derivative was in my sausage sanwhich. Tasted awful. Threw it away.

Went the the park today on our usual family outing.We always stopped off at the Summerhouse.NOT ANY MORE! What a rip off.I paid £2.20 for a tub with half a scoop of ice cream in it.The people that have taken over this establishment need to have a rethink.How you can think this is good trade is beyond me.I visit the park on a regular basis as i live in Grangetown and i will buy another one and take a photo and put it on Trip Advisor and tell them as i am so disgusted

Stopped for a mid ride coffee. Staff very pleasant and the coffee was lovely. So nice, I returned later in the day for a panini. Just what the doctor ordered!

We haven't been here before and honestly didn't even know it was here. We came here Saturday before the rugby started, it was very busy but were served quickly by a lovely polite girl. Then sent around for coffee. The system seems to work very well. We ordered food and thought we would have to wait for a while as it was very busy. But it came out within 10 minutes. The food was delicious I had the spicy pepper and tomatoe soup which was gorgeous. The melts we had were lovely as well. Much bigger and better than what I was expecting form a park cafe. All the staff were really helpful and it was lovely to see staff happy and enjoying what they were doing. We also returned on the Sunday, we were given our drinks and food in takeaway containers but they seem to have a good system for that as well. It was just as delicious as the Saturday. Just wanted you to now it was lovely place to be with lovely staff and great food. We will def be visiting again.Mr Steve Jones

Arrived here at 3.30pm on a sunny September afternoon.Most of the tables had been cleared and put away leaving around three tables to choose from. Put in my order for two latte's to be greeted with a sigh from the young lady serving. She obviously didn't want to be there and got the feeling she didn't want us to be there either. Coffee was served in two paper cups - probably to save her and her co-worker on the washing up. Not the best coffee either. Decided then to have an ice cream. Waited a while to be served as the lady in question cleared more tables etc. She saw me standing there but had no intention of serving me or letting her co- worker know I was waiting to be served. I have no idea who owns this cafe but if it was mine I'd want it to be run much better than this and maybe employ staff that care about their jobs and their customers. We were asked to leave at 4.30 as they were closing. What a wasted opportunity. A lovely sunny evening with loads of people walking by. Bute Park closes at 7pm - why does the caffe close so early? It's obvious that they don't want to make any money or they would have stayed open until at least 5.30. Such a shame with it being in such a lovely location.

Had the worst cheese and onion panini here,cheese barely melted,huge thick slices of raw onion,luke warm tea.such a pity as it has so much potential.staff were polite but seemed as they couldn't be bothered

The place is wonderfully located, and the food is fine. The person who took our order though was so rude; kept saying 'what?' huffing and puffing and was rude to the younger staff (who were all fine and polite).It's embarrassing that somewhere so prominent in the city has senior staff that clearly aren't suited to this line of work. I won't take guests to the city back there in a hurry.

Stopped here for lunch whilst walking the Taff trail. It was good to sit outside in the sun and enjoy an excellent lunch with good with portion sizes.

I stopped here while walking my dog, all i wanted was a bottle of water, the staff stood chatting with the service window open and said they were shut !, all the chairs, tables were still situated on the grass, there were people sat eating and drinking and yet they would not sell me water !!. The member of staff did not approach me just shouted that they were shut i will spend my money in other places that want paying customers.

Sunny morning so we thought of The Summerhouse in Bute Park. The coffee wasn't hot and it was tasteless.Such a lovely facility with so much potential but clearly maintaining quality doesn't seem a priority.

We stopped here for a drink after a day in Cardiff. Sat on the armchairs. Lovely place to sit and watch the world go by. We had bottled drinks(no ice available and no glasses offered) Had a really tasty slice of homemade sponge cake. Open on Sunday.

Visited the Summerhouse in our beautiful Bute Park for lunch on a lovely afternoon but disappointed in this café. I ordered a baguette and was given one wrapped in cellophane and was not given a plate which made it awkward to eat and the bread was too 'doughy'. I bought a cold drink but was not given a glass. When I asked for a glass I was given a surprised look as if I had asked for something strange. This was my first visit and my last.

I visited the Summerhouse yesterday so sat outside enjoying the last of the day's sun. It is a great location, just on the river so nice and relaxing but the coffee was a real let down.

Been here a few times because it is in a good location for cycling the Taff trail, the food and drinks are just about OK but the service is very slow with long queues. Today on a cycle ride I stopped for a drink, checked the sign that they accept visa and then waited 10 minutes for three people in front of to have their coffees made at a painfully slow pace. When served I was advised that I could not use a visa debit card as there was a minimum payment of £5. I asked why there was no sign stating that there was a minimum payment and the sullen member of staff did not even answer.

Sat out in the October sunshine eating excellent freshly prepared cheese and salad baguettes, and lemon cake. The menu is surprisingly varied for a small establishment, including soup, paninis, salads, jacket potatoes and specials. It's a great spot for people/dog/squirrel-watching in beautiful surroundings.

If you are just buying an ice cream or a can of pop or crisps then this place is conveniently placed in the beautiful Bute park and you will be satisfied. Purchase anything that is not pre-packaged and you run the risk of having worse coffee than that found on trains and also buns that are very crumbly (presumably due to being frozen and thawed multiple times) and have mould on them. That is what happened on our most recent visit. We got a refund (in 10p and 2p form, very nice of them <_< ) but we shouldn't have had such disgusting buns on our burgers in the first place, especially not ones with mould on them!!

The Summerhouse is right next to the MIllenium Bridge over the Taff in glorious Bute Park. It has outdoor seating for watching passers by. Food and drink is ordered from a hatch, kiosk style. The food is OK, but I find the service variable and sometimes the coffee is almost undrinkable. I have given up asking if the toilets are working. So a wonderful location badly let down by the service on offer.

Food is usual cafe lunch stuff - salads, sarnies, jackets etc. All the seating is outdoors but there are parasols so a bit of rain isn't the end of the world. Good spot for having lunch with kids, once they've finished their food there's plenty of space to play next to the cafe where they can be watched safely while you finish your food. Not the speediest for service - you have to queue up to order which can take a while on a nice day - but we happily go here often as it's a lovely outside space for lunch. Cardiff doesn't have enough outdoor cafes.

Situated near city centre but inside Bute Park - fab location. Have been coming here for few years with my dog, and can honestly say have never had a single complaint to make. The food is always really fresh & tasty with a good range from jacket potatoes & baguettes to curries, lasagnes & homemade cakes. The staff are always very nice & it is dog friendly with dog treats, bags if required & hand sanitiser. The seating is all outside but there is an overhang to sit under if weather is bad. It is an asset to the local area

I can't comment on the food at this place.... I queued for half an hour assuming I could get a baguette to take away without too much trouble, but when I got to the front they said there was a long wait for food and I had run out of time and had to leave. Is it too much trouble to tell people in the queue that there is a long wait??

I have been to the Summerhouse lots of times, I went today with my Boyfriend and Puppy. The service is great, the food is really good too whether its a snack or a meal. They are very nice and friendly to the puppy too. They have a little container of dog biscuits on the counter, dog bowls with water and always make a fuss. Gets a bit busy in the summer months but at the moment its great for a bacon sandwich on a cold walk. The food is more reasonable than drinks, 85p for a can of pop and £1.50 for a cup of tea.