We all love a Greggs Festive Bake, a Pret Christmas turkey dinner sarnie and M&S mince pie but in and around Cardiff we also have a plethora of independent bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants - and of course Christmas market stalls - which are all pushing the boat out to get customers well and truly in the festive mood.
And the Christmas treats you chow down on aren't just simply a take on that special roast enrobed in delicious carbs with a scattering of gravy or a ginderbread man with a splash of red icing on his nogin. Oh no... With the countdown to Chrimbo on and the advent calenders at the ready, we're looking for a smidge of indulgence after the last few months.
We've found some sweet treats that'll get you salivating at the thought - think doughnuts, hot chocs, Christmas classics (we're looking at you stollen) and well, just utterly drool-worthy snacks, lunches and saucey sarnies - ooft.
Read more: First look inside new Cowbridge restaurant and gastropub Hiraeth
So put a pin in the Christmas shopping for now and forget about the Coca-Cola truck. Instead, pay one of these places a visit and start your Nadolig with some festive flavour. Here are 13 great treats to start you off...
If you are a cafe or business in and around Cardiff and you have a number of Christmassy treats on offer that we've missed off the list, please drop an email to eve.rowlands@walesonline.co.uk.
Foot long honey roast pigs in blankets from Cobbles
Honey roasted pigs in blankets. Cranberry chutney. Apricot stuffing. French Brie. All stuffed into a delicious tiger bread bap... can you think you anything more heavenly and Christmassy than that - aside from a Christmas dinner? We'll wait...
But that's not all Cobbles Kitchen and Deli, on the outskirts of Cardiff, are doing for Christmas sarnies. Oh, no. They also have wreath grazing boxes and even more festive feasts - their roast turkey and festive vegan sarnie, too, are to die for.
Where: Tymaen Farm Buildings, Ogmore Rd, Ogmore-by-Sea, Bridgend CF32 0QP
Cranberry festival wings from Wingstack
Succulent and delicious chicken wings - but with a sprinkling of Christmas cheer and flavour. Mm mm mmmm! Made with their house-made cranberry sauce with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon and orange zest, these 'Cranberry Festival Wings' will have you shaking your belly like a bowl full of jelly in no time and is the perfect savoury treat to tuck into over the holiday season.
Where: 86 Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff CF14 3LY
Seasonal Chippy Lane-inspired ramen from Matsudai Ramen
There's nothing better in winter than a warm bowl of ramen. And one's of Cardiff's best ramen joints, Matsudai Ramen, is doing a seasonal special that takes inspiration from our very own Chippy Lane - the Mazesoba. Now, we know it doesn't have a Santa hat, bells or a reindeer nose, but it does have chicken paitan-miso-curry sauce and chicken thigh 'off the bone' that are subtle nods to the iconic chippy lane order of Dorothy's chicken curry off the bone with chips. It's available right up until Christmas Day, so if you rather your Christmas dinner as a bowl of soup, give Matsudai a try.
Where: 183-185 Clare Rd, Cardiff CF11 6QS
Pettigrew Bakery's Christmas range
Brownies and cakes that look almost too good to eat because they are unbelievably and adorably Christmassy? Pettigrew has you sorted.
With a whole feast of festive treats, they have things such reindeer brownies - a malted milk chocolate mousse and rich chocolate brownie, sitting atop a chocolate and hazelnut crunch with a buttery hazelnut shortbread and peppermint Christmas cracker (a rich dark chocolate mousse, generously layered with a zingy peppermint creme within a chocolate sponge).
They even have their own edible Santa's hat - with a kick. Mandarin Cointreau mousse and cranberry compote on an orange and poppy seed cake on top of a sable pastry base and decorated with a hand made marshmallow. Yum.
Where: Various locations. Click here for more
Let Them See Cake's Chrismas cupcakes and 'Lumps of Coal'
These incredible and perfect piped cupcakes are perfect for a Christmas shindig - you can get a Christmas tree , gingerbread men and candy cane cupcake to go from their shop in Victoria Park - as stated on the website.
