Ground Bakery

You'll walk into Pontcanna Street and clock Ground Bakery immediately—there's always someone lingering outside with a coffee and a croissant, even on grey Welsh mornings. Step inside and you're hit with that proper smell of fermented dough and caramelised butter, the kind that makes you forget you were only popping in for one thing. The counter's lined with beautiful loaves, laminated pastries that have the shattering crispness you only get when someone's actually bothered with their technique, and seasonal cakes that change with what's actually available. It's the sort of place where regulars know their order by heart and the staff remember your name—proper community stuff, not corporate.