Coffee #1

Love this place but shame they run out of croissants quite early in the morn. Love your hot drinks and atmosphere is always warm and friendly

Great coffee and food is excellent as well minus the Starbucks nonsense. Great during the week but can be very busy on weekends.

Just sat down for a huge cup of Earl Grey and to immerse myself in a great book for an hour or two. The most relaxed i’ve been for a long time

Went here randomly when waiting for tesco to open on a Sunday morning and loved the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. Got myself some lemon and poppy seed cake — really delicious and some breakfast sausage and bacon baps. Very pleased with ending up there! Must go back again soon with my book to fully enjoy it!

I’m a sucker for a gadget, but didn’t expect to find one in a coffee shop!
We often take a bit of a wander onto Albany Road and pop into Coffee 1 for a coffee and a pannini or a cake. We never intend to have a pannini or a cake, but they always look so scrummy in the cabinet while we’re waiting that it would seem churlish not to.
I know this is part of a chain (there is another round the corner) but it doesn’t feel like it. The staff are always friendly and cheery, the coffee is actually pretty good and it has a real relaxed feel. We tend to sit outside in the covered garden.
Last we went I was seduced by the new coffee filter doodad they were offering. I’m not really sure who was more excited, me or the girl behins the counter! It was a cone with a coffee filter and coffee in and came with a cup, a special coaster and an egg timer. That’s right, an egg timer! So, you leave it as it is while the timer runs out, then you pop the doodad on the cup and it releases the coffee into the cup. Amazing! The staff even came out to see how it went!
Not only was it exciting, it was really good coffee.

Great coffee, what sets this apart from most coffee shops is a really close feel to the Starbucks model but with more personality in the shop.
100% organic fair trade produce need I say more, drink up and feel good about supporting good wholesome products.
The décor is pristine and the upstairs and garden out the back are equally relaxing places to enjoy a break, mind you it does sometimes hum with the sound of conversation, and can become overly crowded.

Coffee (I can not find my hash key for the life of me today) number one is situated amongst the battleground of coffee shops fighting for your trade on Albany road. People are always going to need a cup of coffee or tea on this road as it is full of charity shops and a much needed rest is needed in those times of bargain looking lagging.
This coffee shop is nice and mellow, mainly brown in colour with quirky painting touches. I had a large teacake and cup of tea in here and it didn’t cost me a small fortune. I sat by the window and happily watched the people of Albany road wander by.
With such chains as Starbucks and Costa taking over the world, it is nice that places like Coffee number 1 can thrive. I personally will always opt for the smaller businesses to hand over my cash as it shows in the decoration of the place that more thought and care has been put into its creation, rather than just another soul-​less addition to a huge chain.

The coffee shop market is a very crowded and competitive field. To survive (and thrive) you either have to be good or have a lot of finance behind you like the Starbucks and Costa Coffee’s of this world. Coffee #1 is good.
Coffee #1 now have 12 shops across South Wales and Bristol and I can only assume they have the same high standard of quality as the 2 in Cardiff.
They are both a lovely place to spend a few minutes (or an hour) to ponder on the meaning of nothing whilst you stuff your face with a delicious panini and wash it down with a taste bud tingling coffee.
They try hard to make this place a comfortable relaxing place to drink coffee and I think they succeed.

The Albany Road outlet of Coffee #1 is one of the more well appointed cafes belonging to this Cardiff originated chain… (owing to the fact that every other shop on this stretch of Albany Road is an estate agent, I feel obliged to use estate agency-​speak… please forgive me!)
Although not the first Coffee #1 outlet, (the original is up by the railway station at number 9 Wood Street, in the centre of town), this is one of the earlier branches, and remains much loved by the people of Roath. May be this is because of the lovely enclosed garden out the back, or the great coffee, or may be their well priced eminently edible food??? It’s difficult to know. There’s a lot to like about Coffee #1, and as yet, I haven’t found a single thing that detracts from my unblemished opinion of all of their outlets to date.

