Royal Sportsman Hotel, Porthmadog

Go left young man - whilst the right side off the porch has a small unstaffed bar the left gets you to the main event. Fairly new refurb with zingy coloured furniture and marble tables, overall fairly nice and inoffensive (these days I’ll embrace any refurb that isn’t grey or snot green). One pump with Cwrw Llyn and three of theirs on bottle. My cask was flabby (NBSS 2) and the staff friendly but clueless. Worth a nose but stick to the bottles for now; with a professional bar manager they could make themselves a contender. 5.5

Hotel with a bar and restaurant in the centre of Porthmadog. The receptionist doubled as the barmaid, but with only 2 other customers present, it didn't seem too hard a job. The bar is off to the left as you enter, with a dining room beyond that to the rear of the premises. Seinethyn was the solitary real ale. I didn't try it, as I'd already had it earlier in the day elsewhere. This place seems like quite a nicely appointed hotel, but as a bar, it's purely a hotel bar with little character.

Hotel with a bar called Gelert’s Bar. The wallpaper was a light pink coloured blown vinyl style, the carpet was red and blue. Background entertainment on this particular lunchtime was in the form of Radio 2. We popped in for food and this looked like a safe bet, which it was albeit at hotel prices. Cask ales were Purple Moose Glaslyn Ale and Snowdonia Ale. On tap there was M&B Mild, Carling, Boddington’s, Fosters, Budweiser, Guinness, Strongbow, Worthington and Stella.