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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Black Boy Inn, Caernarfon
Caernarfon
LL55 1RW
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Black Boy Inn
Nice enough hotel bar with plenty of brassware, black timber and leaded windows. Visited when Wales was still panicking over Covid; there were a lot of theatricals and a lot of faff to order on a website reached by scanning a QR code. You do have to give all sorts of details so hopefully they’ll be taking GDPR laws seriously. The beer was actually worth the faff and to be fair once ordered it arrived bloody quickly. I used the lounge bar with two cask beers on but there is a public at the other end with three more. Usual keg choice of course.
On 9th October 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3230 recommendations about 2939 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Black Boy Inn
Looks the part from the outside and having seen the general praise elsewhere I was keen to do this one. Thanks to Mrs Quinno dragging her heels in the B&B we were slightly later than I wanted and we ended-up in a queue to get in for dinner. A pub (quite literally) of two halves – the original main building is really cosy, traditional and atmospheric, a wonderful place to imbibe but sadly we were directed to the first COVID-sorted table which was in the rear barn (the buggers behind us in the queue got a main bar space and I hated them for it). The barn room is accessed via a courtyard and is set for dining. They’d done a good job in here though with a high vaulted ceiling, and walls painted with Welsh landscapes, myths and legends. Determinedly un-PC in this age (see the pub sign as well as a few other bits and pieces) which I was happy to see and I hope they stick with it. Four pumps with three ales on in the main bar; Purple Moose Glaslyn, Bass (superb – NBSS 4.5) and Cwrw Llyn Porth Neigwl (4). Noted via the receipt an unjustifiably huge mark-up on half pints (£3.85 vs £2.30!). The food was relatively expensive but good quality – plus they made sure there were enough staff to cope with the demand so if that pays their wages then fair enough. It's a lovely place with great beer and I really enjoyed my visit (the halves mark-up notwithstanding). 8.5.
On 5th September 2020
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Black Boy Inn
Very attractive old inn, with bars at the front and on the left-hand side and a dining room to the right. Very traditionally furnished and decorated, with a good deal of character all round. Also has tables out front for the better weather. The restaurant menu isn't exactly cheap, but some cheaper options are available in the bars. Five real ales from handpumps on the two counters, including an excellent Honey Porter, one of a pair of Conwy beers. Well worth seeking out.
On 22nd January 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Black Boy Inn
A sign outside this pub in the attractive surrounds of Caernarfon's historic centre, proclaimed it to be the 'Welshest Pub in the World', which was enough to convince me to check the place out. This turned out to be a wise choice as this is a very pleasant and atmospheric pub dating back to the 17th Century with a three room layout. We entered to the right hand side where a passageway leads left into the front bar and right into the dining room. The dining area is a sizable carpeted space with lots of hefty dark wood beams and a big inglenook fireplace opposite the door with images of Caernarfon Castle and the town walls painted inside it. A stove was lit in the fireplace, creating a warm, cosy feel in the room as the rain poured down outside, and some bellows and a couple of ceramic dogs flanked a large Whitbread sign above the mantle. There is a similar fireplace at the far end of the room, this time with an anchor and a black boy figurine inside and various horse brasses and other bits of brassware dotted around. Pew and chair seating has been arranged down either side of the room, which is ideal for diners, and the walls are decorated with some nice paintings of the pub and various nautical scenes. Another nice touch was the light shades which were made from miniature ship's wheels. The front bar is the best preserved room of the three and has a chunky wooden bar counter to the right, lots more dark wood beams and some functional bench and chair seating in a smartly carpeted space which was also full of diners. The Public Bar is on the left hand side of the pub and was by far the liveliest spot. This room is bare boarded but surprisingly cosy with more bench and chair seating in limited supply. The servery is to the right and has some pleasant dark wood fittings whilst the walls are lined with pump clips, old enamel signs and various collections of bank notes. Two more inglenook fireplaces can be found round here with lots more decorative bits surrounding them. A corridor around the back of the pub links the two sides and passes a patio garden with a large buoy as a centrepiece, whilst more benches can be found on the pedestrianised street to the front of the pub.
A couple of blackboards in each bar listed the ale range which on this visit comprised Bragdy Lleu Blodeuwedd, Draught Bass, Bragdy Twt Lol Tŵti Ffrŵti, Cwrw Llyn Cwrw Glyndwr and Big Bog Stog Milk Stout plus one real cider. I gave the Stog Milk Stout a try and it was a fantastic pint in top condition. The staff were very friendly, greeting and bidding farewell to everyone in Welsh and English, which along with the beer selection and locally sourced food, was the full extent of the pub's 'Welshest' credentials as far as I could see. We ended up having lunch here and the food was reasonably priced and very good quality.
This is a cracking old pub that worked well as somewhere to stop and enjoy good food in a smart, well presented dining room, but also offered a very distinctly separate dedicated drinking area in which to sample some great local beer in a lively environment. I thought this was a homely, welcoming pub and would be surprised if there is anywhere that can better it in town.
On 2nd June 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Black Boy Inn
This is an Olde Worlde multi roomed pub that has always been something of a tourist trap. I noticed three rooms with one for dining, a small probably originally saloon bar with a Bass hand pump and the main public bar at the South end with three hand pumps and another with a cider. One thing I did spot in the saloon bar was a window with some Good Beer Guide stickers including ones from 1976 and 1977. It's many a year since I've come across them.
As mentioned there are now four beers available, Bass, Lincoln Green Tantalum, Llyn Bryn Enlli and Brain's Phonics. I went for the local Bryn Enlli which was in very good nick.
On 24th April 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about Black Boy Inn
Visited September 2009
Splendid traditional olde-worlde pub/hotel situated in a pedestrianised side street just inside the town walls.
The exterior has quite an imposing look to it and, inside, we learn that it's a 16th century building dating back to 1522. Dark low beams and criss-cross leaded windows help contribute towards quite a cosy rather upmarket establishment. There's also some fine old chairs and settles.
There's one entrance for a lounge bar and restaurant and a separate entrance for a public bar, which is still quite well appointed and cosy.
We learn from an information board inside the pub that the un -PC pub name relates to"Black Jack", who was captured as a young man in Africa and transported to Wales in the mid 1700's. He worked as a gardener, married a Welsh girl and fathered 7 children. He is said to have been probably the first black man seen in Wales.
2 real ales were on during my recent early evening visit - Bass and Snowdonia Ale from the Purple Moose Brewery, this being an enjoyable pint, but at £ 2.80p for an ABV of 3.6%, probably reflecting the pub's emphasis on providing food for tourists / visitors. There's only 2 handpumps, so the beer range will always be limited.
My quick walk round the town centre did not reveal any other pubs that I was irresistibly drawn towards, so , despite the limited beer range, you might want to seek this one out when in Caernarfon if you're looking for a pint in fine traditional surroundings.
On 14th July 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]