Y Cyfnod in Gwynedd

We were looking for vegan/vegetarian lunch in Bala. We happily found Y Cyfnod Cafe & Bistro to enjoy our selection of food and wines Warm friendly atmosphere, with a large selection of all types of food for all We had pizzas and multiply cooked gorgeous chips. Which was very tasty/filling too, that we brought some away for later. Via a pizza box supplied by the wonderful table host. We enjoyed Hope you do too. Regards Me

Great restaurant. Food & service were lovely & it was a very busy Saturday evening. Vegan/ Veggie friendly - labelling food & wine. Best veggie choices in Bala. Owner is amazing! Well done - highly recommended 😊

We had the chicken and chorizo risotto, Welsh lamb burger and chips and the kids sausage, chips and beans. They were all fine and not too expensive for eating out these days. There was a wide range of meals on the menu, but the desserts were relatively standard fare, so we didn't bother at £6.50 each.

What a fabulous little restaurant 😍 food was delicious and staff were amazing especially the owners son made it a truly enjoyable evening. Definitely recommend

Why two stars??? Nice place, good service, not bad food, nothing historical but okay? The portions were minuscule, in fact on leaving we went straight across the road to the local Spar as we knew we would be hungry, £7.50 for a Camembert when it should have said a quarter of a Camembert melted in a tiny dish, served with a small amount of french bread and a few olives, I can honestly say I have never seen this served like this anywhere before! To give you some background, I am 61 years old, vegetarian, 5.3” tall and weigh less than 9 stone, watch what I eat and don’t eat large portions. The main course of aubergine chilli was similar, thin layer of chilli with rice and a tiny salad, My partner had the vegetarian lasagne, although this was a tad bigger it was small for an adult, I’m aware that places are finding it tough, but do expect to leave not feeling hungry, meal cost over £48 with two drinks, trip to Spar extra! Not sure who wrote the previous reviews. Tip: try The White Lion , fish and chips will fi you up!

On holiday in Bala and I wondered where he was taking me for dinner after a very elegant retaurant the night before! Very first impression was of a pretty basic cafe but that was soon quashed by the warm welcome, the excellent food and the prompt attentive service. He had salmon in a cream and mushroom sauce served on a timbale of crushed new potatoes and I had pasta arrabiata and garlic bread.Generous portions,freshly cooked and plenty of onions,peppers and olives in the arrabiata sauce. Even more generous was the affogato we shared for dessert with two large scoops of vanilla icecream on a small lake of espresso coffee. Managing the whole show was Mehmet whose energy , efficiency and organisation were outstandingly professional. Well worth the visit. Diolch yn fawr iawn Y Cyfnod.

Visited Bala as a family of 4, delightful little cafe-restaurant. We had three courses, and were finished in about 45 mins!! Delightful food but wouldńt have minded a little bit longer in between courses however food was very tasty.

We visited after spending the day at the Bala re-railed event. The place was busy but the service was super friendly and efficient. The food and drink we received was excellent with the garlic mushrooms being a particular highlight. We need a place like this in our home town!

My Family and I enjoyed another lovely meal here last night. Excellent quality food and service. This was our first Restaurant Meal out since the end of Lockdown. Well Recommended

We arrived here at our allocated booking time to find the poor owner missing a number of staff. He apologised and promptly seated us and we had menus immediately. The food was excellent and we would definitely not had known he was short staffed. Would highly recommend this place to eat.

Visited whilst on holiday in Bala for late lunch. Friendly staff and fabulous food. We all had pizza which was delicious. Definitely recommend this place

We had the best dinner here, absolutely delicious. The bruschetta was divine, we ordered one to share, with olives to share, but it was so good we wished we’d ordered one each! There were lots of tasty olives though which just about made up for it. I had smoked salmon and prawn linguine, again totally delicious, very flavoursome. My husband had arrabbiata pasta which was a bit spicy but he loved it. Great food, lovey staff, and quick and efficient service, I highly recommend eating here. It gets busy, unsurprisingly, so it’s best to book or go early.

greeted by friendly staff and quickly enjoyed our late breakfast . nice break in our journey to mid Wales

Friendly staff very welcoming Excellent service very attentive 10/10 Clean & accommodating Definitely worth a visit relaxing atmosphere Pizza to die for loved it ❤️ Thankyou Hope to visit again soon !

Called at Y Cyfnod for a full breakfast yesterday and can thoroughly recommend this café.The staff were friendly and courteous , the café itself was clean and the tables suitably Covid spaced with screens where appropriate.In addition, the food was of great quality, the portions generous and the staff were attentive.A most enjoyable experience. Thank you Cyfnod.

