No Sign Bar, Swansea

Although promoting itself as a wine-bar and restaurant, it is also very much a real ale outlet. The front part of the narrow rectangular bar has a limited amount of comfortable seating shared by those just stopping by for refreshment and eating, whereas the next section seems more set up as a dining area. However, there is a proper dining room with another small bar extending a similar distance further back again. The four handpumps are to be found on the rear counter of the main bar, and the choice was Saltaire Amarillo Gold, Dark Side of the Mouse from Purple Moose, the local Gower Gold (£3.80) and Muscle Mary cider.

Situated next door to the JDW Bank Statement this was a wine bar styled establishment. The bar itself is half way down the long narrow room and has four hand pumps. Beers available were Boss Blonde, Enville Ale, Brecon Black Beacon and Mumbles Gold. I tried the Boss Blonde and Mumbles Gold both of which were in excellent condition and priced at £3.30 which was reduced to £2.97 with the 10% CAMRA discount. The CAMRA discount was welcome as I thought this was expensive for South Wales. The Mumbles Gold was also on sale next door for £1.79. I wasn't as taken with this place as the previous reviewer but it's worth a look. It is GBG 2015 listed.

Official site of No Sign Bar - nosignwinebar.com

Official site of No Sign Bar - nosignwinebar.com

If you’re out drinking in Swansea, the chances are that you’ll gravitate towards the drinking barns of Wind Street at some point. But unlike most strips of generic bars and clubs, Wind Street has an absolute gem right in the middle, that was here long before the Walkabouts and Yates’s came to town. The building dates back a long way, but its present use derives from its incarnation as a wine merchants called Mundy’s, dating back to 1837. The premises used to consist of a small shop at the front with a couple of bars hidden behind and accessed by the adjacent and excellently named ‘Salubrious Passage’. The locals will tell you that these bars were not advertised on the main street, hence the present day name. Today, the shop and both bars have been opened into a single, atmospheric room with a few hints at the former partitioning. This area is the nicest part of the pub nowadays, with a part quarry stone, part bare boarded floor, whitewashed stone walls, a pleasant stone fireplace and a lovely dark wood servery along the left hand wall. The furniture all fits in nicely with the look and ambiance of the bar area and covers a range of styles. Some impressive large display cabinets on the right hand wall show off wine bottles and other assorted items from the wine trade, whilst a few larger industrial artefacts can be spotted behind the bar, on shelves and in a small recess beyond the servery. Further into the room, large racks store more bottles of wine opposite a double fireplace. The beams and walls are painted with various quotes and price lists which have seemingly been lifted from documents from the former merchants, but without any context, they’re all a bit meaningless. The pub extends a remarkable distance to the rear, through several more recent extensions, and a much more modern style bar appears at the back with the servery this time on the right hand wall, with lounge style furniture in a carpeted space blessed with natural light from the side windows. A TV at this end was showing the news, in stark contrast to the distraction-free front bar, although a decent soundtrack played quietly throughout the pub. In addition to the ground floor, there is an upstairs function room called Mundy’s which partly looks down over the main bar, and a live music venue called the Vault down in the cellars, where a few more unique wine industry items can be spotted between the arches. My recent visit saw three hand pumps in use, dispending Gower Best Bitter, Brains Rev James and something from Robinsons. My pint of Gower was excellent and priced at £3.20. The staff seemed like a very friendly and personable bunch and the barmaid pulled the beer through before pouring. Dylan Thomas famously used to drink here and given the paucity of decent venues in the city centre, I’m fairly sure he’d still be propping the bar up here were he still alive today. It’s a must-do if you don’t have the time to venture too far from the centre. I loved this place when I lived here 15 years ago and I still love it now.