Against TheGrain

Frazer Twigg and his partner Chris opened Against The Grain on Merthyr Road in June 2022, after Chris was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2018 and the pair struggled to find a Cardiff coffee shop where nothing on the menu needed checking. Every item leaving the kitchen, from barista coffee to tray bakes and sausage rolls, is made without gluten, so customers can order anything on the board. The narrow shopfront is fitted out in a steampunk style, with clocks, copper pipework and reclaimed wood covering the walls. Beans come from a Welsh roaster and food waste is composted rather than binned. It opened as Cardiff's first dedicated gluten-free coffee house, and Whitchurch regulars now treat it as their regular stop for a flat white or a cardamom bun.