Starters of chicken wings and tempura king prawns followed by mains of linguine di mare and a mixture of more prawns and squid n chips and a shared rocket & parmesan side dish. Very friendly staff and decent ambience. Small limited wine list but quite adequate. Although I have only scored it as average I would return again.

Being able to eat in until 8.30pm from 17th May our choice to celebrate the occasion was at the Cyfnod Cafe & Bistro and as usual this was so enjoyable with good food, drinks and service from the owner and staff.We had mixed starters - garlic bread, bruschetta pomodoro and mixed olives - delicious. We went for the Argentinian Malbec wine and our mains were haddoch risotto, a margherita pizza and spaghetti all'amatriciana. We finished with latte coffees. Give the the Bistro a try - you will not be disappointed.

We ordered takeaway over the phone and walked to collect it. The Bistro was really nice inside and the chap which served was very pleasant. we ordered Sirloin Steak, Penne Carbonara, Greek Salad, Onion Rings and Fudge cake. I am a honest reviewer and take pride in my reviews and being truthful. So... Penne Carbonara was delicious a lovely meal large portion, The sirloin Steak my husband had he said was really nice, he always though dislikes frozen chips, but they were not awful just not his favourite, The Greek salad was with mixed leaves which was very nice, the mixed leaves were mild so the salad was very nice. Now the not so good bit now its only a little criticism, Onion rings frozen, and not very good onion rings, if they had M and S beer battered ones or aunt Bessie's beer batter whole onion rings they would have been nice, but these were small skinny ones and more like a Burger king onion ring or kebab shop onion ring, and the fudge cake wasn't the nicest, but please still eat here , as I said the portion sizes were great the takeaway presentation was very good,. service was very good,

Called in yesterday, friendly sociable staff, food excellent & fair price. I shall be calling again. Tasty sandwich, hot chips, fresh salad.

Great service and food delicious, we had pizza and lasagna and prawns and mushrooms to start great job lovely takeaway!

Stopped in Bala on our way back to North Wales. A coffee and a light lunch was the plan. My coffee connoisseur friend highly rated the double espresso and flat white she had. I enjoyed my flat white also, but I'm easily pleased so her recommendation is the one you're after! We hadn't planned on a big lunch, so purchased a pizza to share, a portion of chips and a rocket and parmesan salad. The latter was stunning, absolutely my favourite bit. The pizza and chips were delicious and all well presented. The hosts were extremely friendly and welcoming, we came in the early afternoon and it wasn't that busy, but social distancing measures were in place, including plastic screens which came into their own as we were leaving and more customers started to come in. Lovely bistro, unintended find.

had a lovely steak the place never dissapoints but wheres the chunky chips gone they were sooo nice ! friendly staff as usual!! will be back again :)

So good to be able to visit this special cafe and bistro once again. Excellent choice of food and drinks served to you by friendly staff. Our starters were cheese garlic bread and mixed olives, ever so tasty! Our mains were haddock fishcakes, spaghetti bolognese and beef lasagne, finishing with latte coffees. Just excellent.

Food was very good and plentiful. Went back second time and had the best pizza ever. Perspex screens all around so felt very Covid safe, although apart from the code to scan in the window no one actually took names and addresses for track and test.

We visited as a family of 4 with young children, the menu looked delicious and plenty to chose from. The portions were large and the price very reasonable. The staff were very attentive. We would most definitely visit again if we were in the area.

Visited Y Cyfnod on the recommendation of several locals. The food and service both fantastic. Picture speaks for itself, was a very nice meal and we would definitely visit again. Y Cynod is open throughout the day and into the evening.

This is a family venue of unexpected qualities in a small town in Wales.There was a warm welcome, the staff were enthusiastic and helpful and the menu was very wide. I can recommend the haddock and prawn Rissotto- best I've ever had! All-in-all a good find.

I had the baked Camembert for starter and the Welsh steak burger for mains. Both very good! Food sourced locally too. Service was friendly and had good Covid measures in place too. Would definitely recommend a visit.

This was our first dining experience here as a family last night. Excellent Food & Service. Can heartily recommend the Penne Arrabbiata which is my favourite and the best I’ve ever tasted.As we visit Bala regularly on our Camping trips, we shall be adding Cynod Cafe Bistro to our list.

We had been in wales all week and had eaten out most days. We love good food and had only had one tasty meal all week until on our last day we came across this restaurant. It was definitely the tastiest food we had eaten on our hols. The food was well presented and full of flavour. I really wish we had stumbled across it earlier but in a positive we had a great meal to end our holiday. The staff were lovely and friendly we would recommend you to go and try this restaurant you won’t be disappointed.

