Llandudno café where customers can enjoy delicious food while helping others

Llandudno’s Caffi Dewi is the pick of the day – an ideal place to eat and drink delicious hot and cold food and drinks and at the same time support a charity that plays a vital role in the local community. Opened some 13 years ago and run entirely by a team of dedicated volunteers, this bright and airy cafe situated at St David’s Hospice on Abbey Road is an important money maker for the charity, with all profits ploughed back into providing high quality care for patients and their families across North Wales.

Just a short walk from West Shore beach, Caffi Dewi is open to the public and has become a popular pit stop for locals and visitors as well as relatives and friends of patients, offering breakfast, lunch, snacks, morning coffee and afternoon tea, including a tempting array of freshly baked cakes, scones, flapjacks and bara brith. The large private car park makes for easy off road parking.

Some time ago my food loving friend Elaine and I visited Caffi Cariad at St Asaph, a café run by St Kentigern hospice. It was excellent and we were eager to see if Llandudno’s counterpart was as good. We were soon to find out. Conveniently located on the ground floor just inside the main hospice building entrance, first impressions were very favourable.

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The cafe was spacious, modern and spotlessly clean; nicely decorated, with coloured photographs of the resort and beyond adorning the walls, light wooden tables and chairs set well apart. When we arrived just after midday the place was already almost full - mainly with local ladies who lunched, so Elaine and I were seated at a table in the large adjoining reception area, which serves as the cafe’s overflow at busy times.

Fellow diners here included several couples, some young mums with toddlers and a 10 strong group of retired Venue Cymru stewards, who regularly got together at Caffi Dewi once a month. The atmosphere was lively and informal, the staff helpful and friendly and we quickly felt very much at home. It was a good start and if reports were true, we were in for a gastronomic treat!

My dining companion and I began by studying the exciting new a la carte spring menus introduced last February. With veggie, vegan and gluten free options, there really was something for everyone – a mouth watering selection of freshly prepared quality fare using locally sourced produce where possible - restaurant standard to say the least and affordable! Served between 10 and 11.30am, the breakfast menu offered full traditional English, vegetarian or vegan breakfasts priced at £7.50, filled sourdough rolls, toast and toasted teacakes.

We really were spoiled for choice with the lunch menu, available between midday and 3pm. Light options included filled jacket potatoes, cold sandwiches and toasties on ciabatta bread served with salad garnish soup of the day, chcken Caesar salad and not least, sweet and savoury pancakes - firm favourites with customers.

Hot main meals included scampi, sausage, egg or ham served with chips, plus the popular Thai green curry with jasmine rice and Cajun spiced sweet potato roulade. A recent introduction is Fish Friday ie battered cod and chips with mushy or garden peas, which goes down very well with customers.

If this wasn’t enough to tempt the taste buds the regular menu is always augmented by one or two daily changing meat specials priced at just £10.50. On the day we were there it was beef stroganoff and beef pie with peas and chips. Elaine would have liked a lager shandy but the cafe doesn’t have an alcohol licence so she had to settle for tea instead. As she was feeling peckish she decided to go for stroganoff, a classic dish of French origin by way of 19th century Tsarist Russia.

In next to no time our charming server delivered a piping hot plateful of juicy beef and mushrooms smothered in sour cream gravy, accompanied by fluffy wild rice. This was a quality dish - generous in size, tasty and nicely presented on a warm plate. Full marks.

“It’s excellent, lovely flavour and doesn’t need any seasoning, ” Elaine said happily. I prefer something less substantial for lunch and was equally pleased with my choice of soup of the day and a sandwich with salad garnish and potato crisps, which was priced at £8.50.

The steaming bowl of hearty tomato soup was the real thing - not out of a tin or packet and the sandwich had a generous filling of tangy cheddar cheese and pickle. No complaints from me. Elaine and I were both pretty full and desserts of blackberry and apple crumble or apple pie with ice cream would have been just too much. However, in the interests of the taste test we decided to share a slice of coffee ad walnut cake, which like the rest of our meals was quite delicious. We finished with a pot of tea for Elaine and a latte coffee for me.

The kitchen is presided over by hardworking volunteers Sue and Paula, two very experienced and imaginative cooks who really know how to please their customers. The dynamic duo have worked at the hospice for a number of years and provide first class fare for the cafe Monday to Friday as well as catering for patients.

The menu is constantly evolving. This year for the first time Caffi Dewi had an Easter opening with a two course lunch featuring roast chicken, lamb and a nut roast for vegetarians, plus non alcoholic prosecco. Soon the new summer season menu will appear, with the introduction of quiches, pizza and salads as well as takeaway boxes for elderly folk and the many walkers to West Shore beach.

Caffi Dewi is a great place to visit at any time of the year. Give it a try, you certainly won’t be disappointed!

THE FACTS

What we ate: Daily special £10.50. Soup and sandwich £8.50. Coffee and walnut cake £3.75. Pot of tea £1.70. Latte 2.70. Total £27.15

Opening times: 1Oam- 4pm Monday – Friday. Booking advisable for parties

Service: Friendly, helpful, nothing is too much trouble

Parking: Free parking in the hospice’s own car park

Seating: Seating available for 50 people in two areas

Disabled: All areas accessible to disabled visitors. Disabled toilet

Dogs: Guide dogs only

Overall: A lovely place to eat, drink and relax. Prices are very reasonable

Caffi Dewi, St David’s Hospice Cafe, Abbey Road, Llandudno LL30 2EN

Telephone 01492 879058

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