The Westbourne, Swansea

A quick tick on the way into town (thanks, GBG!) this is a lovely looking building with a striking purple and white frontage with ornate metalwork. Sadly it’s opened-out and fairly plain inside, to the extent where I didn’t really have anything to mention, so took my drink outside to the small seating area at the front which gave us some piped 60s classics for company. Ales at the bar were Gower Gold (NBSS 3.5) with GK Abbot having a turned clip, served up by a friendly mature barmaid. Whilst the place isn’t really anything to get excited about in grand scheme of things, a good pint of local beer is not to be sniffed at. 6.5

This is a smart, single room dining pub with two very distinct, and presumably once separate, areas. You enter into a light main bar, decked out in a smart purple and white colour scheme with the servery on the back wall. The carpeted room has been filled with standard tables and chairs, presumably to make things easier for diners, and one single sofa. A small ramp takes you up to a slightly raised main dining area which is mostly obscured from the main bar area by various pillars and sections of wall. There are TV screens all over the place, all showing promotional material for the pub and detailing each song that played over the sound system, although it seems that they also show certain sporting events as well. You can be a TV star of sorts yourself, just by drinking in the pub, as their website has an amusing ‘live-cam’ feature, which is good fun to play with for a bit, but it could be the downfall for anyone who told their wife they were out ‘walking the dog’. My lunchtime visit saw the place full of elderly ladies enjoying the decent looking menu. Given the fact that the pub seems predominantly food-led, it was a real surprise to turn up on a Monday evening and be told that the kitchen closes at 18:00 – perhaps it’s a very different pub in the evenings. Three ales were available on my visit – Greene King Abbot Ale, Morland Old Speckled Hen and Theakston Masham Four & Twenty. I opted for the latter at 2.80 a pint, and thought it was in pretty good shape. The barmaid was friendly enough, as was the bloke who’d told us the kitchen was shut the night before. This is a decent enough pub, but not one I’m sure I’d want to spend an extended session in. I’d certainly consider popping in here for a bite to eat, but for decent beer, I’d head up the road to the Brunswick instead.

By the way, reading Jon Evans' comment below, I'd like to point out that it is stylish and good sized, but the prices are about average and there are no pool tables. I think the comment was meant for the Bryn-Y-Mor pub a few doors up the road... where I think it's cheaper (but the selection isn't as good and has quite a few pool tables).

A really nice pub and very neat and tidy. Got a few guest ales going on, along with other beers such as Peroni, Staropramen and the more common ones to be found. The location is easy to get to, though a bit more difficult to park a car if you don't know the area (or how to get on the other side of the bollards). There is also food done at the pub, but I haven't eaten there yet!