Went here last Monday and food was excellent so we went back for a 2nd and 3rd time in the same week! Relaxed atmosphere, lovely staff, great service, friendly people and fantastic food and well priced! Making lots of effort to keep it covid secure. Would highly recommend it to anyone!

A great little cafe in Bala worth a visit if you want to stop somewhere for excellent coffee or some food. We stopped here twice during our visit to Snowdonia!

The food was incredible, 2 of the best burgers we've had. The owner is lovely and clearly dedicated to the food and service. Delicious and very well priced. Wish we lived nearer so we can go again.

Had venison pate starter which was very tasty and a generous potion which came with bread, chutney and salad. Main course was sea bass on a tomato and chorizo sauce, very tasty again. Appropriate Covid measures and friendly attentive staff.

Excellent food and service many thanks. My partner is a coeliac and there were gluten free options. Good covid practice.

Our family of 11 went on the last evening of our holiday, the service was excellent, the food delicious and the staff so friendly. Lovely experience Highly recommend

Despite the restaurant being full, the meals were prompt, piping hot and delicious. It’s a small restaurant but very Covid compliant.

Went here with my wife and we couldn’t fault it! Lovely staff, great service, friendly people and fantastic food! Would highly recommend it to anyone! Thank you all for your great service and amazing food! From your forever friend Marc

We were staying in a nearby campsite and were fortunate to have chosen this lovely Bistro for dinner. Wonderful food and friendly service. Would highly recommend

We stayed in Bala and came here twice it was so good. Friendly staff, family run, excellent food, catered for gluten free party member well. Highly recommend!

Excellent Mediterranean food with great local produce. Very busy but the staff had made great efforts to ensure a safe environment for dinners. Food was excellent.

Excellent food! So good in fact we went here two days in a row! The seafood spaghetti was a highlight with us and the risotto was delicious!

Such an amazing find. Whilst they were clearly very busy and understaffed, the food was excellent and incredibly reasonably priced. Would highly recommend.

Would definitely come again! The pasta is super nice with a bit of chili that really makes the taste special. The chicken & chorizo risotto is good too! The others we got are the Greek salad and the apple pie, which is not too sweet and great with vanilla ice cream. Would def come again

Delicious food with fantastic service! The menu had plenty of variety and the Caribbean chicken was especially good! Would highly recommend for an evening meal! 😊

Very beautiful food, well presented for the price. Nice family run business, loads of options and highly recommended.

The food was exactly what we needed for a busy day in Wales. Tasted great and the host was very friendly and welcoming! Thank you very much!

We had a great time tonight! The food was great and loads of it. The staff were so friendly (Elin and the owner especially) and we managed to get the whole place singing ‘happy birthday’ for 2 friends who’s birthdays were about 6 months ago Seriously though, awesome place; do it!

Over the lockdown we truly missed our favourite local restaurant. Food is absolutely fantastic like usual. New marrocan addition- tagine was excellent! And i could kill for the recipe of the garlic mushrooms!!! Hahsha Happy to see you back

We called in for lunch - in fact it was the first time in a restaurant post lockdown. Food was great and the service friendly. Would recommend stopping there for a meal

Its a very small local restaurant that welcomes you with the wonderful service of the staff and the delicious food.

Walked past the night before and the menu looked great. Booked a table online very easily. Arrived was looked after really well and the food was absolutely incredible. Went with the chicken and chorizo risotto (pictured) - normally a fussy eater so this was a bit risky for me (don't judge I know!) but I have to say it was by far one of the nicest things I've ever eaten. Brushetta was fantastic, really tasty. Olives great. Wine, well I demolished a bottle and there's a decent selection of beers to choose from if that's not your thing. Very reasonable price wise. Will definitely be back and we live two hours away. Thanks to the team for everything.

We had a fantastic family meal. Great choice something for everyone. Well balanced dishes perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. Friendly service and welcoming. We will be back....Covid procedures followed 👍👍.

The vegetarian pizza was just cheese and peppers, no veg! I ordered the vegetarian moussaka with rice and salad. I had to send it back as the rice was in a solid block as if over microwaved. The manager asked me what was wrong, I explained the rice was hard. He looked at me and walked off with no apology. The moussaka was vegetables with cheese on top, no bechamel sauce. Will not be returning.

I usually have their amazing breakfast during the week but decided to visit for Sunday lunch yesterday. Sat outside as per covid restrictions and ordered the beef burgers, sadly it started to rain so we quickly changed our order to take out and ate in the car overlooking beautiful Lake Bala. Absolutely delicious, can't do anything about the weather but can praise the brilliant staff and the quickness to prepare our meal for take out. 100% recommended.

