The Great Western (JD Wetherspoon), Cardiff

Echo everything Blackthorn says in their Xmas Eve 2023 review. Jumped in here just off the train from Paddington and a convenient venue for a quick cask beer ahead of moving onto other venues you would rather spend your evening in! I thought I had ticked this venue off during period of ticking off pubs but I couldn’t find any record of a previous visit over that time. Nice little bonus there! Astride the cask ever presents (Doom Bar now safely restored) were Thunder Bird, an IPA from Glamorgan Brewing, Brains SA (!), Rhymney Export and my choice of the Gower Gold from the Gower Brewery. The usual vast array of keg beers also. Venue was already heaving at 5.30pm with bouncers on the door to surely appear at some point. Plenty of screens, fruit machines and over loud music. Welcome to a JDW of this day and age!

A good sized Wetherspoon’s spread over a couple of floors and very handily located for Cardiff Central station, it seems to be a fairly run of the mill ‘Spoons without any particular distinguishing features, and is looking a little tatty if you look to closely. Internally it consists of a number of interconnected rooms, and for the most part it appears fairly bland with much whitewashed paintwork although there are also areas of deep maroon in places as well as some khaki green wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and some very fake looking exposed brickwork. Flooring was a mixture of sanded boards and the usual ‘Spoons carpet, but the only things that were really worthy of any note work some attractive, arched windows looking out over the street that looked as though they belonged more in a church than a pub, and a intricate wrought iron staircase leading to the upper level. Some padded blue bench seating was around the permitter, and there were the usual assortment of information on the walls relating to local figures including Roald Dahl and Terry Nation. Beers on tap were Abbot Ale, Ruddles Best, Gower Good Elf, Glamorgan’s Santa’s Little Belter, Rhymney Export and Coach House Three Kings, whilst the Doom Bar appeared to have run out. Ciders meanwhile were Thatcher’s Haze, Strongbow, Stowford Press and Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime. Overall, a useful stopping off point if you’ve got time to kill before catching a train, but I certainly wouldn’t make a particular point of returning.