Morgan Arcade, Cardiff

Morgan Arcade was opened in 1896. It was originally known as the New Central Arcade. Today, it is owned by Helical Bar, who also own the Royal Arcade. This is one of Cardiff’s beautiful series of Victorian arcades, which are home to many independent local businesses.

Walking up The Hayes, from our previous walking tour destination the Royal Arcade, enter the first entrance to Morgan Arcade, between Moss Brothers and Moulton & Brown. On the left is a plaque with some history about David Morgan, after whom the arcade is named:

Further along on the left is Tabernacle Lane, which links the Royal and Morgan Arcades (collectively, the Morgan Quarter). By Capital second-hand bookstore, the three sections of Morgan Arcade join, with one pushing through to St Mary Street. At this junction:

The Plan
28-29 Morgan Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1AF (2039 8764)
The Plan Café Bar has been running in this prime Morgan Arcade location since 2002. The owner is David Nottingham (no relation). There are tables downstairs and upstairs and they serve breakfast and lunch, locally-made cakes, and the café is fully licensed. The Plan is particularly noted for its specialist coffees and, to a slightly lesser extent, teas. It has been listed among the ‘Top 50 Coffee shops in the UK’ in The Independent and in a similar Top 50 list in The Guardian. Head Barista Trevor Hyam, who started working at The Plan in 2007, writes a specialist blog on coffee called ‘The Bean Vagrant’; he came fourth in the 2010 UK Barista Championships; he experiments with brew methods using his Mahlkonig Tanzania grinder; and he sources craft-roasted traceable coffee beans. In other words, he knows his stuff. You can explore a range of single estate coffees on the specialist menu, with recent coffees on the menu coming from estates in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Columbia and Costa Rica.

The stretch of the arcade along to St Mary Street has no food outlets, but there are many interesting shops, including Bang & Olufsen, (quality Danish sound systems – no MP3 players), Fountain Fine Arts (where you can buy affordable art by Welsh artists), an Oxfam clothes shop, the Camera Centre, and Neal’s Yard Remedies.

Entering the second arm of the Morgan Arcade that connects back to The Hayes, on the other side of The Plan, is Spillers Records (31 Morgan Arcade). Spillers Records was established in 1894 by Henry Spiller. The shop moved to its current location in 2010, from its previous location by the The Hayes entrance to Morgan Arcade.

Jam, Marmalade, Bread, Hot Chocolate, Cream, The Sweet, Meatloaf, Tangerine Dream. Now those were the days - when bands named themselves after food!

Next to Spillers:

Crumbs
33 Morgan Arcade CF10 1AF (2039 5007)
Crumbs is Cardiff’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. It was opened on 3 Dec 1970 by Judi Ashley, at a time when most people had not heard of brown rice.  Crumbs came under new ownership earlier this year. I believe the new owner is called Paul. It has been spruced up, with new tables and décor, and rebranded as Crumbs Vegetarian Kitchen and Coffee Shop, but the original ethos has been preserved. Large bowls of salad are still a main feature and servings are still generous, though possibly not as huge as in the olden days and prices have gone up. I had the large mixed standard salad bowl last week, which as before, comprised layers of different salads (six on this occasion) in a wooden bowl, with grated carrot, shredding cabbage, apple and brown rice. There was plenty of cheese on top, though the amount of brown rice was less than I remember. Crumbs also do breakfast, soups, jacket potatoes and other lunches, and have good bread. It is essentially the same healthy food as served since 1970: it was reassuring to know that Crumbs is still Crumbs. They do take-away. There are two small rooms upstairs, so Crumbs is bigger than it looks from the outside.

Crumbs, Cardiff

I enjoyed an early lunch in Cardiff today, at Crumbs in the Morgan Arcade (the arcade joining The Hayes and St Mary Street). Crumbs is Cardiff’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. It opened for business on the 3rd December 1970.

Judi Ashley started Crumbs straight after finishing a course at Cardiff College of Food Technology. In a recent interview, she recalled how people generally hadn't heard of brown rice in 1970. Crumbs has stuck to its original philosophy. The solid pine tables, and many of the menu items, have been consistent for four decades.

Today, I had the original mixed salad, with coffee. The salads, on display in large metal dishes, are spooned into individual wooden bowls. Servings are generous. Layers of different salad, with an emphasis on grated carrot, shredding red and white cabbage, apple and celery, are topped with flavoursome brown rice. On the way to the bottom, you get some cheese dressing, a hint of Tabasco, a few beans, and so on. This is food that you know is good for you.

I cannot eat this type of food without being reminded of the 1980s: the alternative cafes in Bath and weekends at the Centre for Alternative Technology in north Wales. Wholefood restaurants and left-leaning politics seemed to be intrinsically linked back then.

The food in Crumbs is nutritious, unpretentious and, despite the rise of vegetarian restaurants, still fairly unique. This is because many new outlets shy away from the obviously home-made, simple, filling salads on display in Crumbs (they do curries and other menu items too), for fear of being judged too boring or unsophisticated. If, like Neil Young and his music, you strive to mine the pure source of things, then in the field of vegetarian restaurants Crumbs would be a good place to start.