Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Cardiff

Cardiff – Mercure Cardiff North

I didn’t get around at the time to writing about the Mercure Cardiff North hotel where we stayed for my birthday weekend in Cardiff in November. This is an Accor branded hotel and I had booked some time in advance, with the rates being very reasonable.

Firstly, there’s something unusual about their online reviews on Google as nearly every single one mentions a staff member by name. This isn’t usual on Google and doesn’t really help people get a fair understanding of what is happening here. If I read through the verified visits on Accor’s website, the situation is more as I would expect and staff members are rarely named, so that feels more reliable.

Instead of using my normal metric of Google Reviews, I’m going to use the Accor aggregated score, which shows that this hotel has a rating of 3.9 which is towards the lower end of the scale for the chain.

In fairness, the hotel was managing perfectly well at the accommodation element that was offered here. Liam and I had a twin room which was clean, at the appropriate temperature and everything worked as expected. There were no noise issues, either from inside or outside the hotel, so that all felt positive. The interior felt generally modern and so I suspect that there has been a refurbishment here recently.

I think my main negative about this hotel is I don’t know why they’re trying to be part of Accor. The hotel was playing fast and loose with the loyalty scheme offered by Accor and didn’t offer most of the benefits.

The situation with the welcome drink was downright awkward as the member of bar staff said that it was one drink a room. This isn’t right, this has never been right and it’s really not something I want to debate as it’s hard not to sound entitled about the matter. But holding Liam’s drink hostage whilst the staff members blamed each other is entirely sub-optimal. The reception desk resolved the matter, but the concept of the welcome drink was rather lost at this point.

It was partly a shame that the bar service was borderline rude as the drinks selection wasn’t unreasonable and although they’d made no effort getting local drinks in, at least they had a couple of options such as this Singha.

We had breakfast included in our room rates and on the first day it was poor, the second day it was better. it might not be relevant to me personally, but I like that they’re trying to do a gluten free area, but it could perhaps be a little more, er, exciting.

To be fair, I suspect guests would have worked out the labelling error here.

The hot food options, although this isn’t perhaps the best way to keep the food hot. As with the drinks at the bar, there was no effort to source food locally which is a shame as numerous Accor hotels are keen to do at least something.

The first day’s breakfast options were broadly dreadful. The bacon was dripping with grease, the cold cuts were of a very low quality, the cheese was already sweating in the displays and the whole arrangement looked sub-optimal.

I do agree with Richard’s comment that it’s a shame that there isn’t any fresh bread available here. But, to be fair to the hotel, this isn’t as common in the UK as it is on the European mainland.

They actually had fried eggs on the second day and the presentation of the food was much better. That bacon isn’t cooked anywhere as much as I’d like it, but I accept that’s a personal preference. The egg was cooked to my tastes and everything tasted as expected.

Overall, I thought that the stay was fine as the room was clean, the team members were generally friendly and there were no noise issues. Certainly breakfast could have been better on the first day, but we got there just as service started and it’s easy to be critical. My main comment about the hotel is that they should perhaps either embrace (or at least accept) the rules that Accor set them, or just go independent and be free of those guardrails.

December 31, 2025
Connecting the Two Birthday Weekends

For my attentive blog readers, they might have noticed that I stopped the blog following my birthday weekend in Cardiff and I jumped straight to my birthday weekend in Ljubljana as there’s something about sort of live and up-to-date content that’s useful.

Anyway, I now continue the story of how I got from Cardiff to Ljubljana as I think that there are some useful elements. So, I finished before talking about Richard’s very low Uber score…. I will return to the day trip to Trieste when I’ve caught up the missing section.

The next stage of the adventure was to charge Liam’s car up a bit, whilst Richard looked at it enviously. We were heading for the National Trust property of Tredegar House, which has the informal name of the most expensive council house in Britain.

November 29, 2025
Cardiff – Uber

It was the end of the evening and we decided to get an Uber home. Richard used his Uber account to book the taxi, although he’s not very competent at these younger person’s apps and so he got a bit muddled up where to stand, so we ended up standing in a pedestrianised street.

