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Picture of The Cottage
Image posted by Blackthorn _
Submitted on Wednesday, 20th December 2023
With picture contributions to 5202 other pubs
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The Cottage, Cardiff

25 St. Mary Street
Cardiff
CF10 1AA
Correct details

Served areas

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The Cardiff Cottage The Cardiff Cottage Turkey VS Italy followed by Billy Lee Williams tomorrow night at the Cottage! book now so you don't miss out! 3:02 PM Jun 10th 2021 from SendsterSocial - Brains
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Reviews of The Cottage (Average Rating: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Cottage

Reputedly one of Cardiff’s oldest pubs, it certainly looks the part with it’s black wooden frontage, curved leaded windows and gold lettering. It was then perhaps something of a disappointment on getting inside, to find that it’s clearly been “renovated” at some point, and whilst it’s not unpleasant, it certainly does have any of the cosy olde worlde ambiance that I had hoped for.

Internally it consists of one long and relatively narrow room, with sanded wooden boards on the floor and red painted embossed wallpaper on much of the ceiling. White wood panelling was on the lower part of the walls which lent it a slightly elegant feel perhaps, with plain plasterwork above. A few mirrors and bits of artwork were dotted around as well as a ledge for vertical drinking opposite the bar counter, whilst the lighting was some quite old fashioned looking globe style fitments. A raised area up a couple of steps at the rear was perhaps a little cosier, with fitted and padded banquette seating, pale green paintwork, varnished wood panelling on the ceiling and an attractive stained-glass roof window.

Beers on tap were Doom Bar, Butty Bach, Brains Dark and Wainwright’s Gold. Ciders meanwhile were Aspall’s, and Stowford Press in both the regular and Dark Berry varieties.

On 21st December 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Will Larter left this review about The Cottage

This pub has been well described by PSM below, and its conflicting styles, caught between traditional old pub and modern city bar, are what make it just miss the "must visit" category that it might otherwise have attained. It's still an attractive old building, with its incredibly narrow frontage emphasised by the fact that there are two doors (one disused); the bar is also an attractive one, and the row of hand pumps featuring Brains beers is impressive. Like so many bars in city centre shopping streets, there's a lack of character about The Cottage. I wouldn't mind calling in again, though, as my half of Brains Dark was in very good condition and at a pretty reasonable £1.45 too.

Date of visit: 5th October 2017

On 18th October 2017 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3482 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Cottage

Dating back to the mid 1700's, this traditional Brains house on the city's main boozing strip is reportedly one of Cardiff's oldest pubs. It has a similar deep but narrow layout to several other older pubs in the city centre, with a porch leading into a light front seating area with plenty of standard tables and chairs under the attractive latticed front window. The servery appears mid way into the pub on the left hand wall and has a nice dark wood counter and bar back, with the latter boasting a rather grand integral clock on top, flanked by some interesting ceramic pieces. High tables and stools run opposite the bar whilst further along there are some plush padded banquettes, including a snug little booth to the right. A couple of steps lead up to the rear, bare boarded area where more standard tables and chairs and a single curved banquette round out the seating options, with bell pushes still in-situ at certain points. A hatch on the rear wall allows a peep into the kitchen and the area is brightened considerably by a large stained glass skylight. There are loads of black and white photos on show throughout the pub, including many depicting local scenes and various mirrors enhance the traditional décor, although this is somewhat countered by the presence of numerous blackboards promoting various nights and TV screens showing muted daytime shows whilst music was quietly piped throughout.
The bar offered a broad selection of Brains ales, with the options on this visit comprising Bitter, SA, SA Gold, Dark, Reverend James, Oat Natural and Bread of Heaven. I decided to try the ever reliable Dark, which went down very well and was served by a very chipper barman.
This is a pretty solid city centre pub with no real outstanding features other than it being a respectable presence in a part of town where drinking barns prevail. It's probably the best place in the city centre to sample Brains beers if that's your thing, but there are more interesting places just a short walk away.

On 18th April 2015 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]


View more reviews of The Cottage (9)
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Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by Graham Coombs
Cardiff Central, 0.29 miles, 5 min walk (show)
Cardiff Queen Street, 0.53 miles, 10 min walk (show)
Cathays, 0.86 miles, 16 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for The Cottage, Cardiff
21st Dec 2023, 17:51
Review submitted by Blackthorn _
 
20th Dec 2023, 22:40
Picture submitted by Blackthorn _ approved

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Festivals : No last updated 04 December 2020 by ROB Camra
  • Beer Garden : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • CAMRA Discount : No last updated 04 December 2020 by ROB Camra
  • Car Park : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Darts : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Hot Food : Yes last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Jukebox : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Micropub : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Pinball : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Pool Table : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • Real Ale : Yes last updated 29 July 2013 by Dave McNally
  • Real Cider : No last updated 18 April 2015 by Pub SignMan
  • WiFi : Yes last updated 04 December 2020 by ROB Camra
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