One cafe I won't visit again
2
2
Date of visit: January 2026
I am a disabled person and a carer or friend of a disabled person and a general supporter of disabled access. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment, accessing toilets, dexterity or coordination and moving around.
Overall Rating
Poor
Advertised as accessible, but far from it if you're experiencing it from a wheelchair user's perspective. A steep ramp to enter the cafe, absolutely no space whatsoever for a wheelchair user to sit any table as they are all screwed into the floor with barely any room between them for the chairs already there, and a disabled toilet door so heavy that you'd need a pulley system to open it without struggling.
Disabled Access In and Around
Bad
The entrance has a steep ramp to gain access to the cafe and I would have struggled to use it had I been visiting without a companion to assist with pushing me. The tables inside the cafe are pushed very closely together and trying to get through them is close to impossible if you're in a wheelchair or depend on other, large mobility aids. They have also screwed the tables into the floor so they cannot be moved to gain easier access, this ended up with me getting stuck on a neighbouring chair that another customer was sat in, countless times when trying to pass. Once I had managed to get to a table, a customer came in and sat behind me on a bar stool that was so close to the back of me that I was repeatedly kicked in my wheelchair. You order at the counter or via one of the 3 digital screens on the wall for self-service and then collect your order at the counter when it is ready - this is impossible for someone with a mobility aid as the counter is too high and you cannot navigate through the cafe without a great struggle.
Accessible facilities: Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals
Parking & Transport
Average
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
There isn't any dedicated parking for Bru, Cardiff as it is located on Queen Street. There are multi-storey carparks around Cardiff City Centre, however I cannot attest to how far they are from this cafe. You may be lucky and attain a parking spot on a road nearby, however I do not think there are many chances of this happening. There are links to public bus services a short distance away and Cardiff Queen Street train station is a fair distance away on foot.
Accessible Toilets
Bad
There is a disabled toilet available that is accessed by another steep ramp. To get into it, you need a code from your receipt that needs to be input on the doorknob itself. This is incredibly difficult to reach from a wheelchair that is teetering on a steep ramp and once you have unlocked it, it is then another battle to open the door as it is ridiculously heavy. I spent so long trying to drag the door open that a customer came running to assist me. The toilet itself doesn't have a lot of a room and I was unable to turn my wheelchair around inside it at all. I was forced to leave the bathroom backwards and then struggled to turn around on the steep ramp after I had left the bathroom. There was a red emergency cord in place and that's the only accessible feature of the cafe that I deemed acceptable.
Facilities: Accessible toilet
Staff
I did not speak to any staff, my companion placed and retrieved our lunch order.
