Brunch place so good I almost want to keep it a secret

PORI SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR RELAXED BREAKFASTS IN THE SOUTH OF CARDIFF, WRITES RUTH MOSALSKI

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The full veggie breakfast

THE areas around railway stations are rarely the best places to go in a city and Cardiff has, for many years, been no different.

While the front of Cardiff's main railway station is unrecognisable from its grimy past thanks to the revamp of Central Square, the back has long been forgotten.

A link between the city centre and the bay, the immediate streets near the station have been best known for the reasons not to go down them. But this is an area in the midst of huge regeneration.

There are multi-million-pound plans to completely change the whole stretch from Cardiff Central station to Callaghan Square, progress is swift for the massive Rightacres development on the former Brains brewery site, and there are plans for a new bridge to connect that with Grangetown across the river.

There is a new, and if it’s not an odd thing to say, quite trendy car park due to open any day and then there's Trade Street.

The last time I was in Trade Street was many years ago, joining a charity working with women involved in sex work.

But now? It could not be more different. There are trendy redbrick high-rises, cafes I had no idea existed, and a vibe that, on this sunny day, felt more like Manchester or Birmingham than Cardiff.

The redevelopment of Trade Street wasn’t something everyone backed.

The Manic Street Preachers left their renowned Faster Studios base in 2016 after their landlord gave notice they were selling the courtyard to make way for a housing development.

The well-known Trade Street Cafe, something of an institution with locals, closed almost a decade ago too.