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Submitted on Sunday, 16th December 2018
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Requested be closed with reason - Other: Closed since Covid start. Always intending reopening but now looking doubtful.
Detail Pages
The Ponsonby Arms, Llangollen
Llangollen
LL20 8RY
Served areas
Reviews of The Ponsonby Arms (Average Rating: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Ponsonby Arms
Occupying a Grade 2 listed building close to the centre of Llangollen is The Ponsonby Arms, saved from dereliction several years ago by the owners of The Sun Inn (on the A5 on the other side of town). The Ponsonby Arms is referred to as its sister pub.
It’s a rather understated exterior with no hanging pub sign and in need of a lick of paint or two to make it look a bit more noticeable and welcoming. It’s next door to a council car park on the railings of which we see a large tarpaulin banner encouraging us in with the strapline “traditional food and cask ales done well”. On the back of several recent September 2015 visits, I can vouch for the latter. Notably, those using the car park can obtain a free parking token from the pub when ordering food and/or drink.
Once inside, we find a comfortable single lounge bar with the servery down the right hand side. It’s a pleasant, but unremarkable interior with, seemingly, no original features of note. One area houses an old style brightly coloured wurlitzer / juke box and another area (curtained off in the evening) apparently used for lunchtime meals. The pub is popular with staff and volunteers from the nearby Llangollen steam railway terminus and a cosy corner is decorated with a collection of old railway photos and prints.
The principal attraction here is the extensive range of real ales, probably the best in Llangollen by a country mile. There’s 2 banks of 6 pumps with 2 of the 12 pumps dispensing ciders. Virtually all of the other 10 pumps were in use of each of my three visits, with beers on including Ulverston Elephant, Elland Porter, Goose Eye Chinook, Bollington Long Hop ( Macclesfield ) and Rooster All Star. Notably, beers from 2 Sheffield breweries were on – Kelham Island Pale Rider and WSB Alder, the latter being from the Hillsborough Hotel brewery. Beers sampled were in great form and the pub has made the CAMRA Good Beer Guides in the past few years. It seems churlish to be critical, but I’m going to say that it would have been good to have had at least one Welsh beer being showcased, as was the case with The Sun Inn, where, with a smaller beer range, I had earlier in the evening been able to sample a Purple Moose beer.
As expected, beer prices vary according to strength, with Ulverston Elephant ( one of the regular beers ) being £3 and stronger beers such as Kelham Island Pale Rider ( 5.2%) and Elland Porter ( 6.5%) being £ 3.50p and £ 3.60p respectively. A Happy Hour ( rather naffly referred to as a “Hoppy Hour” ) takes place between 6 and 7 pm on Fridays, when there is £1 off all pints of cask ale. Notably, and unusually, there doesn’t appear to be any such promotions on other days of the week, when you might ordinarily have expected a greater need to get people through the door.
Tuesday night is quiz night and Monday night features “an evening with the Ladies Singing Group” – a small group of ladies of advancing years singing, without accompaniment, a medley of assorted well known songs. There is also some advertising, notably on the menu, for music events at The Sun Inn.
Although close to the town centre, it is on what would appear to be the “wrong” side of the bridge to pick up much passing trade from visitors to this attractive town with, in consequence, much more of a local feel than perhaps you might expect. It’s a friendly welcoming place and, although they appear to have difficulty in getting staff, those I came across were helpful and eager to please.
You should definitely seek this one out when in town.
On 5th October 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Ponsonby Arms
A cracking pub just as you come into the town. A fine selection of real ales to chunner over if you're a Camra type. Beer garden at the side and although it overlooks a car park (you can't really see the river unfortunately) it is a pleasant place to drink. Watch out for the pubs family of chickens strolling around.
On 19th January 2015
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Ponsonby Arms
Named after one of the "Two Ladies of Llangollen",the pub offers an impressive range of real ales.To the left of the front door there is a front section with some dining tables and a Victorian fireplace thankfully lit on a chilly evening.The two chalk boards here recount the story of the Ladies and the history of Llangollen Station,whose railway line used to run through what is today the carpark.Beyond the bar there are two pleasing bay windows with seating and a juke box to the side.
Clearly food is part of the package here and the specials looked good but our focus was on the ale.Besides two ciders,the choice included Ulverston Laughing Gravy,Abbeydale Brimstone,Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose and Snowdonian Bitter,Purity UBU and Kelham Island Easy Rider which sailed through the three pint test.Ale quality was superb and much more precise that at a much decorated pub a few miles away.Needless to say it's in the 2014 GBG.
The interior looks to be ready for an upgrade and it's position at the edge of town meant that it got quieter into the Friday evening we were there.However if you are looking for a quality pint of real ale this should be your first call when in town,it ticks all the right boxes.
On 15th September 2013
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
View more reviews of The Ponsonby Arms (4)
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- Official site of The Ponsonby Arms - www.ponsonbyarms.com
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- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Ponsonby Arms - whatpub.com
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 - Being refurbished - last updated 03 August 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Beer Festivals : No - One continuous festival! - last updated 03 August 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- CAMRA Discount : No - "Hoppy" Hour, Fri 6-7 £1 off all beers - last updated 29 August 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Car Park : Yes - Free ticket when buying a drink - last updated 27 April 2019 by Alan Hurdle
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 10 April 2014 by Alan Hurdle
- Darts : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Function Room : No last updated 17 February 2017 by Alan Hurdle
- Hot Food : Yes - Summer - last updated 22 May 2017 by Alan Hurdle
- Jukebox : Yes last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Karaoke : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Live Music : Yes - Folk night alternate Sundays - last updated 22 May 2017 by Alan Hurdle
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Micropub : No last updated 17 February 2017 by Alan Hurdle
- Pinball : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Pool Table : No last updated 27 July 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Quiz Night : No - Not running at present. - last updated 27 April 2019 by Alan Hurdle
- Real Ale : Yes - Up to 10 changing cask ales - last updated 27 April 2019 by Alan Hurdle
- Real Cider : Yes - 2 handpulled ciders - last updated 29 August 2013 by Alan Hurdle
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 10 April 2014 by Alan Hurdle
- WiFi : Yes last updated 10 May 2014 by Alan Hurdle
