Tal-Y-Don Hotel, Barmouth

I first visited this former Burtonwood pub nigh on forty years ago. It was always the main real ale venue in town and for me still is. The current layout of this place goes back around fifteen years making it a much roomier pub where it is a lot easier to get served. The central bar has four hand pumps that on my two visits had Banks's Bitter, Jenning's Cumberland Ale, Banks's Sunbeam and Marston's Old Empire. I got to try the Banks's Bitter (£3.00), the Banks's Sunbeam (£3.35) and the Old Empire (£3.35). All were in first class condition. The £3.35 for the Sunbeam is a bit steep but I assume this is the blanket price for the two rotating Marston guests. I still rate this place, it's a proper B&B pub rather than a hotel bar and is used by locals and tourists alike.

The Tal-Y-Don Hotel (or Crest of a Wave to give the English translation) is more of a proper pub providing bed and breakfast accommodation than the more traditional hotels providing a public bar in Barmouth. The pub has a large stone floored bar area around a central bar and it then leads into a wood floored room which leads to an enclosed patio beer garden with children’s play area beyond. Then there is some outside seating to the side and front of the pub although this is on the busy High Street. It’s a Marstons house and there were four hand pumps in operation dispensing Marstons Pedigree, Banks Bitter, something called Marstons Pedigree New World and an American guest ale called Shipyard Independence Ale, which is by some distance the most extensive ale choice you will find in Barmouth. The couple we tried were well kept and the Independence Ale was a decent drop (although some subsequent googling has revealed a tie up between this American brewer and Marstons which means this may now be brewed in Wolverhampton ). I think the comment from John below that the Tal-Y-Dor is comfortable and pleasant, but somewhat unremarkable is a very accurate one line statement and although the better beer range, it lacked the character and charm of The Last Inn for me.

Good real ales, but very little comfort, chairs hard and not a lot of atmosphere.

Visited September 2009 This is a smallish traditional pub on the main High Street in Barmouth. I found it to be comfortable and pleasant, if somewhat unremarkable. There's a L shaped bar with different drinking areas. There's plenty of old interesting photos of Barmouth to admire. It bears branding as a Burtonwood pub. 4 real ales were on during my recent early evening visit - Jennings Crag Rat and Cumberland, Hobgoblin and, surprisingly, Ringwoods Old Thumper. My pint of Jennings Crag Rat - served in a John Smiths Extra Smooth branded glass - was in good form, but pehaps, at £ 2.90p, more expensive than I might have expected. The pub provides lunches and has several rooms for B + B. I got the impression that this pub was doing a reasonably good job of catering for both visitors to the resort and locals at the same time. In a town desperately lacking in pubs of any description, this one does exactly what it says on the tin and would appear to be your best bet in Barmouth.