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Pub Of The Month - April 2026 with Bucking Fastard on the Pub Forum

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Submitted on Sunday, 5^th October 2025
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Rummer Tavern, Cardiff

14 Duke Street
Cardiff
CF10 1AY

Phone: 02920235091

Correct details

Served areas

Cardiff Central

Reviews of Rummer Tavern (Average Rating: 5 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

David Walton left this review about Rummer Tavern

Visited 09/04/26. Visited previously 05/04/18

No cask. Single handpump but with clip turned round and a glass on the handle to rub it in! Basic keg range of Inch's, berries & cherries Old Mount cider, original SB, Cruz, John Smiths, Carling, Neck Oil.

A rather poor pub these days. a shadow of its former self. There is some seating out the front, inside it is bare boarded for the most part, a long narrow rectangle from the entrance with the bar counter on the left-hand wall mid venue. Slightly raised stone floored area to the left of the entrance, the area looking through the leaded glass windows to the castle opposite. Tightly packed regular tables and chairs in this area. Then a blue fabric banquette along the left-hand wall serving regular tables and a drinking ledge on the wall opposite. Tall tables and high-backed stools on the right-hand wall to the end of the bar counter and then a step up into a tiled area housing the pool table, with a large projector screen on the rear wall not in use on my visit. Many TV's showing the snooker, no sound the noise here provided by the clack of pool balls but much so the loud pop soundtrack. Walls generally wood panelled and the subdued lighting one of the best features, but ultimately the interior of this old Cardiff once traditional pub has been largely trashed and is a depressing place for a beer.

On 12^th April 2026 - rating: 3
[User has posted 1590 recommendations about 1565 pubs]

Tris C left this review about Rummer Tavern

In a rather depressing and inexplicably downmarket location, with Cardiff castle across the road, the pub – which features an ugly roller shutter to its frontage when closed – is situated on an unattractive parade, sandwiched in-between fast-food outlets and a gaming arcade, a perfect backdrop to meet tourists’ heritage expectations [not].
Established in 1713, this is as mentioned Cardiff’s oldest pub – and not that olde then – and at least the main façade exhibits some enticing brewers’ Tudor with leaded lights, but I wonder just how old it really is - 1930s? In what is now a sports’ bar, the interior is a shocker: masses of exposed brickwork; modern bare boarded; modern colour scheme; games machines; silent unwatched Tour de France on multiple TV screens; pool and darts to the rear; a tedious teenage girl-orientated muzak soundtrack and just one customer at the time of our early afternoon visit. What was inescapable though, was the aforementioned smell of what I interpreted to be air freshener, to mask the strong smell of damp or the lavs, highlighted by Quick Pint from as far back as 2008.
There was just one cask offering in the form of a handwritten pump clip advertising Purity Pure UBU, tasting suspiciously like GK I Pee A.
This place is like a downmarket O’Neill’s, if your imagination can stretch that far. Awful.

Rated: 2.5.

On 31^st May 2025 - rating: 3
[User has posted 2324 recommendations about 2267 pubs]

Bucking Fastard left this review about Rummer Tavern

The oldest pub in Cardiff and one of the worst.The exterior is the highlight with lots of brewers tudor ,and original leaded windows. However the interior has been mullered,there is some exposed brickwork to the immediate left in a section looking like it might be for diners had anyone been in,while the rest of the interior has many flatscreens,high tables, some neon signs ,noisy muzak and a central bar to the left side advertising by way of a handwritten sign that the single handpump having "beer of the week Purity Ubu " but without any clip on the handpump.The output from the handpump was drinkable ,NBSS 2.5 but there was a view from the crew that what we were offered my well not have been Purity Ubu.
The other feature of the interior was an overwhelming smell of disinfectant from which there was no escape.
Another punter entered the empty pub after us ,and seemed happy with his mainstream lager but that was the sum total of the custom on a pleasant Thursday lunchtime.
One to avoid .

On 26^th May 2025 - rating: 3
[User has posted 3153 recommendations about 3153 pubs]

View more reviews of Rummer Tavern (6)

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