If you want some treats specifically for the big day, try out LTSC's 'lumps of coal' - not literally coal, don't worry. But if you're a honeycomb fan then you simply need these in your stocking. H and made by the LTSC team, these lumps of coal are coated in chocolate and dusted to give that realistic 'coal' look.
Where: 593 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff CF5 1BE
Meat and Greek's festive Souvlaki
Available at Barry's Goodsheds and in Newport Market, Meat and Greek's festive menu has our mouth watering just looking at it. Tuck into a few 'Greeks in blankets' - their take on the classic pigs in blankets - before chowing down on a turkey and feta stuffing souvlaki. Wash it down with a glass of mulled apple Metaxa (brandy-based liqeur) sour and you've got yourself a festive feast.
Where: Barry's Goodsheds and Newport Market
Forage Farm's Christmas experience menu
Whether you're paying Forage Farm a visit as part of its Christmas Experience or just going to its delicious restaurant, one thing's for sure, you will be in for a treat or two. Think sarnies stuffed to the brim with roast turkey and apricot and chestnut stuffing and pigs in blankets, pork belly and roast turkey mains and a Christmas roast - and that's just in the restaurant.
Other festive treats included in the 'Christmas Experience' menu, which are open to all and have been dubbed 'Never Naughty Nibbles', are the likes of pork, sage and onion sausage rolls (pictured), turkey, stuffing and pigs in blankets ciabatta and maple glazed pigs in blankets.
Where: Penllyn Estate Farm Llwynhelig, Cowbridge CF71 7FF
Mulled wine at Big Moose Coffee
Christmas isn't Christmas without a glass of mulled wine. And city centre coffee shop Big Moose is catering for just that - alongside its other delicious drinks, cakes and lunches. Writing on its Instagram, the cafe said: "join us every tuesday evening for a break from your christmas shopping. We will be serving cake, coffee and mulled wine! open until 7.30pm every tuesday evening, please come down and join us."
Where: 4-5 Frederick St, St Davids Centre, Cardiff CF10 2DB
A crepe from Cardiff Christmas Market
Cardiff Christmas market is the place for a festive treat in the city centre - if the others don't quite take your fancy, of course. And one of our faves is the Pancake House - thin, fluffy French crepes finished with a topping of your choice - lemon and sugar or maple syrup perhaps? Maybe go savoury with ham and cheese crepe? We are a sucker for Nutella, too, mind.
Crepes aren't all. Tuck into some Raclette cheesey potatoes from The Melted Cheese Company or indulge in a brownie from the Chock Shop or a hot Welsh cake from Hot Welshcakes by Mum and Me.
Where: The Hayes, Cardiff
Bailey's hot choclate at Fido
'Tis the season for hot chocolate with the temperature dropping to hat, scarves and glove-levels. But even more so, it's the season for hot chocolate with a splash of many people's favourite Christmas tipple: Baileys. And at Fido's - the cafe which has recently taken over from the much loved Pontcanna haunt Kemi's - this drink is among its 'winter warmer' special drinks, alongside a Bailey's latte and a fido mulled wine.
Where: 186-188 Kings Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9DF
Mince Pies from Tŷ Melin Bakery
Christmas just isn't Christmas without a mince pie - or 10 - am I right? And just like all other treats from this delightful bakery in Roath (Wellfield Road) and Cardiff Bay's Bascape, its mince pies are proper lush. Paired with a coffee, it's sure to be the perfect winter warmer.
Where: 49 Wellfield Rd, Cardiff CF24 3PA
A Bailey's iced mince pie doughnut from Cardiff Dough and Co
While we're talking about mince pies, Cardiff Dough and Co's creative take on the classic dessert - in doughnut form - is oh-so-indulgent and is worth the calories. With an original doughnut filled to the brim with mince pie filling and topped with boozy Bailing icing - and a mince pie - it's festively filthy, in the best way. Having just opened a pop-up store in one of Cardiff's gorgeous arcades, read more on that here - you can get a variety of Christmas bakes, such as a chocolate log doughnut, as well as its pillowy, doughy original favourites such as the 'homer'.
Where: High Street, Cardiff
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