If you're a seasoned foodie in Cardiff, you're probably familiar with the frenzied lunch time waits outside Fresh the Baguette Bar. A fixture on the Welsh capital's food scene for more than two decades, the tiny sandwich shop in Royal Arcade is famous for its huge variety of baguette fillings and, of course, the sizeable queue every lunch time.
While Fresh is undoubtedly popular, even its regulars might have been surprised to see the shop named in the top 10% places to eat in the world by TripAdvisor this week, the website telling the shop it was "in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide".
Gobsmacked owners Gareth Lawson and Sam Halewood who have run Fresh for 23 years told WalesOnline: "It's an honour to have such an award. It's humbling for us. It's just lovely that people enjoy our food and our somewhat cheeky service and fun that we have in the shop. And for people to enjoy their lunchtime during a hard working day... we just try and lighten people's lives a little bit."
Read more: The tiny Cardiff baguette shop that has hungry customers queueing out the door every lunchtime
With so much fanfare over the accolade, we visited Fresh the day after the news broke to ask queuing customers just why the wait is worth it and why they keep coming back.
'It was the best baguette I've ever had'
Meg Simpson, 21, visited Fresh for the first time recently and has now roped in her friend Ruby Sharp, 20. "I was here a couple of weeks ago and I loved it, which is why I've brought her here. It was the best baguette I've ever had," she said. "I had the vegetarian mozzarella, pesto and tomato. The ingredients were really fresh. It was really good.
"I didn't have to wait very long as I got here at 2 o'clock which was quite late, so they only had the veggie options left. I didn't realise it was so popular, I just sort of happened to go in. I'd never heard of it before. I did see [the award] on Facebook and sent her a screenshot."
"We've been waiting 15 to 20 minutes, but everyone said it's worth the queue," said first-timer Ruby. "I'm going to go with hummus and roasted veg or mozzarella and pesto. I'm not that adventurous. If I'd just walked past it I wouldn't join, but a queue is a queue."
'It's part of it - it has that reputation, you're willing to wait'
Ashleigh Wilson, 20, and Cecily Bostick, 19, have been waiting about 20 minutes. "We're both uni students," Cecily said. "I think a friend introduced me to it last year. It goes through the grapevine. It's her [Ashleigh's] first time.
"My mate told me there'd be a bit of a queue but it'd be worth the wait and it was. It moves fast enough and it's nice to have a lunch break. It's also part of it - it has that reputation, you're willing to wait. It's the done thing here. We're fans of the arcades in general - if this store was on one of the less appealing streets I probably wouldn't want to wait so long, but it's a nice area. It's quite fun to window shop!
"I flip from being a vegetarian, so sometimes I'm on the veggie menu. But they've got so many options, I always try and go for something different. Their specials are very good but they're often meat."
'The queue is what potentially attracts people'
Tomos Rogers, 23, is waiting with Anwen Sleath, 21 and said he's a "relatively regular" visitor to Fresh. "It's a bit of a treat, maybe once a month," he said. "The queue is pretty long, but it's long for a reason. The stuff here is really nice. I really like the truffle mayo stuff, and the brown bread that they have here is really good quality. I'm a big fan of that."
The pair said they think the queue might even be part of the draw for curious passers-by. "I think a lot of people see the queue and maybe think it's a little bit fashionable," laughed Tomos while Anwen added: "I think the queue is what potentially attracts people, because it's clearly people are here for a reason. I've never been before.
"I feel like it being in the arcade as well - lots of the shops here are probably independent, quirky, so if you see the sandwich shop I think people automatically assume it's going to be independent and of quality.
"We've got to be back in 20 minutes so we're hoping that we'll make it in time! I'm vegetarian and might try the truffle mayo stuff. It's a Friday treat - we normally just pop to Tesco or Greggs."
'I feel this is not as expensive as it could be'
Regular Jacob Sanders, 28, comes about once a week and is well accustomed to the wait time. "I live nearby but I come when I'm in the office which is in the centre of Cardiff. There's a bit of a queue but I feel it's worth it. I'd be happy to wait 20 minutes, I'd say.
"I go for the vegan number 12 on brown - roasted vegetables, hummus, olives. I really like it. There's quite a lot of variety, and it's quite reasonably priced. A lot of places are increasing their prices and I feel this is not as expensive as it could be. I'm not surprised [at the TripAdvisor rating], I feel it deserves every accolade that it gets. They're really friendly, it's a great place to go."
'It's known it's a good place to go'
Samantha Clarke and Aleks Adshead came from Heath to pick up a baguette on the day we visit. Like others, they don't seem fussed by the wait.
"We moved to Cardiff a couple of years ago and was at Cardiff Uni and it was kind of like a word-of-mouth thing. I think it's just known that it's a good place to go for lunch," said Aleks. "We've been waiting a little while now," added Samantha. "Probably about half an hour. It's probably the longest queue I've stayed in for it, but I don't mind. At least it's dry."
The pair's baguette of choice? "The mighty number 10 - chorizo," said Aleks without hesitation, Samantha adding: "He introduced that one to me last time and I think it might be my favourite now as well."
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