The Early Bird on being a part of the community, giving back, and supporting local producers.

With its bright yellow exterior, this unashamedly cheery artisan bakery and cafe draws passing pedestrians in with handwritten promises of ÔÇ£Brunch, Bakes, BrewsÔÇØ on the chalkboard outside. Once inside, you are met with a rush of warm air and the comforting smell of freshly baked bread, matched only by the friendly greetings from its staff.

Opened in late 2015 by baker Ceri Johnston with the assistance of head barista James Bower, The Early Bird has already established itself as a local favourite Cathays-dwelling regulars as well as curious visitors eager to check out the food and coffee. But this popularity was not a result of aggressive advertising or hard selling. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs not really about making loads and loads of money,ÔÇØ Ceri explains, ÔÇ£we just want to be a part of the community.ÔÇØ

This is evident in the unpretentious, homely feel of the bakery, no mean feat considering the amount of remodelling that had to be done by Ceri, James and her mother.

Showing me barely recognisable ÔÇÿbeforeÔÇÖ photographs of the space, Ceri explained that they opted for a truly DIY approach as far as possible in order to reduce renovation costs. After weeks of grouting, drilling, painting, wiring and generally working tirelessly, the bakery began to take shape. With its well-coordinated furniture (largely upcycled and from charity shops) adding to the cosy, rustic feel.

Giving back to the community is a large part of The Early BirdÔÇÖs purpose. A key way in which this is done is through the bakeryÔÇÖs apprenticeship scheme. Having started out in London, Ceri realised a lack of apprenticeship opportunities specifically for bakers, and sought to remedy this in a tangible way. Her current apprentice, Lucy, develops her skills through working at the bakery under CeriÔÇÖs supervision.

The bakery also places an emphasis on using fresh ingredients from local suppliers such as Ellis Eggs in Hirwaun and flour from Talgarth Mill near Brecon. This support for local businesses is a testament to The Early BirdÔÇÖs community-centric approach, and they hope to encourage customers to continue supporting more local and independent businesses.

One of the most eye-catching features of the bakery is the vintage glass case housing a tantalising spread of treats, sweet and savoury alike. From rye browies and sweet potato cupcakes to chocolate twists and cinnamon rolls, to sourdough sandwiches with fillings like lemon chicken, thereÔÇÖs something for everyone in this range of fresh, homemade goodies. (Fun fact: the case, bought off eBay from a London seller, was originally made by Cardiff shopfitters ÔÇô even thatÔÇÖs local!)

On the wall behind the case, loaves of sourdough and rye stacked in the shelves are routinely cleaned out by regulars, proving that contrary to popular belief, there is in fact appetite for artisan bread in Cathays.

The daytime menu is made up of a selection of popular brunch dishes featuring the high quality ingredients characteristic of the bakery.

Cowboys is a dish of homemade baked beans, pork sausage and a poached egg with barbecue sauce from CardiffÔÇÖs own Hangfire Smokehouse, all served on the bakeryÔÇÖs sourdough toast ÔÇô a perfect balance of sweet and sour, savoury and spicy.

For the avocado-obsessed, HULK SMASSSSHHHH consists of Cholula hot sauce-spiked avocado and poached egg on the same signature sourdough, a step up from our standard make-at-home versions, with the hot sauce adding a real kick to the creamy green stuff.

For those craving something a little sweeter, thereÔÇÖs also brioche French toast, the Dixieland Delight featuring bacon, maple syrup and butter ÔÇô a winning combination thatÔÇÖs hard to beat.

On top of baking their own bread, the bakery also roasts their own coffee beans. Green (unroasted) coffee is sourced from Falcon Specialty in Lewes, and roasted on-location by head barista James in the bakeryÔÇÖs bread oven. This gives the bakery more control over the taste of the coffee, and allows for room to experiment with different roasts. The passion and knowledge behind the coffee is obvious here, with consistently stellar cups served each time.

