I travel to Cardff regularly on business and the last two times i have been lucky enough to stay here. Not a true hotel, but a restaurant with rooms, for those not familar wth the concept, the emphasis is on the food wih a lower level of hotel services. Well known for it's excellent cuisine, the hotel has recently been taken over by Simon,owner and Chef.
The Old Post Office is located in St Fagans, about 5 miles from Cardiff city centre and the bay, wthn walking distance of the fabulous Welsh National History Museum. I like to stay here as it is a quiet retreat very close to the city. It takes me twenty minutes to get to the bay in rush hour along the expressway.
The rooms are light and airy with large beds, modern chic rather than olde worlde as you might have expected from the name of the place. Some of the rooms only have a shower but both the rooms that I have stayed in have been of a high standard,one had a Jacuzzi bath! I think that there are only 7 rooms altogether.There are tea and coffee facilities in the rooms.
Now for the restaurant. This has got to be the main reason for staying here. The menu i would describe as modern Welsh. Simon is an excellent chef , sourcing local produce when possible, and using high quality meat and fish. Some of it comes from the local estate, such as the game for the game terrine starter.The smoked venison starter is also excellent.
I have tried both the lamb and ribeye mains, both were superb.
Wine list is excellent value and varied. Dinner is served until 9.30 pm, which is handy.
Breakfast is cooked from fresh, cereal, juices, smoked salmon, kippers or full cooked.
The best bit, dinner b and b for £100, I know it is fantastic value, and within most expense account budgets.
In summary, large quiet rooms, friendly personal service and an excellent restaurant, what more could you want?
Equally good for business or pleasure. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Stefan

If you are planning a stay at The Old Post Office, think again.

On a positive note, the location is superb - across the road from the Museum of Welsh Life, next to a bus stop with easy and quick access to central Cardiff, and next to a decent pub with a beer garden!

However, we were expecting to stay at a 5* restaurant with rooms - so didn't expect to be met on arrival by a very junior chef who claimed he 'didn't have a clue' what was going on, was 'only helping out' and didn't know how to check us in. Following a call to the owner, we were given access to our room, but even the charm of the owner - who arrived at the hotel later that day - couldn't make up for the fact that our two-person room had only one coffee cup, no spoons, no caffeinated coffee, no bath towels, only one set of toiletries, etc etc. There was a note on the bath saying that the jacuzzi was out of order, but to be honest we wouldn't have used it anyway - the nozzles looked, in the words of my companion 'like they needed a good scrub'. On the second day of our stay the restaurant appeared to have acquired a chef (I should hope so at £35 for dinner), but no-one bothered to inform us - the only people staying in the hotel - and so went next door to eat and only discovered the restaurant was open for business on our return. In any case the breakfast - cooked by the manager - was lousy, so it didn't bode well for eating in-house.

The hotel claims to be 'minimalist'. It is not. It is merely barely, and cheaply, furnished. The unfortunate thing about 'minimalist' design is that it shows up every bit of wear and tear - in this case the stained carpet, holes where pictures had been removed and not replaced, patches where paintwork had been touched up with the wrong colour paint, scuffed woodwork, grotty grouting in the bathroom, dirty shower heads, torn duvet covers, moss-covered terrace... etc, etc

I could go on! If you are planning a gastronomic weekend away look elsewhere - they may not warn you when you book that there isn't anyone qualified to cook dinner. If you are planning a romantic weekend, take some cleaning solutions and a pair of marigolds!

The Old Post Office is a small hotel that is really a restaurant with rooms - we had a lovely short break there in the New Year. Rooms are comfortable, modern and stylish - the staff are welcoming and attentive.
The restaurant is excellent - fantastic standard of food and service. The location is accessible for both Cardiff and a lovely part of the Welsh countryside and coast. An excellent short break and touring destination.

Four of us dined at The Old Post Office and had a very memorable evening; the quality of the food was exceptional without fear of contradiction. Collectively, we have dined all over the world: Europe, Africa, Asia, Americas, and without doubt Ainsley, the chef at The Old Post Office is on par with what one would come to expect from a fine hotel in Paris or a serious restaurant as frequented by the likes of Bill Gates in Maui, Hawaii. In short you will be hard pushed to find anywhere in Wales to compete with such high standards. To compliment this exceptional level of cuisine, Kevin, your friendly and professional maitre d'hotel, will do all within his power to make your evening that little bit more special. I dare anyone to write a bad review about this place; I simply cannot imagine it happening.

Mark Chandler