Billy Jeans Cafe — Restaurant in Wales

My wife and I have been on a quest for quite some time now to find the best cafes here in North Wales for our fellow bikers.

We had been aware of "Billy Jeans Caff" near Holywell for many years, but thought it to be simply a truck stop as it is right beside a junction of the A55 Expressway. Well it turns out that it was indeed a truck stop - and a fairly rough-and-ready one at that, apparently - but its new owners decided to broaden its appeal somewhat. It's still not what some would call a 'biker cafe' (one frequented by motorcycle riders), but it does hold regular classic car and bike meets AND the food is of high quality, very varied, plentiful and priced to match the basic (though clean) ameneties (i.e. it's not a posh place!). It's also extremely handy for bikers heading towards favourite spots such as Snowdonia, Anglesey (e.g. the racing circuit) and the Holyhead ferry (for Ireland or the Isle of Man)....being 1 minute off the A55 from either direction.

We went for the first time last week, and were very pleasantly surprised by the very tasty breakfasts we both had. I was also impressed that the waitress came over and asked us how the food was (I always give a black mark to any restaurant where that does not happen, but I don't really expect it in a cafe). I told her that almost everything was excellent, and she was brave enough to ask what part of the meal wasn't. I explained that my wife and I both believe that toast should be crisp (as does the Cambridge Dictionary by the way: TOAST....to make bread or other food warm, crisp (= hard enough to break), and brown by putting it near a high heat"). I admitted that very few cafes present anything but lightly browned, soggy toast....but it would be nice to find one which could do it right.

She was very nice about it and said I should have told her when ordering, as she would have tried to achieve that. So here we were again a week later and this time, when ordering 2 of their "Modest" breakfasts, I DID explain exactly how we liked our toast (crisp nd well done - but not burnt! - for me; crisp but lightly done for my wife). I even explained the best way to achieve that: don't butter the toast; stand the slices up instead of laying them down....and (suprisingly) she didn't seem at all upset about how picky I was being!

Did she achieve what I asked? PERFECTLY!! She brought the 2 slices stood up on a plate, leaning against a ramekin (she apologised for not having a proper toast rack, but said she would source one), together with 4 individually-wrapped butter portions. One slice was well done - but not burnt! - and certainly crisp and the other was lightly done and crisp....perfect. The rest of the meal was again superb - all hot, all very tasty, all very filling.

The furniture is modest and varied but comfortable; the toilets are excellent; there is plenty of parking space; the staff are extremely friendly and accommodating. With the wonderful food (though I must try something other than a breakfast next time), what more...

I've always thought of Billy Jean's as a greasy spoon cafe or truckstop style diner as it's situated next to the A55. For a family meal this weekend Billy Jean's was suggested and I tagged along. My dad phoned up to book the table as he wanted to specify that our party included 2 children, he was also under strict instructions to check if they did scrambled egg as one child wanted that.

When we arrived there was ample parking! We went in and were greeted with brightly coloured chairs and quirky decor that mismatched (I like that style). A man approached us (I'm presuming the owner?) To ask if we were the party of 8 with two kids and showed us where we would be seated. Extremely friendly and approachable chap.

The rest of our party arrived and were made to feel welcome by the man who explained we could rejig the tables to suit us etc.

There's no table ordering service here, which I was glad about as members of the party arrived at different times it gave us time to chat and catch up before thinking about our drinks and food order etc.

We ordered some Halfways, a veggie option, a beast (I think), two customised kids options and a customised adult meal. The owner came over with the receipt to double check the order was correct as it was quite a big order which was a nice touch.

When waiting for food I took the kids to the toilet - really quite impressed, I must say! There's often a dead space in public toilets as there's a double door situation (go through one door to a teeny tiny porch before another door into the toilet or cubicle area). The space here was utilised really well by making the dead space an area. It had a sunken vanity area with mirror and sink and opposite was the baby changing. Straight ahead through the second door was the toilet with some lovely shelving, spare toilet roll and sanitary towels in a dish behind the immaculately clean toilet.

When coming back to the table we were informed that there was a book area in which we could help ourselves. Very impressed as it's a wonderful way to keep the kids entertained whilst waiting. (May I suggest, if you get a few children here, maybe a tray of recycled paper and crayons so they can help themselves etc!)

The food itself was lovely, a decent size for the price paid. I enjoyed that the toast came as a tower on its own plate (I do occasionally enjoy a soggy, buttery toast!)

Overall, I'd definitely come back! We even said it would be a lovely place to come on Christmas morning or Christmas eve - although we are skeptical about the opening times.

Highlights for me: The little library The random mugs - it's like being at your friend's house as a few of them are different The friendliness of the staff The attentiveness of the owner The thoughtfulness and...

We broke down on the A55 yesterday and a traffic officer limped our car to the cafe carpark. Being a Sunday it wasn't open and I really needed WiFi for GPS signal for RAC to be able to locate us. The owner Rob was in as the cafe was having electrical work done and very kindly opened the doors for us so I could use his WiFi and offered my family and I drinks and toilet facilities. He went out of his way to make us feel less stressed and comfortable, even taking our number down so we could go and eat at a nearby restaurant saying he would call us if they turned up whilst we were gone.

It shows there are some really awesome genuine people out there.

The coffee is fab too. We will definitely be going back when we next visit Wales!

Thanks so much Rob for your kindness, we will be passing it forwards and won't...