Nicholls Arms, Bridgend

Blue Scrumpy left this review about Nicholls Arms

The Nicholls Arms is a lovely old pub at the northern end of the village of Coytrahen. There is a cosy bar and a dining room either side of the bar. Rooms are carpeted and have a nice mixture of wood panelled and exposed stone walls. The bar has a large stone fireplace with a wood burner and some old pictures on it. There is also an old set of scales to the side. Furniture is mainly sofas and armchairs in the bar. Although there were some ordinary tables in use by diners too. In fact, most customers were dining including a few in the dining room itself. One other guy was relaxing on an armchair with his iPad. I assume he had the wifi code, as there was very little if any mobile phone reception.

Guns N Roses were playing in the background with no sign of a TV or any other technological devices. A garden to the side looked very overgrown. There is a car park on the opposite side of the side road.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of cask ale. The lady behind the bar said that she didn't usually work there when I asked if she had any cask ales. Neither handpull was clipped and when she checked if either would pull, there was nothing forthcoming despite the owners telling her that they would put a stout on. I was going to have a soft drink but even the lemonade dispenser was not working. However, there were plenty of hot drinks available, along with a selection of wines listed on boards behind the bar.

As a pub, I thought this place was really nice. You wouldn't come here for a cask ale anymore. A pub not putting on any cask ale on a Saturday clearly can't be too bothered with promoting it. Perhaps there is simply no call for it in these parts. However, it does look like food is the USP here.

On 20^th July 2025 - rating: 6
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