Cardiff Central Market

If you find yourself in Cardiff, I'd recommend visiting the market (also known as Central Market)! It's been around since the 1700s, and in the same Victorian-style building - with a big glass roof - for over 100 years. There's *a lot* to look at and take in, so heads-up if you're a person that gets overstimulated by noise (because that's what the market is: organized chaos of vendors selling anything and everything from coffee to clothing to walking sticks to fish). We enjoyed a bunch of food that we brought to the low, bar-style seating on the first floor, including...

Tukka Tuk (5) - first floor, 219 - 223: Indian street food by a multi-award winning chef. And, yeah, believe the hype. This was one of the best things we ate in Wales (and it was vegan!). We did the Build A Bowl and chose 1) half pilav rice and half plain chips topped with 2) coconut dal and 3) cauli kemp. It was rich, creamy, and an absolute explosion of flavor! I regret sharing this with my partner, so - PRO TIP - get your own.

Pierogi (4) - first floor, 213 - 217: Polish pierogis. These fresh dumplings prepared daily using their family's special recipe are DELICIOUS. We tried the vegan ones, which at the time were roasted buckwheat with onion and mushroom sauce. So, so good. There's usually five-ish flavors to choose from, and I think they come in two portions (small with four pierogies; large with seven pierogies).

Cardiff Bakestones (4) - ground floor, 161 - 165: Known for their Welsh cakes (which are kind of like a scone or a biscuit; softer and slightly sweet, they're baked round with a crinkly edge. Cardiff Bakestones has LOTS of different flavors (like salted caramel, nutella, lemon curd, chocolate chip, etc.) and also vegan and gluten-free options. Definitely get a couple more than you think you're gonna want, because *trust me* you're going to want another right after the one you've just eaten!

After a long, arduous day of road-tripping across the English and Welsh countryside, my travel buddy and I rolled into Cardiff after sunset, picked an (awesome!) hostel based on reviews (Mrs. Potts, if you are curious), and crashed hard. In the morning, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the main entrance to Cardiff Central Market right across the street, as I set out to forage up some breakfast for the both of us. I did not leave empty-handed.

Here you will find all of the typical Street Market Greatest Hits: clothing, homemade soaps, fishmongers, butchers, bakers, books, cafes, local memorabilia for tourists, and even a fortune teller, packed together in orderly rows on two levels, under a glass ceiling. Although my experience is both singular and anecdotal, the market felt busy without being bustling, populous but not crowded, despite it being a Saturday morning. Maybe I beat the rush?

I left the market with a bag of pastries, some dried meat sticks, and a smile on my face, ready for another day of cross-country exploration, and excited by the fact that I could visit again in a couple days (as Cardiff was our temporary hub for our daily excursions).

Great market with everything you could want!

Mum and I visited the place a few years back and absolutely loved it. There's tonnes of great food vendors as well as places to buy souvenirs, clothing, welsh original items, etc. I recommend going early in the day as it can get quite crowded. I wish they had more seating areas though for disabled people.

Absolutely love this place! Vendors were all friendly and welcoming! Prices excellent. Be prepared with cash as not all vendors accept cards. Great variety of products... walking sticks, food , candy, fresh produce snd cheeses, jewelry, books! Just go and enjoy!!!!

There was only one moment I was truly upset I didn't have access to a kitchen during my time in the UK, and it happened when I walked into Cardiff Market and smelled the fish. Like anything truly exceptional during travel, we found this purely by accident as we walked around downtown. It's a Victorian-style indoor market with all sorts of surprises around every corner -- fresh fish, whole pigs, and plenty of stalls for quick bites if you're stopping in for lunch. We ate some excellent pasties and some fresh cheese as we shopped, and if I could have gotten somewhere to cook some of that fish ... well, it's probably a good thing I didn't, considering we were traveling on a budget.

I don't subscribe to the idea that something all the tourists do is automatically worthless, but I'll admit it was nice to see plenty of locals there as well. Considering its central location, there's really no excuse not to stop in during a visit.

Cardiff's central covered market is an excellently preserved example of a late Victorian market, with a first floor gallery, all sheltered under a huge overall glass roof. Opened in 1891, to the design of the borough engineer William Harpur, it is still an important attraction for Cardiff shoppers. It replaces an earlier market erected in the 1830s, itself a successor to the market held under the old town hall, built in the 1740s.


