The Old Arcade, Cardiff

Decent old Brain's pub, retaining two bars - both very traditional, with the front one having slightly lighter decor and open windows above the pavement tables having a wider clientele than the back bar being fuller of rugby memorabilia and older blokes. Behind this, there is also a small designated patio smoking area. The six handpumps in each bar are entirely devoted to the brewery's own beers, from which selection I went for the 'house' Festival Ale (£3.45).

The Old Arcade is a decent looking pub that is situated on a narrow pedestrianised street. Once inside i went in the front room which was quite nice,the floor was bare boarded and the seating was normal tables and chairs. The pub is a Brains tied house,there were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Brains bitter which was a decent drink,the other beers were Brains Dark and Brains SA. The pub had a nice laid back atmosphere on my early Saturday dinner visit,i quite enjoyed my time in here. Pub visited 28/5/2005

The Old Arcade page at the Brains site - www.sabrain.com

This city centre pub, dating back to the 1840’s, retains a pleasant two bar layout, despite some fairly extensive modifications over the years. Entering into the L shaped front bar, you find yourself in a bare boarded room with some decent high wooden panelling around the walls. A mix of standard chairs and high tables with stools, provide plenty of seating options around the room’s perimeter and the front wall has a series of folding doors which open out to a small roped off seating area on the pedestrianised street. The pub has a strong sports theme, with the flags of the six nations on the ceiling between a number of rugby jerseys, whilst several screens were showing horse racing and no doubt cover most major sporting spectacles. The room retains a few interesting inter-war features such as the bar counter and a smart fireplace. Two doorways lead into the smaller rear bar, where the Victorian servery is the undoubted highlight, especially the mirrored bar back. The room seems set up more for vertical drinking, as there was just the one row of high tables and stools and a couple of standard tables on the rear wall. Some nicely framed rugby shirts continue the sporting theme and menus were laid out detailing the chef’s homemade pies among other such pub classics. A door leads out to the rear, partially covered patio, although it’s not the most appealing space and you would do well to bag a table out the front instead. Five Brains beers occupied the hand pumps on both bars – Bitter, SA, SA Gold, Dark and Rev James. I opted for a pint of the Dark which was a wallet friendly £2.50 and in pretty good nick. The bar staff were efficient if not exactly very friendly or welcoming. This is one of Cardiff’s few remaining Heritage pubs, but don’t expect it to match up to the Golden Cross or the now departed Vulcan. It’s a decent enough pub with a few nice features, especially in the rear bar, but it didn’t have enough to make it truly memorable and if you’re after Brains’ beers, you’re better off at the nearby Goat Major.

The Old Arcade page at the Brains site - www.sabrain.com