The biggest crisis though is that Richard has a very poor Uber rating. Liam and I have 5 star ratings from drivers, whereas Ross doesn’t use such technology. I am a naturally courteous passenger, giving consideration to the needs of the driver, which is why I obtain very high ratings. Richard has a much lower rating, but it’s not for me to comment why.

After we found a driver to accept Richard’s low score on the app, we were on the way back to the hotel. The driver was fortunate that he was setting some passengers down in the exact place he was picking us up, although I suspect it’s more likely he suggested that they got out at that spot for his convenience. Either way, everyone looked happy.

I commented to the driver about Richard’s predicament and as Richard promised to tip him, I’m fairly confident that he secured a 5 star rating on this journey. I was glad to be of assistance, but I don’t need any praise for that.

To cover myself legally, can I note that Richard is contacting Uber’s customer service support to contest his rating. He denies any allegations that he is anything other than the perfect customer and he notes that he always tips generously.

November 21, 2025
Cardiff – Cardiff Arms

Our final stop of the evening was the Cardiff Arms, a venue clearly designed more for younger people given the volume of the music playing. There was a friendly welcome from the doorman though and I was eyeing up the outside seating area as being more peaceful, which is where we ultimately sat.

Although the venue has been designed to look like a late Victorian pub, it is only a couple of years old and has taken the place of a Chinese restaurant which was here before. This whole area has been really smartened up over the last couple of years, I hadn’t realised until looking at relatively recent views on Google Streetview.

The beer selection wasn’t entirely decadent, but there were a couple of interesting keg options there. There are sometimes real ales available here, but it’s usually primarily keg.

I went for the Cwtch from Tiny Rebel, a very decent red ale. The temperature outside was moderate (so my friend Susanna would have considered it as freezing) and it was all rather pleasant.

I have to give the venue opposite credit for their Christmas decorations. It would be wrong of me to gossip here about Ubergate, so I’ll note that in a separate post.

The online reviews of this venue are broadly positive for drinks, but it seems that they might be struggling a little with the food. It’s going to be a challenge for them given the number of food options in Cardiff, but maybe it’ll all settle down.

Anyway, it was a bit loud for me now that I’ve reached the age of 30, but the team members were all friendly, it was clean and provided us with a suitable space to think back about the highlights of the weekend so far.

November 19, 2025
Cardiff – Henry’s Cafe Bar

Apologies about the poor quality of this image, but the next stop on our little tour of the city was Henry’s Cafe Bar. We had run out of Good Beer Guide pubs, or at least ones that were open, so this seemed like an interesting option that was central.

Richard would like it pointed out that he doesn’t own any Christmas jumpers, he just has some that look like them and so he isn’t entering this competition. I hope that this is now clear.

The only real ale available was Brains Special Ale, but unfortunately it ran out whilst pouring, so I had half a pint of Asahi instead as I’m flexible like that.

The barman kindly let me keep the Brains real ale that had poured and it fortunately didn’t taste like the end of the barrel. The Asahi on the right didn’t set my world alight, but there are worse beers out there. Richard had red wine and he seemed content with it, although as all the drinks had to be served in plastic for licensing reasons relating to the rugby, that did take away from the decadence a little. Incidentally, Liam was busy putting his beer on Untappd in this photo, whereas I know Ross wasn’t doing that….

The venue is large inside and it’s a cafe bar in the day, turning into more of a cocktail venue in the evening. The venue is also currently available on Stonegate’s website, although the annual rent is well over £100k and it’s tied on beers and the like, but they’re not a key driver here. There’s food served during the day which is from quite a large menu, with a focus on healthier options.

Overall, it felt a comfortable and safe environment, something with a little class. I’m not sure that I’m really their target customer, but I liked the friendly welcome and also the little touch of giving me the beer they had tried to pour for free, I always appreciate such gestures.

November 18, 2025
Cardiff – Pen and Wig

The next Good Beer Guide venue that we headed towards was the Pen and Wig, located in a former Victorian house. I realised, with a little disappointment, when entering that the venue was operated by Stonegate as part of their Heritage Pubs brand. In fairness, it’s very well reviewed online and they’re clearly doing something right.

There was quite a broad range of real ales, although nothing exactly set the heart racing and the prices were towards the higher end of the scale. The service was though friendly, engaging and efficient.