Today, the stalls inside sell a wide variety of both food and non-food items. Probably best known are the fresh meat counter and fresh fish counter at the entrance, but there are also greengrocers, bakers and delicatessen too, with provisions at prices which compare favourably with the supermarkets. Upstairs are cafes if you need a break from shopping, or you can even have your future told by a clairvoyant, if you believe in such things.


Other stalls sell everything from second-hand books, to spare vacuum cleaner parts, sports wear, jewellery and pet supplies. On my visit, an intrepid young woman was lugging a huge rabbit hutch home on her own

Great old fashioned
Way of shopping..
Very diverse merchants..
Most stalls close early..
I didn't see a lift/elevator..just stairs..
So handicap may be a problem

The fish monger .stock looking amazing..
Too bad we were touring..no way to cook..

I would recommend a visit

It says a lot that I've lived on the same road as the market for about a year and a half and have only been in here once or twice. It certainly gets overlooked and it's somewhere I don't usually think of visiting. I figured it would all be meat and fish counters which is only about 20% right.

I only went in as I needed some string and figured the market would be perfect. I must say, as far as buying string goes, my experience was flawless. The woman behind the counter was possibly the least friendly person I've yet come across who obviously thought that pleasantries only serve to get in the way of an efficient, no-nonsense transaction. I didn't mind too much though - I had string to buy and no time to waste.

Waste time I did though, and spent about an hour wandering round, kicking myself for overlooking this magnificent place. My preconceptions that it was all fish and meat were quickly blown out of the water as I spent 20 mins checking out the used book stall. Great prices and a great selection. I also liked that alot of the books were randoly put on the shelf, so you could have a proper browse around without alphabetical order sucking all the fun out of proceedings. I often find that it's hard to have a proper browse in the larger chain bookstores for that very reason and found books here I had previously thought of buying, and some I've never heard of which also looked good.

There's a great record store upstairs where I also lost a good chunk of time. To be honest I wasn't wowed by the meat counters or anything like that purely because they all look the same to me anyway. The pig's heads quite literally caught my eye though, which freaked me out a little as their mouths make it look like they're smiling. And that's weird.

Even though I spent an hour aimlessly browsing, I certainly didn't check everything out, and I will definitely be going back regularly (when I have money!) to blow a fair chunk on some decent books. There's something for everyone in here and it also has great shops for home stuff where I picked up 10 picture hooks for about 50p.

A must-visit indeed.

I must admit that I'm now a fan of Cardiff and loved the Cardiff central market, l found it a surprise that one of the first shops that l saw was a pound land type shop, l can't even remember what it was called.
We had less than an hour here before we went for the worded thing ever, a Starbucks.

Shops
There was a large selection to choose from and the shops where so different than the ones that I'm used to in Glasgow, here there is still a lot of places to stop, and have a break, coffee or even a light snack.
I did notice that a lot of shops sold local made products, l was able to pick up a few bargains and buy items from the local bakers.

Outside one of the exits there was a fish shop that really stank to high heaven, but l would definitely come back.

I can't deny that I'm a huge fan of Cardiff Central Market; this place has me well impressed! Upon walking in, I was immediately met with a wave of guilt knowing that regardless of how many times I've been out in the city (way more times than I can count!), I've always overlooked this place.

Then I was met with a second wave of guilt knowing that I was only able to visit for a short while before needing to head home!

But don't you worry, Cardiff Central Market, I'll definitely come back and spend a good long while browsing all the amazing stalls you have to offer.

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~ Atmosphere:

Walk in, and you seriously cannot deny that this place has loads of charm. Suprisingly enough as well, it's also kept quite clean despite how busy it is. You can seriously get lost in this place browsing all the different shops.

~ Variety:

There's plenty of variety on offer at Cardiff Central Market. From a butchers to a fishmongers, to eateries for a quick bite while shopping, to crafts and also fresh produce, if you're looking for it Cardiff Central Market probably has it.

~ Customer Service:

From my experience, many of the stall-owners seem really friendly and greet their regulars. In the heart of Cardiff's capital, you still get that welcoming small-town feeling.

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Despite how guilty I feel for not visiting more, I know that from now on I know better. I'll be definitely making more trips to this beautiful Cardiff institution!