Csail
N/A
Which are peoples favorite bars/restaurants in Cardiff Bay or in fact the Bristol Channel?
Restaurants/bars Cardiff
- Thread starter Csail
- Start date
orizaba
New member
the pub in the middle of portishead (,hardware shop opposite it) good food and entertaining clientele,
the ship inn off mermaid quay ,good beer and food
the ship inn off mermaid quay ,good beer and food
bluedragon
Active member
Haven't we done this thread already... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Or am I having an out-of-body experience...
Csail
N/A
Out of body.... but there are so many new ones keep popping up.
Allan
Well-known member
I normally hate corporate places but find it hard to resist Nandos on Mermaid quay. If you don't like chicken, don't go! I also like the Chinese around the corner, the last place as you walk around towards the Millenium centre. They do a dish which I think is called a hotpot or similar. Makes a great lunch!
I would like to find a 'proper' pub somewhere I could walk to from CYC or Mermaid quay.
Allan
I would like to find a 'proper' pub somewhere I could walk to from CYC or Mermaid quay.
Allan
Sneds
Well-known member
"Proper" pubs seem to be a dying breed. Perhaps soon a chain will spring up offering "authentic" pubs "like the ones you're father knew" complete with nicotene coloured paint on the walls, a buxom barmaid, warm beer only (lager was for girls), a bowl of onions in vinegar on the bar, and a lock in on Saturday afternoon to watch the rugby! Bliss!
Is there anyone out there that rememebers when pubs used to close? Sems daft now, doesn't it, 3 PM last orders?
Is there anyone out there that rememebers when pubs used to close? Sems daft now, doesn't it, 3 PM last orders?
Allan
Well-known member
When I first went to Cardiff bay (2003) there was a pub on the old road down to CBYC. I had a beer and snack there, It must be buried under one of the building sites now. Next time I fancy a pint I may walk passed Mermaid quay and see what I can find. Hopefully I will locate a pub with a Buxom Welsh barmaid, instead of skinny Polish girls who are younger than my underpants!
Allan
Allan
graham
Well-known member
That was the "Red house". Im amazed it was allowed to be knocked down as it was a real Cardiff LandMark. Summertime people would sit outside in the evening looking over the Bay or mud if the tide was out. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
For a down to earth sort of pub with real beer and people I like the "Orchard" near Bristol Marina .
For a down to earth sort of pub with real beer and people I like the "Orchard" near Bristol Marina .
Allan
Well-known member
Is that the one on the right as you drive from force 4? Only been in there once but very good. The Nova Scotia around the corner is good too. You can sit outside and watch the boats. There are lots of other good pubs in Bristol, my local is the Miners arms in St Werburghs. I just can't seem to find the same in Cardiff.
Allan
Allan
graham
Well-known member
[ QUOTE ]
Is that the one on the right as you drive from force 4?
[/ QUOTE ] Yes thats the one. I think the pubs around Mermaid Quay/Cardiff Bay are too new to have much character.
Is that the one on the right as you drive from force 4?
[/ QUOTE ] Yes thats the one. I think the pubs around Mermaid Quay/Cardiff Bay are too new to have much character.
LizzyD
New member
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif OK. I know loads about this subject. As a committed salad dodger, I can hopefully advise you well.
Restaurants? I agree, Nandos is nice and one of many regular haunts for Bev and me. The Chinese restaurant on the upper level in Mermaid Quy is also nice. It's called the Pearl of the Orient and they do really nice food in a really nice restaurant. I haven't tried the Dim Sum bar (to eat at least) on the ground floor near to the steps, but I am reliably told that it is a regular haunt of some celebs (i.e. Alan Hanson and Mark Lawrenson) who love the food there. It's expensive which is why I've been too tight to treat Bev there.
Moksh is a new Indian Restaurant which has opened in the Bay and for the benefit of all forum readers, Bev and I selflessly went and tested it for you. It was pants! OK, the food was OK, but no better than anything you'd get local to your home. The staff were a disgrace and couldn't be bothered to interact with you, crack a smile, or even bring you the bill when you had clearly been waiting for ages. Definitely, not recommended.