I visited for lunch and dinner. There is a great menu/specials and better still the food is ever so good, well presented with friendly table service. There is also a choice of good wines and other drinks. Give it a try and enjoy.

Cafe Cyfnod is clean, friendly and has a varied menus.The staff are exceptionally friendly and willing to go the extra mile!The food is really good, home cooked and full of flavour, with great Specials Menu too.We visit regularly and have never been disappointed!The Big Breakfast is superb!!!!

Really lovely meal. Great menu. Many gluten free options. Great service. Thoroughly recommend. Visited on a very quiet Sunday evening but everything was perfect.

The Seafood spaghetti was one of the best tasting seafood spaghetti i’d had. I’d not had this dish before with chilli in it, but wow it worked and made the dish extra tasty. My husband had a pizza and commented on how good the base was, being a nice depth - not too thin making it too crispy, with freshly cooked toppings and an overall great taste.

We were recommended to visit this restaurant by many locals and were very glad to have listened to them. A very versatile and impressive menu for a small location, we had a variety of meals from the menu and were happy with everything. The pizzas were delicious with plenty of toppings and cheese, the seafood spaghetti was perfect, filled with plenty of seafood and flavourful sauce. We were recommended to try the sticky toffee pudding and were definitely not disappointed. A brilliant experience with friendly and chatty staff, will definitely be visiting again.

Visited the Cyfnod with a group of friends yesterday evening. The food was absolutely delicious and not to mention the amazing staff . We will definitely be coming back to this amazing little café🙈😋🍔🍕

As the hopeless romantics we are, my wife and I got married 28 years ago on St Valentine's day. The up side of this is that most places to eat tend to go the extra mile even midweek to put on something special for our anniversary the 14th February. Y Cyfnod had been recommended to us by a friend who is neighbour of the restaurant. By day, it's a cafe and by night a restaurant, although there's no real need to get tied up on what we call a place to eat. Our evening meal options (both had starters and main and we shared a tiramisu) were available from either a deal menu (2 or 3 courses) or the a la carte. We had the latter. I had calamaris and the smoked haddock risotto. The combination of Italian and Greek specialities provided an interesting selection of choices. The risotto was a generous serving and was quite delicious. It's entirely possible the proprietors and staff had a bad day and we caught the tail end of something. I got the distinct impression I'd upset the waiter, but as this was the first time we'd been there, I'm not sure how I managed that. We had booked the table for two, but had the seats closest to the front door, which was very draughty every time the door opened. It's a popular venue, so there were a few comings and goings during our visit. The loo at the back was really cold and smelled like someone had been smoking in it. It was clean, but I wouldn't recommend anyone taking someone on a first date here for this reason. There's a well stocked bar and the wine was not overpriced. All in all, it was OK and the generous size of the risotto was what gave it a 4 star instead of a 3. I did have high expectations given its overall rating for places to eat in Bala, but I felt it was short of the mark for "best". I'll now have to try some of the other restaurants in town to see if this is typical.

We had lovely meal here on friday night all the staff are pleasant and friendly at all times food was delicious as always when we come here.This place is best in town even in North wales. Highly recommended to anybody that anybody coming to Bala to visit.

Owner keeps deleting my reviews , The food here is okay but the service is awful. Caught the manager taking pictures of our party without asking us

Food was to die for. Service was lovely, staff are super friendly. Thank you guys for the lovely evening.

This is the second time I've had to leave this review because the owners removed the original. Food okay , not great! The manager/owner kept taking pictures of our party without asking us . The whole experience was creepy. Wouldn't visit again

Visited in January and wasn't impressed. Substandard food and poor coffee. Service was okay Wouldn't return

Just stayed in Bala for 2 nights, had a lovely meal on our first night here. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Meal was excellant and value for money.

Best place in Bala for a meal. The food is good with plenty of choice on offer. Service is also great.

Visited before Christmas for lunch , food was okay but the service was bizarre , the manager/owner was trying to take pictures of our party . I'm guessing for social media!

Don't be fooled by the fact that they say they have Vegan options. There was none on the menu and was offered a potato and beans. This was after phoning up and they assured me they had options.

We had a family meal at bistro food was delicious and tasty we thought we are in italy.service was outstanding highly recommend. EDI & ani

Went in today for abit of lunch with the other half , staff was very friendly and welcoming couldn’t do enough for us, nothing creepy about them at all!!

Visited before Christmas for lunch , food was okay but the service was bizarre , the manager/owner was trying to take pictures of our party . I'm guessing for social media!