Speaking to Ceri about the bakeryÔÇÖs future, the plan so far seems to be to keep doing what theyÔÇÖre doing ÔÇô serving up quality food and being a part of community.

Working with CardiffÔÇÖs fellow independent businesses is also on the agenda, with plans for possible pop-ups in the bakery.┬áTo celebrate the opening of their back garden, the bakery collaborated with local cocktail bar The Dead Canary for a pop-up at their Garden Party in early April. The party featured the bakeryÔÇÖs own stone-baked sourdough pizzas and live music, with money from ticket sales going to the Young Minds charity.

There are also plans to perhaps expand the menu and opening hours, starting with hosting more pizza evenings in the bakery, which Quench Food & Drink have been lucky enough to be a part of so far. On 2 March we hosted our very first Quench Pizza Night, a lovely food evening featuring The Early BirdÔÇÖs artisan sourdough pizza.┬áWith a menu of made-to-order artisan pizzas and a BYOB policy, this was set to be an evening of delicious food and chill vibes.

The menu was full of cheeky Tom Jones references, with pizzas like Chicks Not Unusual (BBQ chicken breast, spring onions, sesame seeds and soy sauce), Cheese A Lady (parmesan and buffalo mozzarella on a tomato base) and Burning Down the House (chorizo, bacon bits and hot sauce), all stone-baked and made with seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients. Freshly baked pizza and Tom Jones ÔÇô what more could a Cardiff Uni student want?

The Cheese a Lady was made with fresh, high quality ingredients, making it a winner despite its simplicity. However, several attendees seemed to agree that Chicks Not Unusual was the standout of the night. The chicken was tasty and not overpowered by the taste of barbecue and soy sauce, with the spring onions providing a fresh bite to the dish, and the sesame seeds adding a subtle smoky finish, all in all a rather unique and sophisticated pizza. Burning Down the House received rave reviews as well, although some found themselves wishing for the rather more interesting flavours in Chicks Not Unusual.

Dessert did not disappoint as well. The vanilla bean cheesecake was rich and creamy with a noticeable vanilla flavour, served with a delectable salted caramel sauce that was neither too sweet nor too salty. The Mississippi Muddle, a dish consisting of a warm brownie served with a rich chocolate sauce, vanilla ice-cream and chocolate biscuit chunks, was delightfully decadent, perfect for sharing after a meal.

But donÔÇÖt just take it from us, this is what our contributors had to say:

IÔÇÖm not really a foodie but I hadnÔÇÖt had pizza in ages so I came along. We ordered early so we didnÔÇÖt have to wait too long for our food to arrive. The staff were nice and the barista, James, gave us free drinks and apologized for the really rather short wait for dessert. The pizza was great if a bit expensive ÔÇô it could have been bigger for the price. Good stuff though, a good way to break the pizza-fast. The chocolate dessert was nicer than the cheesecake one, which was indeed very cheesy.

– Tom Morris

As someone who wishes it was socially acceptable to put ÔÇÿbrunchÔÇÖ under the ÔÇÿinterestsÔÇÖ category on LinkedIn, I was celebrating when The Early Bird opened its doors practically on my doorstep. Cathays was crying out for somewhere that did a really good avocado on toast, and sure enough, if youÔÇÖre looking to start your day right, itÔÇÖs the place to be. But theyÔÇÖve only gone and outdone themselves by starting to host themed evenings. Their foodie transition from morning to evening was as smooth as the bases of their pizzas, all of which also have the cheesiest puns as names. Shout-out to the d├®cor and desserts too ÔÇô all in all, The Early Bird is the perfect place to have a slightly classier society social.

– Ellie Philpotts

We could wax lyrical about how great the dishes are, how addictive the bread is, or how itÔÇÖs become one of our favourite places to get coffee in Cardiff, but what really sticks with us is the people and principles behind it. ItÔÇÖs apparent upon entry that The Early Bird has already become a stalwart of CathaysÔÇÖ community and itÔÇÖs easy to see why, with its crew of hardworking, amiable staff always happy to welcome you to the club.