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ONE PUB ONLY?
Windsor Arms
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Owain Glydwr, Westgate, Cayo, Chapter Arts Centre
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
Chapter Arts Centre
|  |  Cayo Arms
36 Cathedral Rd. CF11 9LL Telephone 02920 391910
W www.marstonsinnsandtaverns.co.uk
G Nigel Sandford-Hill
F Seriously good value food as seen in Cardiff good food guide. 12 to 3, 5 to 9, 12 to 8 Sat.
CP SK BM D
O 12 to 11, 10 to 11 on big matchdays
This hotel is a true real ale pub catering for sports fans of all types. Near Sophia Gardens, it has masses of room and easy access to all the sights of the city. Listen to rugby and cricket conversations, or chat in peaceful bliss. CAMRA Cardiff pub of the year in recent years, the pub also does accommodation and would be a great location for the full tourist bit, being just outside the town-centre in the castle area. The food comes recommended and geared towards the sort of hearty grub you want before a match. My lunch-time visit found plenty of people strolling or getting cabs from the central offices. I would love to be here the few hours before an international or during a break in a Glamorgan cricket game. Spilling into the outside areas, listening to the self - deprecating humour of Welsh sports fans is one of the joys of sporting life.
UPDATE: The refurbishment of last February means they now have accommodation and signs that are apparently totally bi-lingual. It is now easy to recognise Nigel from the pub sign.
BWV 5.11.04: Bass Draught, Brains Bitter, Rev James, Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch, Tomas Watkin BB, Cwrw Coroni Glyndwr, OSB
BWV 24.11.05: Brains Bitter, Rev James, Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Fuller’s London Pride, Tomos Watkin BB, Cwrw Coroni Glyndwr, Merlin, OSB, Young’s Special | |  Chapter Arts Centre
Market Rd CF5 1QE Telephone 02920 311062 W www.chapter.org
G David Morgan
F Café style menu 12 to 2, 6 to 8
CP BM D
O 5 to 11 Mon - Thu, 5 to 12.30 Fri, 1 to 12 Sat, 4 to 10.30 Sun
The Chapter Arts Centre is exactly as described in its name but with a great range of both real ales and bottled beers to attract the discerning beer drinker. The centre houses two cinemas, a theatre and galleries, plus this excellent café bar. As expected, it is not your typical back - street pub, it is a place for those who wish to drink in an environment that is both cool and calming to their artistic senses.
David has run the bar for the last six years and has created such a reputation that the locals were keen to contact me and point out the error of my ways in last years’ recommendations. The locals include the author of the recently published guide to German beers who uses the centre as his local. This may well explain the impressive bottle cabinet that stretches the bounadaries of normal pub options to global proportions. The bar itself is a classic refectory with ever changing artwork as a backdrop to the room. As the place is non - smoking, the best “room” for some is the enclosed courtyard which is often the place for those who like to talk of dramatic experience over a beer and fag. On Sunday nights the bar offers music in the form of a jazz band. The atmosphere is never loud even at this time. The emphasis is always on creating a place to sit and relax. The pub makes for a great alternative to the bustle of the town and lies a mere fifteen minutes walk from the ground.
BWV 2.6.06: Archers Champagne Charlie, Brains Rev James, Hart Cait – Lin, Vale of Glamorgan Special Bitter | |  Owain Glyndwr
10 St. Johns Rd. CF10 1GL Telephone 02920 221980
G Glyn White
F Full menu, snacks, main meals and daily specials from 12
MP TV BM D
O 11 to 11.30 Mon - Wed 11 to 1 Thu. 11 to 2 Fri, 11 to , 4, Sun 12 to 10.30
“Ignore your first impressions, this is not Wetherspoon’s.” The bar is sectioned and in the smaller corner bar you get the real ale. It has a mix of city professionals and students and can get very busy as regulars chase the 12 beers rotated every week. “The pub is very female friendly.” Tanya recommends it because “of the fantastic choice of ales, amazing atmosphere and very pleasant work force!” It also has an upstairs bar with resident DJ for those who wish to take advantage of the 1 o’clock licence. “The outside drinking area is popular on big matchdays, well supervised as well.” My visit was to the real ale section, frequented by office workers enjoying a quiet pint and shoppers looking for a restive five minutes. As Owen of Rhondda said “you can knock em back before they knock em in, the real ales really hit the goal”
UPDATE: Now three cask ales are served and plans for the redesign will move those ales into the main bar as the left hand bar becomes a snug.
