The Ivor Davies (JD Wetherspoon), Cardiff

Visited 07/08/24. Typical old school Spoons. Long venue with lots of pine tables and chairs stretching back from the entrance. Bar is against right-hand wall. Outside seating area on busy main road. Some booth tables and insanely busy on my early evening visit. Named after local lad aka Ivor Novello and several of the large frames on the walls of the pub describe his life in typical Spoons style where a venue is associated with an actual person. There is a flight of stairs up to the bathrooms and a square gallery with tables around the narrow perimeter. Understand that this is one of the Spoons venues up for disposal - hope they find someone to take it on as it is hugely popular in the area. Indeed a check as at the time of recording on here confirms it is still a JDW and long may it continue. Cask offering was quite decent, being Time Bandit, a hoppy golden ale from Brightside Brewing Co, Summer Pale, a session pale ale from Hop Union Brewery, Bonville Pale a pale ale also from Hop Union, and 1927, an IPA from Glamorgan Brewing Co, accompanied by the DJW foot soldiers of Ruddles, Abbot and Doom Bar. Typical extensive keg range of lots of lagers (Bud, Bud Light. Carling, Carlsberg, Stella, San Miguel, Corona & Coors), some ciders (Kopparberg (strawberries & lime), Strongbow (regular & dark fruits) & Stowford Press) plus Shipyard Pale Ale, Leffe, BrewDog Punk IPA, Worthington Creamflow and Guinness. Twas my first ever visit to this Spoons and would happily return when in area.

Fairly workaday suburban Spoons over two levels. Light wood and cream interior. Doors open-out so you can enjoy the fumes and dreadful blaring of the passing traffic. Four guest cask with two local from Gower; my Sunrise was in good form (NBSS 3.5). Sadly it was chaos at the bar with neither of the staff knowing how to do a 50p voucher and, once it was finally figured out, my £10 note went on a tour of three tills before then having to raise the duty manager in order to get the change – I was lucky the daytime drinkers at the bar didn’t lynch me. Given it's a fair distance from the town centre you won't really have a need to do this one unless you're a Spoons ticker. The beer was £1.91 at least, 50p less than the bus ticket to get here!

Run-of-the-mill 'spoons, recognising the family name of local boy Ivor Novello. Nothing much to say about the usual furniture and decor in the semi-modern bar or upstairs seating area, other than it appeared better managed than most suburban outlets. So-so selection from the two banks of five handpumps, with the Jemima's Pitchfork from Glamorgan Brewing (£2.39) being the pick of the bunch.

Ivor Davies would be better known to most people as Ivor Novello who was born nearby. It's a smallish shop conversion with typical furnishings and compared to many JDWs is something of a drinking den with only a cut down menu and on my early Friday evening visit hardly anyone eating. They still do the food clubs so I went for the Fish Friday. The bar has two sets of five hand pumps which had the JDW Trio Of Doom with the GK beers doubled, one available soon, Mumbles India Pale Ale & Gold, and two ciders. I went for the Mumbles IPA to go with the fish and chips and both were fine. It makes a pleasant change to visit a Spoons where most of the clientele are drinkers rather than diners.