Penceunant Isaf — Restaurant in Wales

Steffan the Gnome and the Caffeinated Portal to Snowdon's Soul

We stumbled upon Penceunant Isaf, a snug at the bottom of Snowdon, not so much a café as a pocket dimension woven from woodsmoke and Welsh magic. It squatted there, squattily, as though it had always been, perched on the fringe of reality. Mark, our mate with additional needs, and I had just scaled Snowdon, a mountain that, today, was mostly composed of spiteful wind and vertical regret.

We entered the snug and were greeted by Steffan, a cheeky gnome of a man whose red cheeks glowed with the warmth of a thousand campfires. His eyes twinkled like he knew secrets about the moon. He poured us beers that tasted of ancient camaraderie and hot chocolate so rich it briefly dissolved our eyeballs. Snacks were presented in bowls, as if by snack fairies on break from the quantum realm.

The roaring fire in the hearth was less a fire and more a sentient portal to a time when men wore cloaks unironically. Mark toasted his feet and declared himself Lord of the Socks. Our friend, who had conquered Snowdon despite its cruel incline, was crowned with a T-Shirt of valour by Steffan himself, a man who, we soon realised, was less of a man and more of an ancient guardian spirit of mid hike merriment.

He regaled us with tales so outlandish they may have been true. "Once, I saw a kestrel pilot a minibus," he whispered, eyes narrowed. We believed him. For in that moment, he was the keymaster of reality, and we were but giddy mortals with slightly damp shoes.

When we left, we were changed men. The café stood there, smirking quietly, like it knew we would return. And we will. Oh yes. For Steffan is not simply a host, he is a sorcerer of cosiness, a bard of belly laughs, and a keeper of the warmest hearth in Wales.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Would climb a mountain made entirely of regrets just to have Steffan tell us about the time he wrestled the weather in lycra underpants while riding...

After a wonderful and long hike, on our way back down, tired, legs sore, we stopped off at this place , for a drink and a toilet as was everyone else, the rudeness of the man serving at this place was disgusting! Asked to take my wife to the toilet in which he responded you will have to wait there’s people waiting which was fair enough, whilst we’re waiting 2 other people walk past and asked to use the toilet , so I pulled him in this saying my wife was next to use the toilet she can’t hold it any longer , he then responded well only 1 person can use the toilet, but he let 2 people go in there. My wife’s friend then tried to take her to the toilet in the process they was stopped and he then said again only 1 person can go to the toilet , for someone that has agoraphobia, needs to have someone with them to feel safe, he then turned around , swore , felt like it was okay to laugh at this matter, if it wasn’t for kids present I would have handled this situation a different way!! If I ever return to hike snowdon we will not return to this place and I will be telling everyone else to avoid it!!

I personally think because we’re English and he is welsh , if he had any disorders I wouldn’t laugh at that! Treat people with respect and how you would want to...

Visited today, 7th January 2022. Feeling disappointed. When my partner and I arrived, there were 3 other customers and we made it 5. We took our dog outside as she was barking at the resident cat, albeit in a friendly way. The proprietor asked us if we'd sit outside so as not to upset his 99 year old mother who was, apparently, upstairs. As we stood outside, a couple from London arrived but were refused entry on the grounds that the cafe was full, even though there were now only 3 customers. The proprietor also stated that there was a lot of paperwork to complete due to covid restrictions, track and trace etc. However, neither we nor the other customers were asked to complete any such paperwork. We spent several minutes chatting to this lovely couple who seemed put out by the attitude shown them. We met this couple a short time later and apologised on behalf of the decent local people, for the attitude shown them. The attitude could, by some people, be seen as somewhat racist. I have visited this place many times over the past 10 years and have witnessed the belligerent attitude of the owner several times but not to this disgraceful extent. The hot chocolate was poor as well. Not...