BWV 5.11.04: Orkney Dark Island, Woodforde’s Nelsons Revenge, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Weston’s Old Rosie Cider
BWV 24.11.05: Caledonian 80/-, Camerons Castle Eden Ale, Fuller’s London Pride | |  Westgate
49 Cowbridge Rd. East CF11 9AD Telephone 02920 303002
G Steve Smith
F Good value pub food and specials 12 to 9
MP SK BM P D
O 11 to 11, 11 to 12 Sat, 12 to 11.30 Sun.
The Westgate is my second Brains pub and it contrasts well with the Goat Major in scale and tradition. It is massive, recently redesigned in a modern pine and open-plan style and caters for the TV sports fan with big screens and ample space to stand and stare. Those sports fans are more likely to be Cardiff Blues rugby boys than City fans. The sight of the stadium just along the road is truly impressive and being on the suburban side of the bridge it will be ever-so-slightly less crowded. Eric, behind the bar, talked with fondness of the visits of fans from Ipswich, Leeds and Wolves who no doubt came to sample the Dark and chat with fellow footie fans. The locals are totally friendly, the pub proclaims it is “proud to be your local” and quite so. This pub was also recommended by the regulars at the Windsor for the quality of the Brains ales. I enjoyed the respite from the first winter snows in a corner of the pub, failing miserably in my attempt to understand the local dialect. I resisted the temptation to go out back and play pool with the students, rather sitting in one of the four separate drinking areas, each quite discrete in their terracotta library style. The skittle alley has now gone, as the Westgate needed more kitchen space. The Welsh food included a Welsh burger! It is, however, a pub, not a restaurant, a mix of locals’ bar and town house just out of town. It makes an ideal stopping-off point in what is likely to be a crawl from the Cayo into town when the game is over.
BWV 24.11.05: Brains Bitter, Dark, Rev James, SA | |  Windsor Arms
93 Windsor Rd. Penarth CF64 1JF Telephone 02920 707881
G Clive Williams
F Good value pub food from 12 to 3
S Patio area to front of pub
SP TV BM D
O 12 to 11.30, 12 - 11 Sun
An ale house with a restaurant attached, this pub is a real pub is for the discerning real ale drinker. The clients come from near and far via train and car to sample what is happening here. The layout offers space for groups to chat as well as those who just relax and listen. My visit was a very relaxing hour, the food looked like a bit of an institution with the regulars. The beer was a topic of conversation among small groups of professionals who had obviously chosen the pub as a comfortable haunt. All in all a top boozer that would be top of my list when I return to Cardiff. The bar is all wooden floors and barrels, loads of local community news giving it a lived-in feel that you find in the best community locals. Clive recommends using the train from Dingle Station which is less than two minutes away. Good advice as the range of ales is such that just one is a bit of a crime.
UPDATE: Clive has taken over the ownership from Brains and the pub has been tastefully redecorated in the true Windsor Arms style. The guest ales rotate monthly.
BWV 5.11.04: Greene King Abbot, IPA, Hancock’s HB, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Tomas Watkin Cwrw Haf, OSB
BWV 24.11.05: Brains Dark, SA, Brakspear Fire Dog, Greene King Abbot, Hancock’s HB, Highgate Fat Catz
BWV 26.8.09 Brains SA Gold, Elgood Mad Dog, Greene King Abbot, Hancock's HB, St Austell Tribute, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Thomos Watkin Crw Haf | | | CARDIFF CAMRA | | 
CARDIFF CITY STADIUM | | 
LOCAL BREWERY
Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd
Unit 8A, Atlantic Trading Estate
Barry,
Vale of Glamorgan,
CF63 3RF
Telephone:01446 730757
www.vogbrewery.co.uk
| | WETHERSPOONS
The Gatekeeper 9-10 Westgate Street Cardiff CF10 1DD Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9am-11pm
The Crockerton Greyfriars Road Cardiff CF10 3AD Opening Times: Sun-Wed 9am-2am; Thu-Sat 9am-2.30am
The Great Western 64 St Mary Street Cardiff CF10 1FA Opening Times: Sun-Wed 9am-2am; Thu-Sat 9am-2.30am
The Prince of Wales 81-83 St Mary Street Cardiff CF10 1FA Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
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