Haystack Cafe — Restaurant in Wales

It was full when we arrived so staff asked for my name and mobile number, adding they would text me when a table was free. Within a couple of minutes we had a message on WhatsApp, from Carbonara, a company based in Pittsburgh, stating we would have a 15-20 minute wait for a table. We waited in the car for 28 minutes before another WhatsApp message from Carbonara invited us in for our meal.

We had two vegetarian breakfasts, a flat white and an Americano. The food was very nice although a little cold. At first I thought it didn't look like a lot but it was and I left with a full belly. It was tasty and cooked well.

There are however two points I must mention, even though this shouldn't distract from the fact that the food was good.

Firstly, I did not give permission to have my name and telephone number passed to some company in Pittsburgh. I was not informed that when they said they would text me to say the table was free, they meant they would pass my number onto an external company. I visited the company's website and their terms and conditions says: 'Carbonara is based in the United States and information about you will be accessed and transferred to entities located around the world. Some of these entities may be located in countries (such as the United States) that do not legally require the same level of protection for personal information as your home country.' That is shocking!

Secondly, the place could do with a clean. The floor and stairs had layers of food spilt all over them and the tables would benefit from a proper wipe down too. This wasn't good.

In summary: Lovely staff, lovely food, but data protection and cafe...

Visited on a Saturday afternoon and had to be placed in the queuing system which saw us waiting for about 20 minutes. Nowhere especially nice to go nearby so we just sat in the car. Queuing system is good but I would prefer to be able to book in advance so we don't face a queue on arrival.

We were seated by a very pleasant waitress who instructed us to order at the counter or using the QR code on the table, however there is no WiFi and my phone signal was too weak to be able to use the QR code.

Food took nearly an hour to arrive, we ordered a breakfast and a St Davids day special. It was busy but surely this is expected on a Saturday? We asked a waiter when we would get our food around the 40 minute mark, but he never came with an answer. The waitress did apologise for the wait when bringing our meals but no one came to check if everything was okay during our meal.

You can tell the food is good quality but the taste was nothing special. The best thing on the plate was the tater tots until finding that the ones directly on the plate had been saturated in the butter that melted out of the sachet which had been placed upright in a hot pan used to serve the breakfast. A plate would have been just fine.

Pleasant atmosphere, lots of people waiting for their meals. It's a bit tight inside so expect to squeeze past other people to get in and out of your seats.

No...

Been to the haystack a good few times now and 1 thing is consistent with the breakfast and its the following -

Asked for my eggs to be done over easy. Chef clearly doesnt know what that is. Eggs were served hard. Bacon was like leather. Breakfast is clean but "mostly" bland. Eggs could be cooked in salted butter for better taste or at least have the option if they only use oil, which is why the breakfast is "mostly bland". Should have freshly made bacon, but it seems they make the bacon in bulk and sits and gets steamed till the 1st orders come in. Mushrooms and potato tots were ok. Bloomer toast was good.Tomatoes were overly spiced. Iced coffee was good. Service was good and friendly. Great atmosphere and clean. Which it should be anyway without saying.

Its not a cheap breakfast and therefor expect to have better cooked food, to match the price, which I DO NOT MIND PAYING at all, but then it must deliver.

If you own a breakfast spot, you should know how to cook an egg and how to cook an egg in all the different ways, eggs over easy, sunnyside up or down etc......as that is the highlight of any breakfast.

As I said, every time I have come for breakfast, its always the same, as above. Pitty, as it could be sooo much better.

Lets hope they...