Cardiff Council creates covered food court for local operators

On Castle Street, The Castle Quarter Café has 75 tables and will offer food and drink from local businesses including pizzeria Dusty Knuckle, Fab Burgers, Wok to Walk and Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill.

Cardiff Council says more local operators are expected to get involved in the coming weeks.

To aid social distancing, The Castle Quarter Café will offer online ordering and payment only via Yoello’s browser-based platform with customers required to scan QR codes on tables to order food and drink from traders.

“We wanted to create an attractive space which residents and visitors will love to use and one which can help local hospitality businesses get up and running again,” says Cardiff Council deputy leader Sarah Merry.

“We want as many people as possible to enjoy the new space which will give customers a stunning view of our iconic castle in the heart of the city centre. We hope it plays a major part in helping businesses in the city centre survive the fallout from the pandemic.”

“Like so many restaurants and cafes in the area we couldn’t wait to reopen for business after lockdown, but we were concerned that the small size of our venue and lack of outdoor space would mean we wouldn’t see the business we needed coming through our doors," says Dusty Knuckle owner Phill Lewis.

"The Castle Quarter Café is a great idea as it provides us with the means to serve customers our delicious food in the comfortable, socially-distanced, outdoor space they need. We’re confident that it will encourage plenty of people out into the city to enjoy some of their favourite eateries again.”

"Social distancing has caused huge problems for the hospitality industry, so it’s great to be able to help increase capacity and trade through these initiatives," says Yoello CEO and founder Sina Yamani. 

"Groups can all order from the same venue or pick and choose from different operators, but with the ease of ordering and paying on one site."