Right on Swansea Bay front, The Observatory cafe and bar is undoubtedly the most dog-friendly place to get a really good brunch or an boozy drink looking over the sea, with indoor and outdoor seating over the sand.

I’d say it’s probably the most ‘aesthetic’ venue in Swansea, with great-looking food and interiors, as well as a spectacular location on the beachfront, just off from the marina.

The building used to be the old observatory – of course – but I’m no spring chicken, and I don’t ever remember it being a working one – just a cool building we never could go in.

It’s a newish venue, which nearly opened before the pandemic if rumours are true, but the opening didn’t happen and everything seemed to stand still for a few years.

There’s no free parking close to the building unless you have a blue badge, and then you can park right by it on the double yellow lines.

You’ll either have to walk – quite far too – or just pay for a spot. There are a couple of council car parks very close by which are cheap enough.

My only real gripe is they don’t serve sausages. I have no idea why, because they sell bacon and other pork products – but there’s no sausage included in the fry-up, and that’s everyone’s favourite part, right? If we’re in the mood for a fry-up, we will tend to go somewhere else because of that (probably The Mermaid or The Lighthouse).

The main restaurant/cafe is on the bottom floor, which leads out to a wrap-around balcony – but there’s also an upstairs floor which is more for drinks/evening gigs.

The staff are very young and cool – not super warm, but friendly enough. It’s always pretty busy in there – on a weekend, it would be tough to get in for breakfast.

The Observatory, Swansea Menu

The Observatory has one of the more interesting menus, with everything being beautiful not only to eat but to look at too.

You can see the whole menu on their Instagram account, but it’s very brunch-heavy, with granola, breakfast bagels, fry-ups etc. They also have tapas-style bits and sandwiches.

In the evening they have mezze sharing boards, pizzas salads.

What do you think of The Observatory Cafe and Bar, Swansea Bay? Let me know in the comments.