terra nova cafe roath park lake

Well I am going to have to completely disagree with all the other reviews here. I went to the cafe this week and thought it was very good, therefore, maybe it has improved since these original reviews.
You need to remember that you are in a cafe, not a restaurant. As such I could not fault it. The prices were very reasonable, much cheaper than most other places. A childrens meal is £2.50, you won’t find that in many places, and these meals were a decent size and looked good. I shared an antipasto for 2 with a friend (I think it was £4.50), it was nicely presented and came with bread and oils. It wasn’t a huge amount of food, but then for this type of food and the price I wasn’t expecting it to be, but it was plenty for a quick lunch time snack. The staff were pleasant, and the man serving the food was more than helpful, and even came over to our table to ask if we would like more bread. We also had tea and this was nice and also at a very reasonable price. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back, and thorougly recommend you try this place.

Unfortunately I had to give a one star rating to this café as the website would not let me put 0 stars. In my opinion the café’s rating should be in minus figures.

My partner and I decided to come to Terra Nova for some lunch earlier in the week. The food was advertised as being “cooked fresh to order”. However, upon the arrival of the food it was very clear that it was not. The chicken curry looked as though it had been pre-cooked and left under a heat source for quite a while. The chicken was discoloured and tasteless. It was a culinary disaster.

Just as soon as we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Lurking under one of my toasties was a dark black hair. I waited until the queue had calmed down and went up to complain to a member of staff. When I spoke to him I explained that I found a hair on my plate he responded very rudely and aggressively by shouting loudly: “So? What do you want me to do about it?!” Making me feel embarrassed and intimidated.

I was completely outraged that a member of staff would have such an appalling attitude about a customer finding a hair in their food.

After arguing my way into a replacement meal and eating it we decided to leave as quickly as we could.

I would not recommend this cafe to anyone. The food was terrible (and most definitely not fresh!) The staff were rude, aggressive and intimidating. I would say this was the worst dinning experience I have had and I hope that this cafe does not rely on repeat business!

I found the last 2 reviews a bit harsh and felt compelled to write. As a new mum I walk round Roath Park regularly. I have to agree there are lots of cafes that do better coffees and cakes in the Roath Area, but none have the stunning views. If you look up the take towards Caerphilly you could forget you’re in a city and believe you’re in the lake district. As such the cafe has a lot of visitors unlike the more gourmet cafes in the area. The coffee, cakes and service are at best OK, but there are plenty of high chairs for mums there is good access for disabled or elderly people and pushchairs (unlike in many of the small cafes) and kids love watching the birds on the lake. Don’t expect egon Ronay, expect a hot drink, a beautiful view and a quick rest.

I completely agree with the previous review of this really poor cafe. There has been a lot of press since the new cafe annex opened a few weeks ago. We visit the park often and having not visited the cafe for a while because it the food and service are so bad. As it has been re-rurbished we decided to give it another go but we were really disappointed and shouldn't have bothered. I visited with great expectations but the main cafe area and toilets hasn't been refurbished or even redecorated and badly need it. The cafe now has a large uninviting annex that's really unwelcoming. The food is dreadful - the cake we had was pretty stale and the latte coffee watery and all really highly priced.

So much for the redevelopment of this cafe in Cardiff's best known park, I wouldn't recommend this venue as it is, it really is awful and best avoided.

The Terra Nova Cafe at Roath Park lake has been refurbished. It has eco-friendly solar glass panels to give a fabulous view of the lake. It's a shame that the service and the fayre on offer there is nowhere near as good. Customer service is seroiusly lacking here - staff were ignorant and impolite. Prices are extortionate compared to other far better quality cafes in the Roath area. The owner/staff appear to have limited knowledge of how to make a decent cup of tea or coffee - a cappucino was requested and a pallid, tasteless milky coffee was provided. Cookies, shortbreads and pastries had been purchased elsewhere and re-packaged and sold at vastly inflated prices. Its such a shame as there are lots of visitors to Roath Park Lake every day - The Terra Nova Cafe needs to improve the quality of the food and drinks provided and its customer service or have to deal with many dis-satisfied customers.