Mbargo
Mbargo
Mbargo (60 St. Mary Street, Cardiff) – this is a trendy, nicely-furnished and quite stylish bar. Mbargo attracts both students and locals, albeit on separate evenings. With a sizable dance floor and accommodating bar area, Mbargo has quite a nice feel about the place, with friends unlikely to lose each other quite as easily as they might do in other, larger bars. It’s well worth a visit, and for students, this is also a good venue to go to during the quieter week nights.
Lava Lounge
Lava Lounge
Lava Lounge (Old Brewery Quarter, Caroline Street, Cardiff) – this is a popular sports bar, popular with college students because of the discount drinks they get here. Along with the giant screens that accommodate viewing of various games, this bar plays 80s & 90s music during the weekends.
Lakota
Lakota
Lakota (84-86 St. Mary Street, Cardiff) – this bar (located a walk away from Millennium Stadium) is the perfect sports bar, where patrons can watch football, rugby and other matches. The fact that the prices for drinks, as well as the food served here, are very reasonable, only adds to a solid local following.
Kapu
Kapu
Kapu (10-11 Mill Lane, Cardiff) — KAPU has beached up in Cardiff and introducing the Tiki lifestyle and Cardiff’s new celeb hang out for everyone to enjoy and capture those magical moments. Explosive zombies, mystical canoes and treasure chests mixed with fresh fruit cocktails, a selection of rum like no other and get lost in the music within tiki huts, caves and bamboo palaces.
Selected cocktails are two for one Sunday to Friday every week, as well the ultimate Friday after work drinks – Tiki Island. Forget the hassles of the working week and get lost in fun and games of Tiki Island. Saturday nights in Kapu are legendary, just ask anyone around the city — this is the only place to be and be seen.
Club Metro
Club Metro
Club Metro (1o Bakers Row, Cardiff) – in more recent times, this bar, just a short walk away from Millennium Stadium, is a popular place for the college student crowd. It also gets busy during games held at Millennium. The music in varies from rock, metal, punk, ska, nu metal, cheese, and mainstream indie.
Bunk House
Bunk House
Bunk House (93-94 St Mary Street, Cardiff) – just a short walk away from historic Cardiff Castle and the Millennium Stadium, this bar also happens to be a hostel (attracting college students who typically use such accommodations). Full of funky vintage character, patrons can enjoy a drink while sitting on Victorian beds surrounded by charming quilts and furniture. A great selection of spirits and beers on tap.
Woods Brasserie
Woods Brasserie
Woods Brasserie (Pilotage Building, Stuart Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff) — Woods Brasserie is a contemporary restaurant situated within the iconic pilotage building of Cardiff Bay. Historically it was used by river pilots, who helped navigate ships through the shallow straits of the bay. The restaurant has a modern conservatory style dining room, a comfortable bar area and a balcony offering views of Cardiff Bay. Woods also houses a wonderful private room for up to 40 guests, perfect for business meetings, private parties or special occasions. Dishes served here range from Roast rib eye of Usk Valley beef (in crushed root vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and roast gravy); to pan-fried fillet of bream, sauté spinach, beetroot tartare; and assiette of fish (with wilted greens, lemon and cockle butter, carrot & chervil risotto, and watercress salad).
The Thai House
The Thai House
The Thai House (3-5 Guildford Crescent, Churchill Way, Cardiff) — The Thai House Restaurant was established in Cardiff in 1985 by Noi Ramasut from Bangkok and his Welsh wife Arlene Thomas. They were very much pioneers at a time when were only five Thai restaurants in the whole of London. The Thai House offers a wide range of authentic dishes to reflect the diversity of Thai cuisine. A typical well-balanced Thai meal consists of at least one meat dish, a fish dish, a curry and vegetables which are always eaten with rice. The Thai House ensures the highest standards by importing fresh herbs, spices and vegetables every week which it blends with the finest local produce.
The Potted Pig
The Potted Pig
The Potted Pig (27 High Street, Cardiff) – this one-time bank vault, located down a block from Cardiff Castle and near Millennium Stadium) serves various Welsh meals, such as duck hash with fried egg, and Devonshire brown crab with chips and mayonnaise. The Potted Pig’s wine & drinks menu has been carefully selected to match its menus and it carry an excellent range of independently sourced wines, as well as a fantastic array of bottled lagers, ales and ciders.
The Clink
The Clink
The Clink (Knox Road, in front of Cardiff Prison, Cardiff) – the brainchild of award-winning chef Alberto Crisci, this restaurant is unusual in that it is staffed in part by those who were previously in jail for minor offenses (with the owners giving them a second chance in life by gaining valued experience in the restaurant industry). The restaurant itself is brightly-lit with sleek modern décor, serving mostly local dishes, such as shoulder of lamb with lemon, olive, and caper tapenade, and wild boar and venison ragout with grilled polenta.