(Bev gave the waiter a right rollocking for being rude to her. He must have been uncomfortable having a "mere woman" put him in his place and to her credit, it was a thermo-nuclear b********g!)
My top recommendations are as follows:
Pub - Ely Jenkins, The Packet or Bar Cwtch. Decent pubs with a very good selection of beer. Bar Cwtch is slightly pricey, but you will drink beers there that you don't get anywhere else. I hate Terra Nova and Salt (or whatever they're called this week!) The staff at Terra Nova are kids and lack the wherewithall to get off their spotty arses to shuffle / saunter over to the bar to serve you - the very person indrectly paying their wages. Salt is cold and boring.
Real Pubs: The White Hart, The Packet and the Bute Dock on West Bute Street are all real enough. Just be (ahem!) aware that there can be an "element" who frequent these pubs in the evening during the weekends. A wrong look can result in you collecting your teeth off the carpet before you leave. That said, I have been there zillions of time and have never seen or been in, any bother of any sort. Perhaps I'm being a bit unkind to them.
Indian: The Spice Route in Atlantic Wharfe. Everyone seems obsessed with Mermaid Quay and yet just a short walk away is a fantastic Indian. It's a buffet style and offers a lunchtime menu which is slightly cheaper than the evening. Colourful and vibrant, you eat as much as you want (or can in my case) in a nice setting.
Chinese: Pearl of the Orient in Mermaid Quay is excellent. The Oriental Garden in Atlantic Wharfe is really nice too. It too is a buffet style restaurant and you could really make a pig of yourself on the spare ribs alone. Mujibs in the Bay is nice and smaller than the Oriental Garden. Another buffet type of restaurant that may be worth booking before you go, due to its reduced seating capacity. has a more intimate feel.
Italian: They're all the same aren't they? OK, if pushed, for pizza, go to Bar Cwtch - yes, the pub. It's cooked infront of you in a log fired stone oven in the wall, ensuring that it's served fresh and hot and not left standing - unlike some Domino's establishments whilst the server finishes his cigarette by the bins at the back! Bellinis on the upper floor in Mermaid Quay is nice and Bev and I had an awesome meal there one mid week day afternoon.
The Cafe Naz, Spice Merchant and Salt Bar are all average. Terra Nova and Moksh are very poor purely for the appalling quality of service.
Cheap Food?: Ely Jenkins does an really nice steak for a pub and they do lunchtime offers too. The Waterguard near the visitor's centre (the big tube by the Norwegian church) also does nice food.
The Best?: OK. Here's where I stick my neck out.
Indian - Taxi ride to the Balti Empire, Albany Road or the Cinnamon Tree in Pontcanna. The latter does Ostrich which is a bit unusual in an Indian but it's flippin' yummy.
Chinese - Pearl of the Orient, Mermaid Quay.
Italian - La Lupa, Cowbridge Road West (Another taxi ride.)
Others - Nando's, Mermaid Quay; Treherne Arms, The Tumble; Thai House, Guildford Cres, Cardiff;
Just my opinion. I accept it doesn't make me right. Look at all those I've listed! No wonder I'm so bloody fat!
Enjoy wherever you end up.
Lizzy D
Restaurants? I agree, Nandos is nice and one of many regular haunts for Bev and me. The Chinese restaurant on the upper level in Mermaid Quy is also nice. It's called the Pearl of the Orient and they do really nice food in a really nice restaurant. I haven't tried the Dim Sum bar (to eat at least) on the ground floor near to the steps, but I am reliably told that it is a regular haunt of some celebs (i.e. Alan Hanson and Mark Lawrenson) who love the food there. It's expensive which is why I've been too tight to treat Bev there.
Moksh is a new Indian Restaurant which has opened in the Bay and for the benefit of all forum readers, Bev and I selflessly went and tested it for you. It was pants! OK, the food was OK, but no better than anything you'd get local to your home. The staff were a disgrace and couldn't be bothered to interact with you, crack a smile, or even bring you the bill when you had clearly been waiting for ages. Definitely, not recommended.
