Penybryn Arms, Pen-Y-Bryn, Cardigan

A traditional roadside pub on the A478 just south of Cardigan, it’s probably been unchanged for years and must lose a lot of passing trade to the much busier A487 that runs roughly parallel a little way to the west. There is a pleasant beer garden at the rear with views over the countryside behind the pub. Internally it consists of a lounge bar running along the front of the pub with a restaurant area at the rear. Décor wise it’s a little dated and quite traditional, with plenty of jugs hanging from the black beams on the ceiling and flooring which was a mixture of tiles and carpet. There was a stone fire-place at each end, although one of these appeared unused as it had been blocked up. There were also a couple of fish tanks and a large shelf full of books which were apparently available to buy with the proceeds going to charity. The landlord was a bit of a character but very jovial with an infectious laugh, and we almost felt like guests in his house (which I suppose we were in a way). Food wise there were several blackboards on the wall listing a selection of pub grub dishes such as lasagne, salmon fishcakes, Cumberland sausage, battered hake, etc., and these were mostly around the £10 mark. There were also a number of curries available. We chose from the separate bar menu which listed various options with chips at around £7 or so, as well as a number of sandwiches and jacket potatoes. We opted for the prawn sandwiches with a separate bowl of chips and these were perfectly ok, if nothing particularly exciting (the chips were pretty good though). Beers on tap were the local Mantle Cwrw Teifi and Buckleys Best. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately.