Written by Jude Lince, Translated by Iestyn Knox
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Recently, myself and some friends took a walk in some of the scenic hills on the outskirts of Aberystwyth. Pleasant though it was, it left us knackered. In need of something to eat and a place to sit down, we decided to stop in Little Devil’s Café.
Little Devil’s occupies a pretty, modestly-sized building on Terrace Road, just off North Parade. Stepping inside reveals similarly understated interior decor, with warm fairy lights adorning the café’s ceiling, while the walls and furniture generally use tasteful neutral and pastel colours. With the state of fatigue that we were in, it was a sight for sore eyes. We gratefully sat down and grabbed some menus.
For a local business of such quaint appearance, I found the range of food on offer in Little Devil’s to be surprisingly broad. The menu’s substantial ‘Breakfast & Brunch’ section- served all day- features a few combinations from the traditional full-English line-up. There are also a couple of lighter options such as avocado on toast. Outside of this, the menu has sections for dishes such as wraps, burgers, sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, and chips, as well as a sizable array of hot and cold drinks, milkshakes, and smoothies. With such an assortment on offer, even the fussiest of eaters are likely to find something to suit them.
Being a vegetarian myself, I was again pleasantly surprised to see plenty of veggie options on the menu. Each section features a variety of vegetarian dishes like jackfruit burgers and falafel-based alternatives to the breakfast section’s full-English-style meals. The café’s vegan options are a bit more limited but still relatively generous with each section offering at least one vegan dish, including halloumi burgers and seitan sandwiches.
Pricewise, Little Devil’s is about what you’d expect, or perhaps slightly cheaper. The larger items on the menu top out at around £10 but you can get a decent meal for a lot less than that, with most dishes around the £5 mark. Considering the quality of the food the café’s status as a small business, it’s not bad at all.
After spending few minutes deliberating, we ordered our food. The café works on a table-service system, which operated in timely and polite fashion. When our orders arrived, the presentation of them impressed me. I was particularly enamoured by my friend’s red velvet latte; a brilliant, hot-pink concoction like something from the cover of a Dr. Seuss book.
As for me, I ordered something called ‘hangover fries.’ This was a gorgeous, unholy combination of baked beans, American-style potato fries, melted cheddar cheese and a fried egg, all thrown together in a metal pot which it was then served to me in. Overkill, perhaps, but wonderful. The dish is something of an undertaking- admittedly, not one I think I’d like to attempt while I’m actually hungover - but it’s absolutely worth it. At just £5 it’s great value for money.
We ate our food at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere inside the café is mellow and welcoming, and you really do feel like you could spend hours in there. Admittedly, things did begin to feel a little cramped; the number of tables crammed into the café’s small interior means that you end up only a couple of feet away from other patrons when it’s busy. However, this didn’t really have a negative effect on our dining experience and would also seem to be unavoidable given the café’s small premises and the relatively high volume of customers.
For a respectable, reasonably priced breakfast or lunch out, this place is absolutely worth a visit. Every fine detail, from the sign outside down to the crockery that the food is served in, modernises the independent diner experience without compromising its authenticity. In an era where the high street is increasingly dominated by multinational chains, Little Devil’s Café offers a welcome, refreshing alternative.
Adolygiad o ‘Little Devil’s Cafe’
Yn ddiweddar, es i a rhai ffrindiau ar daith gerdded ymlith y bryniau olygfaol ar gyrion Aberystwyth. Er yn bleserus, daethon ni nol wedi blino’n lan. Yn angen gorffwys a rhywbeth i fwyta, penderfynon ni stopio yng nghaffi’r Diafol Bach.
Mae’r Diafol Bach wedi’ leoli mewn adeilad hardd o maint ganolig ar stryd y teras, yn agos i Barêd y Gogledd. Wrth camu tu fewn fe amlygwyd addurn tanddatgarn, gyda goleuadau tylwyth teg ar nenfwd y caffi, tra bod y walydd a’r dodrefn yn tueddu tuag at lliwiau niwtral neu pastel. Yn y fath cyflwr ag oeddwn ni, roedd hi’n golwg roedd pawb yn falch ei weld. Eisteddom yn ddiolchgar a cydio bwydlenni.