I went for half a pint of the Horny Goat Ale from the Trefforest Brewery and it was clean, hoppy, well-kept although perhaps a touch generic.

For anyone interested, here’s their matchday food menu. They normally have a slightly wider menu available, although this looked reasonably interesting.

Richard commented that he was the oldest customer in the pub, but I find that’s very often true. He was right though that this seemed to be a popular venue for students, so the average age was quite low. Richard had knocked off all the flower arrangement on the table, we initially thought as part of some political statement, but it was just clumsiness. We didn’t say anything though.

Being a Stonegate pub, I realised that Richard and Liam could sign up to their loyalty app to get a free drink. Liam went for a Guinness, which I kindly shared with him after his nifty work in getting half into a half pint glass, whilst Richard opted for a gin and tonic. Well, it would have been tonic, but they had run out and so they gave him one rather flooded with lemonade.

The building only became used as a pub in the 1990s, so it’s one of the more recent licensed premises in Cardiff. I wasn’t surprised and delighted with Stonegate operating it as their prices are high, but at least they had a decent real ale and cider offering. The venue was relatively clean and it was spacious, helped by the large beer garden at the rear of the property. I did feel that I received value for money given that I received half a Guinness for free, so that felt like a win as well.

November 18, 2025
Cardiff – Base Camp Indian Kitchen

I’ve been training Liam for years in restaurant selection so he now has a list of requirements when picking a place to book rather than just booking the first thing that he sees. He surprise booked (the surprise was for me, not the restaurant as they knew we were coming) this Indian restaurant in Cardiff and, as a spoiler, he did very well indeed.

I wondered why the venue was proudly displaying their 3/5 food hygiene rating on the door, as in England this would be something that the restaurant just didn’t put up. However, I’ve remembered that in Wales it’s compulsory for it to be displayed, which seems a rather decent idea to me.

The poppadoms were slightly odd, the top ones were light and fresh whilst the lower down ones were a little more stale. The evident merging of two bowls felt sub-optimal.

The chutneys and mint sauce were though entirely lovely.

I went for a pint of Cobra which I felt was appropriate for the occasion, although I rather felt that Richard went for the technically correct mango lassi option.

The food quality was high, with the dishes being well presented and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature. The main was the Lukla Chicken, a dry curry with crispy fried chicken in a chilli sauce with onions and green chillies. I ordered this alongside a lemon rice and a peshwari naan. The chicken was tender, it actually had some depth of spice to it, the portion size was generous and the sauce was rich. The lemon rice also actually tasted of lemon, sometimes it’s all just a bit too subtle.

And the rest of the group also agreed that the quality of the food met our expectations. The service was always attentive and it was well staffed, so we didn’t have to ever wait very long. I think that we made the correct decision to skip having a starter, as I struggled to finish what I had.

The online reviews are very high and a manager came over at the end to see if we were local. Although he would have likely engaged for much longer if we were local and therefore likely to come back, we still left feeling welcome. The prices were reasonable, the dining environment was clean and the service was organised. This was a very good choice from Liam, so I’ve decided that he can definitely be trusted in the future.

November 18, 2025
Cardiff – Gatekeeper (JD Wetherspoon)

Our final pub of the evening was the Gatekeeper, a JD Wetherspoon venue which is also listed in the Good Beer Guide. In terms of the pub name, the chain notes:

“This pub is near the site of one of the five gateways through the medieval city walls. Originally called Wales Gate, it became known as Blounts Gate after a former gatekeeper. A blue plaque nearby indicates the location of the gateway to the Town Quay. Although the nearest water is now more than 200m away, until 150 years ago, the Taff flowed along what is now Westgate Street and, until the end of the 18th century, the quay was Cardiff’s main outlet to the sea.”

They don’t mention that the building was originally constructed as a theatre and it was more recently used as an auction house.

I was pleased to see that the Plum Porter from Titanic was on, but this was apparently unavailable, as was the Old Peculier from Theakston. I wasn’t entirely sure that I understood why they didn’t turn the pump clips around.

I instead went for the Time Travelling Taxi from Brew York, a competent pale ale which was hazy, juicy, fluffy and entirely acceptable.

