ReviewThe Garth is a local mountain/beauty spot seemingly popular with walkers. I approached the Gwaelod y Garth Inn by road descending down a rather precipitious hill with a hairpin bend just above the pub whose camber apparently catches quite a few drivers out, especially those with larger vehicles. Quite a few have been known to get stuck here.
The pub itself is set against the hill and is spread over 2 levels. The upper level can be accessed from the car park and this appears to be the main dining room for the pub. Entering at this level, things didn't seem all that promising. A few lunchtime diners were leaving as I walked into an empty room.
However, if you descend the steep stairs into the lower bar, you will find a much more characterful bar with 2 or 3 different sections, most drinkers congregating in the central section where conversation was easy to come by.
Seeing they had an impressive stretch of handpulls along the bar, I was immediately impressed. A total of 7 cask ales were on, with only one (Wye Valley Bitter) that I'd ever tried before. The other 6 were Dark Revolution Check This, Marble Every Street, Thornbridge Knack, Bristol Beer Factory Our House, Tiny Rebel Cereal Killer & Well Drawn Strange Lights Over The Garth (possibly a house beer).
When contemplating which one to try, I then noticed that there were clips for 3 ciders on the far handpull - Artisan Talking Horse Kicking & Really Rhubarb & Newton Court Major. I'd not had any of these before. To add to the collection, there were also a couple of craft beers in Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica & Crafty Devil Ain't This Mountain High Enough.
I spent a very enjoyable hour or so here sampling a couple of the ciders and chatting to the locals. I could have quite happily stayed for a session had I not been driving!
Listed under Cardiff in the Good Beer Guide, this pub feels a long way from a big city. But I can see that it attracts quite a few real ale tickers from Cardiff itself and the surrounding area. One guy was late arriving, as the train he wanted to tick off was delayed on arrival at Newport. He turned up with several plastic bottles to fill with the pub's latest ales, before heading off just as quickly as he had arrived. The number of beers coming soon on a board to the side of the bar suggests that the impressive ale range I found here was not a one off.
It's very rare that I "discover" a new pub that ticks all of the boxes and as such it's very rare that I award a pub a top score. This one was a complete surprise to me that I really wasn't expecting and I have to say that I will rate it up with the best in the UK and it will also be the first pub I have rated a 10 in Wales. Thoroughly recommended.
