Hopbunker, Cardiff

A subterranean room with no view of the outside world, so it's a "bring your own atmosphere" kind of place. The seats are rather crammed in, so getting to the bar can be slightly tricky, even when it's not particularly crowded. Once there, you're confronted by 15 handpumps, mostly devoted to ale, but a few for cider. The back wall offers a few craft taps as well. The barman was friendly enough and served up a decent pint. Worth a look-in.

Nice cellar bar selling multiple beers. Lots of chunky wood in the furniture and walls, modern aspects, some arm chairs

New place, opened by HopCraft brewery very recently. Enter at a modern street level doorway then down a flight of steps, leading to a cross between a bierkeller and the Führerbunker. It’s utilitarian; painted battleship grey and features one corrugated iron wall. However they have made it feel a little more welcoming than that previous description might suggest and it’s certainly a cleaner and more immediate feeling venue than the UTH. A vast amount of handpumps (15) as well as 20 taps on a craft keg wall and six proper ciders. Ales are sourced from micros and slightly larger operators. I went for Oakham JHB and Marble Pint, with both halves coming in 70s style lager glasses which in my opinion was the cause of both being tasting a little flatter than I would have expected, given the breweries. Prices, however, were remarkably reasonable. Worth mentioning the barman, who was friendly and knowledgeable. Pub snacks in the form of My Brittle Pony (yum). Oh and a trip to the gents is recommended, where you can relieve yourself in urinals made from old keg barrels. Overall, it’s an excellent addition to the city centre, which until recently has been really poor for choice. I’d definitely be making a beeline for it again next time.