Er yn fusnes lleol o olwg henaidd, ffeindiais bod yr amrywiaeth o bwyd ar gael yn y caffi i fod yn eang. Roedd adran ‘Brecwast a Brunch’ y fwydlen- ar gael trwy’r dydd- yn cynnwys rhai cyfuniadau o’r brecwast saesneg llawn traddodiadol. Roedd hefyd rhai opsiynau fwy ysgafn gan gynnwys afocado ar dost. Yn ogystal a’r brecwast, mae gan y bwydlen adrannau ar gyfer prydau fel wrapiau, byrgyrs, brechdannau, wafflau, pancos, a sglodion, yn ogystal ag amrywiaeth o ddiodydd poeth ac oer, ysgytlaethau a smwddis. Gyda gymaint o opsiynau ar gael, dylai hyd yn oed y bwytawyr fwyaf ffyslyd ffeindio rhywbeth addas.
Fel llysieuwr yn bersonol, roedd hi’n sypreis dymunol i weld sawl opsiwn addas i mi ar y bwydlen. Roedd pob adran yn cynnwys amrywiaeth o prydau llysieuol fel byrgyrs halloumi ac opsiynu ffalaffel ar gyfer y brecwast. Roedd opsiynau fegan y caffi’n fwy cyfyngedig, er bod pob adran o’r bwydlen yn cynnig o leiaf un opsiwn addas, gan gynnwys byrgyrs jacffrwyth a brechdannau seitan.
O ran pris, mae’r Diafol Bach efallai bach yn rhatach na fasech chi’n disgwyl. Mae eitemau mwyaf y bwydlen yn dod at tua £10, ond mae’n bosib cael pryd da am llawer llai o arian, gyda’r mwyafrif o gwmpas £5. Wrth ystyried ansawdd y bwyd a statws y caffi fel busnes bach, dyw hi ddim yn wael o gwbl.
Ar ôl gwario rhai munudau yn dewis, fe archebon ni ein bwyd. Mae’r caffi yn gweithio ar system gwasanaeth bwrdd a weithiodd yn brydlon. Pan cyrraeddodd y bwyd, ffeindiais eu cyflwyniad yn drawiadol. Roedd latte melfed coch fy ffrind yn benodol o swynol; diod pinc llachar fel rhywbeth o glawr lyfrau Dr. Seuss.
Yn bersonol, fe wnes i archebu rhywbeth o’r enw sglodion pen mawr, neu ‘hangover fries’. Roedd hwn yn gyfuniad hyfryd, aflan o ffa pob, sglodion tatws Americanaidd, caws cheddar wedi'i doddi ac wŷ wedi'i ffrïo, i gyd wedi'u taflu at ei gilydd yn yr un pot metel a gafodd ei weini i mi wedyn. Overkill, efallai, ond gwych. Mae'r pryd yn dipyn o ymgymeriad - rhaid cyfaddef, nid un dwi'n meddwl yr hoffwn i roi cynnig arni tra fy mod i'n newynog mewn gwirionedd - ond mae'n hollol werth chweil. Am ddim ond £5 mae’n werth gwych am eich arian.
Wnaethom bwyta ein bwyd yn hamddenol. Mae'r awyrgylch y tu mewn i'r caffi yn ysgafn a chroesawgar, a daw’r teimlad y gallech chi dreulio oriau yno. Rhaid cyfaddef, dechreuodd pethau deimlo braidd yn gyfyng; mae nifer y byrddau sydd wedi'u gwasgu i fewn i'r caffi yn golygu mai dim ond ychydig o droedfeddi y byddwch chi oddi wrth gwsmeriaid eraill pan fydd hi'n brysur. Fodd bynnag, ni chafodd hyn effaith negyddol ar ein profiad bwyta a byddai’n ymddangos yn anochel hefyd o ystyried safle bach y caffi a’r nifer cymharol uchel o gwsmeriaid.
Am frecwast neu ginio allan parchus, rhesymol ei bris, mae'n werth ymweld â'r lle hwn. Mae pob manylyn mân, o'r arwydd y tu allan i lawr i'r llestri y mae'r bwyd yn cael ei weini ynddynt, yn moderneiddio'r profiad bwyta annibynnol heb gyfaddawdu ar ei ddilysrwydd. Mewn oes lle mae’r stryd fawr yn cael ei dominyddu fwyfwy gan gadwyni rhyngwladol, mae Caffi Little Devil’s yn cynnig dewis amgen sy’n braf i’w groesawu.