My obligatory carpet photo. The online reviews are in keeping with the national chain’s average and I always feel the need to have a little look at them. I never claimed to be interesting…..

“got kicked out for no reason, abit ridiculous really, no warning loads of us kicked out for no reason? wouldn’t recommend. Wheelchair accessibility Not available no space no help or support”

The venue is accessible, but I wonder how I’ve never been thrown out of any pub but some people get kicked out for “no reason”, it’s a mystery….

“Absolute moronic decision by the so called “manager” to change channels on all TVs on Saturday 9th November from Liverpool vs Aston Villa to the hugely representative France vs Japan Rugby game (must have been 1 French supporter in the whole of the pub) – the bar staff had promised the game would be on but old incompetent “manager” decided to take a unilateral decision to satisfy one person.”

I think this is why some venues just decide not to show sports at all…..

“Watched some guy complain about women using the men’s toilets from what I gather nothing was getting resolved and he protested by entering the women’s toilet found this quite interesting as within seconds there were doormen there to throw him out not very professional run place and not very considerate as women should not be using the men’s as that guy was right. The man actually complained to a member of staff cleaning the gents at the time who did nothing to resolve it very untrained staff and the managers attitude was he didn’t care very rude staff all doormen the same attitude I felt like saying that the guy who got thrown out had a point because there were women in the men’s toilet on several occasions even a female member of staff at one point to sign the check board don’t think I’d like it if my partner had to do that or my daughter as part of her job role.”

I’m not sure entering the female toilets as part of a protest was perhaps the best thing to do here….

“Manager gave away our table and stole our drinks because we didnt tell every staff member we were going out for a cig, told two obviously not enough refused to give is a refund or a new drink.”

Hide them behind a menu, job done.

“Ripping people off yesterday with big price hikes just because the Foo Fighters were playing Cardiff. The place was packed , they would have made plenty of money anyway”

A couple of people have noted this, I wasn’t aware that JD Wetherspoon were engaged with hiking prices for certain events but that feels a little underhanded if true. Unless there’s some minimum pricing required for certain events which might explain it.

“Never got to enter as it’s impossible to park your car anywhere sensible”

I’m not sure that’s entirely fair on the venue to leave them 1/5 for not being able to park.

Anyway, I liked it here although I’d rather they turned the pump clip around to show what beers they didn’t have. The service was friendly, the venue was pretty clean and it felt safe and welcoming, so all really rather lovely.

With that, it was off back to the hotel via an Uber booked by Richard. A really rather lovely day.

November 17, 2025
Cardiff – Tiny Rebel Bar

Earlier on during the day we had visited the Tiny Rebel brewery in Newport, so a visit to their Good Beer Guide listed pub in Cardiff seemed a rather good idea. In terms of the building, CAMRA note:

“This listed building was a county council club for many years. Note the heavy iron shutters on the small barred windows, in what was once a treasury vault.”

There was a friendly welcome at the bar although, similar to my thoughts at their brewery, there seemed to be a lack of the innovative and intriguing beers that Tiny Rebel have brewed in the past.

I opted for a half of the Cosmic Pale and a half of the Double Drip.

They also had a selection of ciders available.

The beer on the right is the Cosmic Pale, which was light, fluffy and a little sweet. The beer on the left is the Double Drop which had a chocolate taste and was also sweet and smooth.

We couldn’t visit upstairs as there was a private function on, but there were a series of rooms including this one with a piano.

Very grand. Food is offered during the day and that’s based around a burger menu. Although it took us a little while to find a seat, it’s a sizeable venue and it had a quirky feel to it, but it was all welcoming and comfortable. There was an upbeat atmosphere and it all felt suitably on-trend for Tiny Rebel.

As a bar, I liked this, although I hope that Tiny Rebel goes for some more innovation in the future as they have in the past. The two beers that I had were perfectly enjoyable, but they seem to have shunted themselves from cutting edge to something more generic. But the building was historic and felt entirely appropriate for the Tiny Rebel brand. Along with the friendly staff and selection of beers, another very worthy entry into the Good Beer Guide.

November 17, 2025
Cardiff – The Old Arcade

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.

November 17, 2025