Terra Nova — Restaurant in Cyncoed

Disappointing Experience Despite a Beautiful Location...

We visited Terra Nova Café on a Sunday afternoon as a group of three, looking forward to a relaxing experience in its stunning lakeside setting. Unfortunately, the visit was frustrating due to poor café layout, service issues, and repeated mistakes that left us disappointed.

Poor Layout – Not Relaxing at All The café has a beautiful panoramic section with views over the lake, but unfortunately, the payment area is placed in a way that disrupts the entire experience. The queue for ordering runs right behind the high tables, meaning that anyone sitting there is constantly jostled by people waiting to order. Every time we needed to move—whether to go to the toilet or adjust seating—we had to squeeze past people in line. It’s simply not an enjoyable or well-thought-out design. A much better solution would be to move the payment area to the larger section of the café, keeping the panoramic space purely for diners.

Poor Communication & Food Issues After queuing for a considerable time, we placed an order for two tuna paninis and one pesto & mozzarella panini, plus three teas (two black, one green). However, only after paying (£30!) were we told they had no mozzarella or pesto... This should have been communicated to us prior to taking payment, as we might have chosen something entirely different. I then had to wade back through the queue to consult my friend, which was frustrating and unnecessary.

Drinks Mix-Ups – Do Staff Not Know What Green Tea Is? We waited in a cramped area for drinks, which was already uncomfortable due to the narrow space, and our green tea was mistakenly taken by another customer. The staff remade it, but when we got to our table and checked, the “green tea” was clearly just black tea without milk. I took it back, they remade it—and it was still black tea! At this point, we gave up. It’s shocking that a café doesn’t seem to know what green tea is, especially as it’s a standard drink in most places.

Lack of Clarity on Food Service There was no clear instruction on how we would receive our food. We weren’t sure if it would be brought to us or if we had to collect it, and eventually, we had to ask. When it finally arrived, the paninis were tasty, but by that point, the experience had already been soured.

Overall Verdict ✅ Beautiful location ✅ Tasty food (when it eventually arrived) ❌ Terrible café layout – ruins the relaxing atmosphere ❌ Poor communication about food availability ❌ Drinks repeatedly made incorrectly ❌ Cramped and chaotic ordering/waiting system

For a café in such a stunning setting, it’s a real shame that the experience is so frustrating. With a better layout and improved service, it could be fantastic. We hope management takes this feedback on board and...

This could be an amazing place to visit but sadly it's lacking in so many areas. The entrance off the parks main path is dark & gloomy & was partially obstructed by a catering appliance. The main dining area overlooks the lake so it's a great location but it smelt of chip fat, looked grubby and in need of an update. The odd layout inside meant that a long queue snaked through from the main serving section to the right, where you place your order, so if you were sat "bar style" by the windows, you'd also be right next to a queue of people waiting to be served. The area to the right as you enter was more spacious and airy but sadly lacked any atmosphere or character. The view is nice but could be improved by clean windows! There is also an outside area but again, very basic and lacking any pretty or tempting features. I guess the star attraction is the view of the lake & if you need somewhere to sit & shelter then this could be your place. Otherwise, I found it to be underwhelming & a missed opportunity to be so much better. Food was mediocre, staff looked stressed and unsmiling. Not a place I'll be rushing back to...

Blunt and rude lady who served me and my Mum. No pleasantries from her and when she didn't get my coffee order right, I politely reminded her that I also wanted a flat white and I received no polite apology or even acknowledgement and was even spoken to as though I was an inconvenience. As someone who works in retail, facing customers every day, I got the impression she didn't want to be there and therefore felt no reason to be nice to me. When I walked away briefly to put our crisps on the table that my Mum had sat at, she said loudly 'wait here for your coffee!'

Toilets poorly maintained. No cubicle in the men's loo and pipework in need of a de-crusting around the urinal (which was very hard to do your business in while avoiding your shoes!)

Loud music playing that definitely spoiled the atmosphere of the place. It's in a calm area of the park, right next to the lake, and there is loud pop music playing which really made it hard to relax there.

Absolutely tiny coffee. £2.30 for my Mum's flat white and it was barely warm and consumed in about 3 gulps because half of...