(Bev gave the waiter a right rollocking for being rude to her. He must have been uncomfortable having a "mere woman" put him in his place and to her credit, it was a thermo-nuclear b********g!)
My top recommendations are as follows:
Pub - Ely Jenkins, The Packet or Bar Cwtch. Decent pubs with a very good selection of beer. Bar Cwtch is slightly pricey, but you will drink beers there that you don't get anywhere else. I hate Terra Nova and Salt (or whatever they're called this week!) The staff at Terra Nova are kids and lack the wherewithall to get off their spotty arses to shuffle / saunter over to the bar to serve you - the very person indrectly paying their wages. Salt is cold and boring.
Real Pubs: The White Hart, The Packet and the Bute Dock on West Bute Street are all real enough. Just be (ahem!) aware that there can be an "element" who frequent these pubs in the evening during the weekends. A wrong look can result in you collecting your teeth off the carpet before you leave. That said, I have been there zillions of time and have never seen or been in, any bother of any sort. Perhaps I'm being a bit unkind to them.
Indian: The Spice Route in Atlantic Wharfe. Everyone seems obsessed with Mermaid Quay and yet just a short walk away is a fantastic Indian. It's a buffet style and offers a lunchtime menu which is slightly cheaper than the evening. Colourful and vibrant, you eat as much as you want (or can in my case) in a nice setting.
Chinese: Pearl of the Orient in Mermaid Quay is excellent. The Oriental Garden in Atlantic Wharfe is really nice too. It too is a buffet style restaurant and you could really make a pig of yourself on the spare ribs alone. Mujibs in the Bay is nice and smaller than the Oriental Garden. Another buffet type of restaurant that may be worth booking before you go, due to its reduced seating capacity. has a more intimate feel.
Italian: They're all the same aren't they? OK, if pushed, for pizza, go to Bar Cwtch - yes, the pub. It's cooked infront of you in a log fired stone oven in the wall, ensuring that it's served fresh and hot and not left standing - unlike some Domino's establishments whilst the server finishes his cigarette by the bins at the back! Bellinis on the upper floor in Mermaid Quay is nice and Bev and I had an awesome meal there one mid week day afternoon.
The Cafe Naz, Spice Merchant and Salt Bar are all average. Terra Nova and Moksh are very poor purely for the appalling quality of service.
Cheap Food?: Ely Jenkins does an really nice steak for a pub and they do lunchtime offers too. The Waterguard near the visitor's centre (the big tube by the Norwegian church) also does nice food.
The Best?: OK. Here's where I stick my neck out.
Indian - Taxi ride to the Balti Empire, Albany Road or the Cinnamon Tree in Pontcanna. The latter does Ostrich which is a bit unusual in an Indian but it's flippin' yummy.
Chinese - Pearl of the Orient, Mermaid Quay.
Italian - La Lupa, Cowbridge Road West (Another taxi ride.)
Others - Nando's, Mermaid Quay; Treherne Arms, The Tumble; Thai House, Guildford Cres, Cardiff;
Just my opinion. I accept it doesn't make me right. Look at all those I've listed! No wonder I'm so bloody fat!
Enjoy wherever you end up.
Lizzy D
graham
Well-known member
I think you need to get out more Mike. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Anwen
Member
We can't afford to go there very often, but I have never had a bad meal in Woods, and if I get the chance to entertain people for business reasons, thats where I'll go.
The Treharne Arms is also excellent, and it's your duty to leave enough room to choose from the dessert board, which must have at least 50 choices.
Nandos is a favourite with my children, and we often go there in the week. Extra hot of course!!
The Treharne Arms is also excellent, and it's your duty to leave enough room to choose from the dessert board, which must have at least 50 choices.
Nandos is a favourite with my children, and we often go there in the week. Extra hot of course!!
damo
New member
Miners Arms eh? Don't go there so much now, but it used to be nearly every day when I worked at the Climbing Centre.
I second the Nova Scotia, but both those pubs are a bit of a walk from Cardiff Bay!
I second the Nova Scotia, but both those pubs are a bit of a walk from Cardiff Bay!
