Cafe Brava

Lovely food with fabulous service from the staff. Little cafe on the street, where people wander around with friends and dogs. Enjoy a good time here.

Close to 5 stars! Great prices, great staff, great food. Great varied menu with plenty of options for vegetarians. Prices very very reasonable. Warm welcome indeed. Seating a little cramped inside but worth it. Plenty of accessible seating outside or for those with dogs. Table service a nice touch. Coffee great and portion sizes great. I personally found it a little too loud in there but after a rowdy table left it was better. Toilets spotless but had to walk through staff area to get to them. Parking impossible but worth the 20 minutes of looking for a space!

Brava is a brilliant gem in Pontcanna. The staff was really invested in making sure my meal was coeliac friendly and I had a delicious breakfast I felt safe eating. Thank you Cafe Brava! (Coffee was really great too!)

As local greasy spoons go, this is a cut above the rest. I used to live above this row of shops, and pontcanna is a cool place to visit let alone live, so I was blessed. I visited once or twice a week for a solid year, I'd always park my classic Jaguars opposite or to the side of their shop. Sitting and watching the world go by, enjoying some very decent breakfasts and brunches, there's not many better corner spots in cardiff to enjoy such a environment.. It's pricey, but it's in keeping with other simular establishments. Well worth a visit. I still go back every so often with friends, as pictured. As always, bacon well done, and please make sure my beans are HOT 😏 Love. G

Had a brilliant breakfast burrito and my partner had a gorgeous full English. Staff really friendly and funny.

Great British breakfast, had it for Sunday brunch, delicious 😋 👌 would highly recommend. Not our first visit, will definitely be back. Lovely staff.

Waited 30 minutes for brunch, weren't told there was a wait, but also no food was coming out, and the tables weren't being cleared, so not sure why anyone was waiting? Had to chase for an update on the food, and then it came out immediately. Corned beef Hash was more COLD corned beed Mush, didn't eat it, or give the feedback because not at one point, even when we settled the bill, were we asked how anything was. Other half ordered scrambled eggs and smoked salmon- eggs were burnt bits of fried egg as though scraped from a frying pan- didnt at all resemble scrambled eggs. The tables around us all needed clearing, staff didn't seem to notice any customers after taking orders- first time trying this place, won't return. Such a shame as was a treat for us not something we can afford to do all the time!

It was a really tasty breakfast. I liked eggs benedict! However the bagels were a bit small maybe. Still I was completely full when i finished. On sunday it was a bit crowded. We waited 15min on the outside tables which was okay since it was a sunny day :)

Was supposed to go to another restaurant, but that one was full so decided to come to Brava and was not disappointed at all. By the way, they take Covid measures very seriously here which is a nice change from London. I ordered their classic Welsh Breakfast (I believe it is called "Meaty") and it came with an assortment of items like a classic English breakfast. All the items were very okay but I really liked the bacon though which had a bit of a fattiness to it and was pretty thick cut. I will say that that is probably the only thing on the plate with natural flavor so just be mindful of that so you can eat it with everything. Overall, not a bad meal in Cardiff and +1 for the cheap prices. I think I'm just not a huge English breakfast person but if you are, you will probably love this cute little place.

Positives: I have been to Brava twice for full Welsh breakfast - which was great - properly cooked very tasty - lovely sausages. I also went there for an evening meal - I had lamb shank - again it was lovely - very succulent and had a nice glass (es) of wine too. The evening is less busy and the staff had more time to be friendly. Negatives: Breakfast time is very busy and I felt very cramped and rushed. I didn't feel relaxed and it got on my nerves. It's a little on the pricey side but hey this is Pontcanna - its the price you pay for trendy town. Overall - go there if you want a good evening meal and breakfast but expect it to be full and not as cheap as a greasy spoon in Canton.

Food was great, service was fast and the outdoor seating was comfortable. I got the berry waffles and Chris got the full breakfast. The waffles were some of the best I've had.

Brava is where I go for lunch when I'm out and about in the Pontcanna area. It is incredibly friendly and the food is excellent. Ruth, a beautiful blonde, bubbly chatty woman, is usually serving behind the counter. She's been at Brava for 9 years, and knows everything about Pontcanna Street, and is graciously willing to share her knowledge. It's not that she's a gossip! It's just that she naturally enthuses about pretty much everything in life, and so, somewhat inevitably, she talks about what she sees on this quiet, but eventful street. The food is good and varied. There's plenty of daily specials, made with organic and free range ingredients wherever possible, as well as pasta dishes and sophisticated sandwiches, if you prefer a lighter lunch. breakfasts are pretty special too.... if you haven't tried their Eggs benedict, then you haven't lived! No-one hurries me when i take up root on the terrace, to indulge in a read of the paper, whilst keeping one eye trained on the street. Brava is a bit of a Mecca for the celebrities in town, as well as visiting notables. I'm not so much interested in the celebrities themselves, but i do enjoy watching how everybody else behaves around them!

