Dark Fire Cafe is an independent tabletop gaming venue and cafe at Unit 8, The Gavel Centre, Porters Wood, St Albans, AL3 6PQ. Founded in June 2023 by Steve and a partner, it was set up as a permanent base for the local tabletop community. The cafe serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, light lunches and 12-inch pizzas, so you can make an afternoon or evening of a gaming session without needing to leave for food.
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The main attraction is the gaming space, with eleven full-size tables available to book. There are dedicated 6ft by 4ft tables for Warhammer, smaller tables for skirmish games and a library of more than 100 board games. You can also bring your own games. General access costs £6 for unlimited use of the cafe area for the rest of the day, or £3 for a one-hour session, and no booking is needed to play. The retail section sells Games Workshop miniatures at 15% off RRP, as well as products and merchandise for Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop titles.
The weekly programme covers a wide range of games. Magic: The Gathering includes Commander, Standard, Booster Draft and Friday Night Magic, while Pokémon TCG has League Nights, Sunday League Afternoons and Little Trainers sessions for children. There are also Lorcana Thursday Night Meets, Dungeons & Dragons Learn to Play sessions and Adventurers League events, plus activities involving Warhammer, Kill Team, Blood Bowl, Star Wars Legion, Marvel Crisis Protocol, One Piece Card Game, Gundam Card Game, Yu-Gi-Oh, UniVersus and Star Wars Unlimited. St Albans Wargamers meet on Thursdays from 6pm, and the board game social runs on Wednesdays from 6pm, with library access at a discounted £4 rate. Session prices vary, including £6.50 for Magic and Lorcana events, £7.50 for Pokémon League sessions and £5 for Little Trainers.
As of Saturday 7 November 2026, the listed opening hours are Monday to Friday 8:30am–10:30pm, Saturday 10am–8pm and Sunday 10am–6pm. The venue has a 4.9/5 Google Maps rating from 104 reviews, with customers highlighting the friendly staff, helpful hosts and broad game selection. For questions or to arrange a meeting with Steve, the contact email is darkfirecafe@gmail.com.
Published Date
7 November 2026
