The Clarence Inn, Brecon

Official site of The Clarence Inn - clarenceinn.co.uk

Official site of The Clarence Inn - clarenceinn.co.uk

You walk straight into a large open plan L-shaped bar. The front section has a raised log burner chucking out the heat next to a dart board with an unusual scoring board that is shared with (no long played) quoits (see photo). The floor is carpeted with a red pattern. The whole effect is old style. It wouldn’t be out of place in the 1980s. In this case that isn’t a bad thing. Most of the seating is around the edges with a few tables scattered about. The back section is partitioned by a wall but can be seen directly though the open bar area. This part seemed to be predominantly arranged for dining. On hand pump were Wye Valley Butty Bach and Pyoneer. I had a pint of the Butty (£4.90) and it was a good NBSS 3.5. Well kept but not my favourite style, more malt than hops. The food is standard pub fare but well prepared and good value. The landlord is probably one of the best I have ever met. He manages to talk to everyone, remain cheerful and clearly works very hard. He alone gets the pub an extra point. The atmosphere is very friendly, community and family. Arguably the best old school pub in town. I would and did return.

Old fashioned large pub at the bottom end of Brecon town.

It was fairly quiet when I was here on a midweek afternoon, with just one other customer. The pub looks smart inside and out, but not off-puttingly so. There are three hand pumps on the bar, which at the time of my visit were serving 9 Lives Amber and two from Wye Valley: Best Bitter and Butty Bach. Although the pub was quiet, I was engaged in conversation to the extent that I made very few notes about the pub. Suffice to say it was pleasant without being outstanding; I would be happy to pop in again when in town. Date of visit: 4th October 2017