A friend took me here for dinner. It was very nice. We could talk and still hear each other. The pizza we had was excellent. Good choice.

Used to go to Cafe Brava all the time and would still be there now if it wasn't for the crowds already there before me. This is a great pity as I really like this place but when you can't get a seat or have to keep sharing tables it's time to move to Cibo's. Which I have done and I now go there pretty regularly. can generally get a seat and served pretty quickly and they've got chairs outside. But I do miss Brava it was my first love, and I loved the breakfasts and you could take your veggie friends for a fry up and know they'd have a good time. But paying for everything with cash is a pain and it also got a bit poncey. Can I use this word without offending anyone...? Probably. Far too many media types with asymetric bobs and children called Twm and Seren for my liking.

It's funny; there are plenty of things that I could find fault with in Brava. The place is too small, the tables are too close together, you must pay with cash, and the toilets aren't too great. Yet, I can't help but adore this place, and just keep coming back all the time. The food is good, and I mean good. Nothing over the top, think sandwiches, salads, baguettes, quiches etc... but very tasty, and you can tell all have been prepared with care. There is a great buzz in this place, and it's very popular with media types. In fact last time I was here I spotted Welsh actor Mathew Rhys of Brothers and Sisters fame. However the staff are in no way pretentious, they are so down to earth, and very chatty (they were just as excited as me and my friend to spot Mathew)!

Situated in the posh area of Pontcanna, just a 15 minute walk away from the city centre, Brava is probably the epitome of what the area has to offer. Cute little bistros and boutique-like places that feel slightly exclusive, but are welcoming enough to be loved by a wide range of people. This is probably one of the most ridiculously small cafes I've ever been to. No wonder it has a reputation for being exclusive, you can only fit 15 people in at any one time! Head along nice and early if you fancy being able to find a seat. Good food and excellent coffee keep the hordes coming though, and this place certainly has a reputation for being popular with the arts people of Cardiff and the 'celebrities' of Wales.

Cafe Brava is a stylish Pontcanna café that's popular with trendy media types and well-heeled locals, but still manages to remain down to earth and very friendly thanks to its lovely staff. Somehow, despite the tables being crammed in a little too close together, and quite a few posers dotted about the place, it also still manages to have a relaxed atmosphere. It's a favourite brunch haunt on late Sunday mornings, with some delicious breakfast choices on the menu. It can get busy at weekends, though, so you can't always get a table. The lunchtime food is good, too, with plenty of choice - and even if you're only ordering a sandwich you can expect it to be carefully prepared with fresh, tasty ingredients.

Coming here for a cup of tea is one of my favourite things to do. It just feels so relaxed all the time (partly because it's never as busy as the big chains in town). The service is always really good and the atmosphere is one of calm joviality. It's not the kind of place that I would go in the eveings, though I have heard that the food is good, because I like to keep it as my secret little get-away, where I can wander in off the street and order a tea and settle down to read a book or do some work. I've been in there for absolutely ages before but have never been hassled to move along. I love it.

Went here for breakfast one Sunday morning. Certainly wasn't too busy at 10am so plenty of tables to be had. It's a small cafe with small tables pretty close together but overall has a nice vibe to it. Good brunch menu with pretty much all you'd expect to be on it. I went for a loaded muffin which was very good; sausage, bacon, egg and cheese. The coffee was not bad either. Perhaps on the pricy side for breakfast but expected in the area.

Hip spot to sit and enjoy a coffee or tea, or have a proper meal, in one of Cardiff's better areas. Expect to hear the chatter of Welsh, which is always a sign of trendiness in Cardiff. Food is quite good. Desserts are even better.

Lovely atmosphere and great selection of food, the evening menu was a very pleasant surprise , set on a lovely street in pontcanna

Café Brava's lunch time menu is pretty much amazing, they have a very wide range of all types of foods and snacks, their nachos with chicken slices are mouth watering and their sandwich selection makes the decision between turkey, chicken and ham virtually impossible, you just want it all! Unfortunately Café Brava's evening menu lacks in variety and is pretty much all the same, which makes this café a ghost venue at night, also café Brava are in close competition with Café Cibo which is only a few doors up and while people are fighting over reservations there no body even considers coming near Brava, which is a shame since I'm sure if they widened the menu and tried different styles this place could really thrive in small cafes in this area.

Cafe Brava with a welcoming friendly atmosphere, excellent food (pasta, sandwiches, and many daily specials), and there's always a table! Definitely not just for lunch! Highly recommended

Great place for some great grub - my fave being some brunch on a sunday morning - gets very busy though! The cappuccinos are fab.

Lovely cafe, friendly staff, nice atmosphere

Cafe Brava is one of the best in Cardiff. Food is very good - a great cup of coffee but also the staff are brilliant. I love eating here - even a simple meal like egg and chips is amazing. It does get busy towards the end of the morning and can get very crowded - but in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff there is no better.

often difficult to get a table but the eggs Benedict is worth the wait