Me and my husband ate here during our stay in Bala. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was lovely, I would deffintly reccomend!

We have recently moved to Bala and decided to try them for breakfast. The service was exceptional and the food was hot, ample and delicious. We will be making it a go to place in future.

Enjoyed a lovely meal at the Cyfnod last Wednesday. Food was nicely presented, I enjoyed a locally sourced lamb burger and my husband had a succulent steak which was cooked perfectly. Nothing was to much trouble as my husband requested more peppercorn sauce and it was duly brought an extra serving. Forgot to get the waiter's name but he was really attentive. Diolch yn fawr. Well worth a visit!

Called in for breakfast and was charged full amount despite asking for less items. Bacon was very dry and burnt and toast very thin. The only saving grace was the sausages. Service wasn’t great and for £18 for the two of us it was v expensive.

Ordered take away from here. Food was just ok and they messed it up.. I ordered no mushrooms in my pasta and peas instead.. but they put mushrooms in mine and peas in my husband's dish.

We've spent the last few days staying at Bala Hotel and having checked out today we were looking for somewhere for dinner.

Nipped in here as went the pub across the road to be told not serving food, so glad we did. Waitress and waiter only young but couldn’t do enough for us. Made conversation from the minute we went in. We chose soup, gammon and chips, son had pizza. All meals were homemade and red hot. Nothing on our plates was pre packed food. All fresh and absolutely beautiful. We then ordered Fruit scones and jam, sticky toffee pudding and custard and bowl of ice creams

We had wonderful food and the two young persons waiting on the table were just great. Well dressed, attentive and nice to talk to. Had time to talk to us and made us feel special. Thank you

We have eaten here twice in 2 days and can’t say enough about them. The service is great, staff are friendly and will basically do anything for you (including bringing out something for us to try before we ordered). We will definitely come again!

We chose this restaurant because of its good TripAdvisor rating. We weren't disappointed!

...for a drink and cake or for an evening meal. No frills, friendly service with good Italian style food and at a good price. Quick service, good menu choice and very enjoyable.

We were not up to heavy British food. And this place gave us some choice of Mediterranean food. Soup and fish were very good. Risotto was not so good but acceptable. I still give them the highest mark for serving good Mediterranean food in this small town.

Just been for breakfast in a very,very wet Bala. The food was lovely with a good choice of options. The staff were so welcoming and they certainly brightened a very dull day! We will be back!

Wonderful menu and selection of authentic Italian dishes as well as more 'popular' mainstream meals.

Very cosy looking establishment. Welcoming host & staff. Looks very well set out and organised. The Menu is comprehensive for a bistro. Good selection of drinks to suit all types.

After a hike up Snowdon, we decided to camp in this town for the night. Friendly service & an ice cold beer was welcomed & we loved the yummy pizza👍 Would recommend to everyone!

I took two teenagers with me, so their choice of food was different to mine.

Absolutely amazing food and great service would recommend to anyone visiting Bala! Would highly recommend the garlic Lemmon chicken!

Nice lovely staff that gives you the time of day but the owner looks so miserable sat on his phone in the corner not even a smile he was too busy playing games on his phone, didnt even bother too turn the volume down, rude! And to say we are locals who come in all the time!! .. apart from that lovely food as always!! X

Went here for breakfast was really nice, lovely staff. Great value for money definitely worth a visit.

Lovely food, friendly staff and great value for money. 12 of us visited and the food all came out together. Brilliant service. Very clean and very tidy. Thank you. Keep up the fantastic work 😊

Great food and best coffee in Bala. Staff were great and very understanding in regards to our child needing a gf meal. Makes life easier when eating out. Great place.

Booked for a birthday meal. Absolutely delicious food! Wine was very nice and coffee was lovely. The best Tiramisu I've ever had too. Service, cleanliness, food quality all excellent. Have revisited a few times since. Can't fault Y Cyfnod Bistro at all and would highly recommend whether you are looking for a slap up meal or a quick snack.

We stopped hear be chance whilst passing through Bala and we very pleased with food and service. I have an excellent light breakfast while my wife had a risotto boscaiola which she found very tasty. Well worth dropping in to if your passing that way.

Having checked Trip Advisor and seen recent reviews I took my parents for lunch at this Bistro. It didnt disappoint. The service was excellent and allowed plenty of time, but not overly, to get comfy. The sandwiches we ordered were filled mostly with locally sourced produce and was ample for what we wanted. Drinks wise, the coffee was lovely, not mildly cold, and tasted just right.

The eggs Benedict are fantastic! Thick bacon, perfectly runny poached eggs and a delicious hollandaise sauce.