The next pub on our little meander was the Old Arcade and it wasn’t a very long walk from the Head of Steam and their sign is just visible on the right hand side of this photo. The Old Arcade is something of a well-known venue in Cardiff and it’s also listed in the Good Beer Guide.
The pub’s website has a history of the venue, something which I always think is a very positive thing. When the county gaol was demolished in 1835, an area was created for a new indoor market and an arcade was constructed to reach it from Church Street. Next to that new decadent arcade was a pub, known in 1844 as the Birdcage, later known as the Arcade & Post Office, then the Arcade Vaults and now it’s known as the Old Arcade.
The service was friendly and there was a collection of real ales to choose from, primarily from Brains brewery who operate the venue although it’s apparently currently leased to Marstons.
And the keg options.
I went for the Dark Mild from Brains, which was creamy, dark (obviously) and also was robust enough to go well with my salt & vinegar crisps.
This is the rear room of the pub, with plenty of rugby memorabilia and imagery around. CAMRA note that this is perhaps one of the best known rugby pubs in the world, which is certainly a claim to fame.
There’s a covered area to the rear which offers more space, although this was firmly padlocked off when we visited. I can imagine how busy this gets when there is rugby being played in the city.
The bar in the rear room of the pub and some of these fittings are from the Victorian period.
And for anyone interested, here’s the menu which is served during the day. The online reviews are very positive although there was a complaint from a disabled customer that there was no provision for them and they were told that it was standing room only. The venue replied “You are quite welcome to come for a drink but it’s just standing only, we welcome everyone in our pub” which is perhaps inappropriate wording and I can see why the customer feels that this was a sub-optimal response. But there are very few negative reviews and that’s quite impressive given how high volume the venue is.
I rather liked this pub, it was welcoming, friendly and seemed organised. There were numerous real ales available and there’s an element of history which is evident here. I was pleased that the Good Beer Guide listed this venue, it seems a most appropriate choice.