Uplands Tavern, Uplands, Swansea

A GK pub with an emphasis on live music. Nicely-appointed front patio, leading to a loud and echoey horseshoe shaped island bar inside with modern decor, stuffed full of well-lubricated locals, a covers band about to start playing and 2x shuffleboards. Other details scant as I scuttled back out with my pint to avoid the din. A GBG pub and there were four ales on; 3xGK (IPA, Golden Hen, Celebration) and a guest in Gower Gold. The Gower was clearly shifting and tasted excellent (NBSS 4) whilst the Celebration didn’t live up to its name (2.5). Friendly barman and a clearly-advertised CAMRA discount. Fairly decent place if not exactly demanding of a special trip up the hill from town. Forget the Dylan Thomas connection, it’d be more interesting to find a pub round here where the sad old soak definitely didn’t drink. 6.5

This is a large student friendly pub in the Uplands neighbourhood. The interior is very spacious, with a large octagonal island servery as a focal point. The place has clearly been opened out from a multiple room format at some point in the past, which is a bit disappointing but at least in keeping with Swansea’s attempts to make their pubs as bland as possible. There is a good amount of seating on all sides of the bar and despite the busy evening crowd, we easily bagged a seat upon arrival. The decor consists of lots of musical instruments, many of which are around the servery itself, and various music posters for the likes of the Sex Pistols. Unsurprisingly, there is a stage in the rear right corner and this was hosting an open-mic night on our visit, which turned up the usual range of acts from listenable to utterly dire. In the rear left corner, in a rather dingy, neglected part of the pub, there is a pool table and a few comfy seating options. The late evening sunshine combined with the torturous troubadours onstage convinced us to head outside, where a raised front patio offers several sturdy benches ideal for watching life go by in this busy neighbourhood. Two Greene King ales were available – IPA and a new one for me, Spinning Wheel. I drank the Spinning Wheel until it ran out and thought it was a pretty good effort. The IPA was well kept, but one pint of this was more than enough to convince us to move on. This place is certainly popular and therefore has a good vibe to it, regardless of whether there is live music on. Unlike many of Swansea’s butchered pub interiors, this one retains a sense of its own identity and despite the Greene King beers, I would happily pop back for another look.

Often I visit this pub, which is on the main street through Uplands... near the student houses, Tesco and a couple of shops and useful cash machines! This is a really good pub for those who like space and gigs! Though there is a corner for the more cosy-seeking customers (named Dylan's Snug, after one of the famous locals who frequented the pub, Dylan Thomas). The choice of real ale is limited: Abbot Ale, Greene King IPA and one guest, which changes each month at times. However, the place is not very good for phone signal, unless you go outside in the seating area, which can hold quite a few! And for some reason, the live music has gone louder... which sometimes makes it difficult to hear oneself think! And the owners can be quite forceful on kicking out time. They are very punctual and like to keep it that way. But then... it's their job, pub and licence, after all!