It’s midday on Sat 19 Oct and a queue is worming its way up Cardiff’s Queen Street from the Capitol Shopping Centre to the carousel. It’s not for another dead monarch on morbid display for a grieving, mawkish nation – this queue is owed to the fervour surrounding Japanese soufflé pancakes and the new chain dessert café serving them at an increasing number of UK locations.

With a penchant for wobbly desserts, I went to a Fluffy Fluffy café in Bristol earlier this year, and the light, airy texture of the batter and sickly oozing sauce weighed pleasantly heavy on my stomach then, and on my mind ever since. When a targeted Instagram ad let me know Cardiff was getting its own branch, I made a calendar note to go to its opening with some friends… as did a great deal of other people, it turned out.

There’s a lot of buildup to the queue even before I arrive: friends passing by send videos and photos of it in horror. Are you sure it’s worth it? “Of course!” I assure them, even with creeping doubts about wasting more of my Saturday than intended. An hour in, my queuing companions wonder the same. But it’s too late. We’ve invested too much time; the queue will be our Saturday. We cheer the quitters, boo the would-be cutters, and accept praise from the staff for our patience like we’re marathon runners being handed water bottles.

All in all, it’s around three hours of waiting for 20 minutes of squidgy goodness. Two thick pancakes with accompanying fruit and sauces (Nutella, Oreo, Biscoff, tiramisu, pistachio and cream) arrive promptly, along with surprisingly fresh iced teas and smoothies, and decent syruped coffee. Recommended for dessert lovers, but not the impatient. Queue fans, meanwhile: you missed your chance.

109 Queen St, Cardiff. Info: fluffyfluffy.co.uk

words HANNAH COLLINS