This is a splendid little café. It looks quite small, and is nestled between a Spar and a Boots. There are usually people happily chatting in the window. Inside is pleasantly decorated, with some amazing quotes painted around the walls, from the likes of Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde.
There is also an outside seating area on the roof, which is a nice place to separate yourself a little from the hustle and bustle of a busy shopping day.
But where this café surpasses all others, is in these three important points: 1) They serve fantastic, well crafted coffees that taste so rich you want to marry it. 2) The staff are bright and witty. 3) They sell absolutely delicious welshcakes for 50p a pop!

I’m a fan of Coffee #1 mainly because I like one of its other branches: the one near Cardiff Central Station, which served me well during my days of commuting to and fro between Bristol and Cardiff — way before Starbucks appeared on nearby St Mary Street.
This local Roath branch is good, too, with equally capable coffee baristas serving a rich, smooth blend of espresso. It’s also one of the best spots for lunch along Albany Road, with huge focaccias and those great chunky chocolate chip shortbread biscuits. So while the city centre branch has served me well for take away lattes on the run, this laid-​back Roath branch is a great place to while away an hour or so on the comfy sofas.
It’s also open for fairly long hours, from 7.30am — 7pm on weekdays — so you can grab takeaway before work if you live in the area and pass it en route to work.

This is a good café that I do quite like going to but it’s another one of those awkward ‘well, I’m in the area’ type places where you don’t want to have to go out of your way for it. Café Calcio, for example, is a place I always go out of my way for…
I was greeted by a server who was nice and friendly and who served me quickly (without me feeling rushed) and I had a good cup of tea which was piping hot and soothing.
So, head on down there. I just only gave it 4*s because you can only have so many favourites!

It was a cold winter morn, raining off and on. My sister and I had been shopping for a couple of hours and were laden down with purchases galore. I was especially pleased with a pair of snowboots that I’d just bought.
We ducked in Coffee 1, out of the rain, and grabbed ourselves a huge leather couch, two cups of tea and the Mail on Saturday. We spent a very enjoyable half hour quenching our thirst and laughing at the ‘totally and utterly non-​biased articles’ in the Mail. And they say Jeremy Kyle is a bear baiter!
Anyhoo, back to said coffee shop. It’s lovely. Warm and cosy with couches and tables, there’s tea and cake (and Coffee of course) and lots of newspapers and magazines lying around.
The toilets are clean and light and bright and friendly, like the rest of the coffee shop. I really like it in here.

Coffee #1 has a really nice atmosphere, the staff are friendly and don’t seem to mind if you spend hours sat reading with just the one drink! The hot chocolate is really good. They have a good selection of papers and really comfy sofas and chairs upstairs.

Coffee #1 is definitely a lovely café and does a great selection of food and drinks and their cakes are pretty darned gorgeous. However a few pointers:
1 — beware of the BLT panini. Now i love a freshly toasted panini as much as the next person but lettuce was never meant to be heated and since their sandwiches are already made up Coffee #1 toast the lettuce in their BLT. Bleurgh.
2 — They operate a card stamping system so if you go there frequently remember to grab a card!
3 — There is a patio out the back and its lovely in the summer when inside is too crowded and hot for words!

Remember to get your card stamped and get your 10^th coffee free. I like Coffee Number 1’s smoothies in the summer and coffee and toast in the winter. They have a book crossing shelf where you can pick up free books and leave old books you want to set free.

Whether you prefer the house filter, foamy cappuccino, a pure latte, americano or macchiato the coffee here never disappoints. Good barista training is clearly evident. For a change in liquid refreshment the exotic smoothies, teas or freshly crushed juice provides a welcome caffeine break.
If you’re after a quick snack, late breakfast, or afternoon energy boost the cheese cakes, pastries, mini quiches (with side salad) and paninis are tempting, fresh and well presented.
The slate flooring, soft brown leather sofas, wooden tables and padded chairs are apparently inspired by coffee houses in British Colombia and echo its Atlantic Coffee past. Sam’s paintings of Abergavenny farm animals are not to everyone tastes, but then Van Gogh also failed to find buyers during his lifetime.
The international staff and clientele reflect the cosmopolitan character of the community. Yummy mummies share tables with middle aged actors, newspaper photographers, real estate negotiators, university students and telecom sales teams.
Albany Road is not one of Cardiff’s better shopping streets, more for the locals; but this coffee house makes up for the lack of sophisticated alternatives.