The Cottage

Haven’t been to the Cottage for a couple of months but used to go there regularly with a couple of mates for a couple of beers.
The Cottage before the refurb and development had a really nice lounge bar where they had a music quiz. They also used to have a good restaurant serving mainly home cooked food including a great Sunday dinner.
The Cottage is a big pub and by knocking all the bars through and having a big 360 degree bar area makes it feel caverrnous. It’s lost its distinct personality. I could be in any pub in town instead of a local pub. The reason people went in there is because it was homely and familiar.
It’s also been through quite a few changes of management over the last few years and thats generally not a good sign that all’s well. But a karaōke night they used to have on the weekend was always well attended. So I think there’s hope for it. I worry that it might close if it’s not viable particularly in these tough financial times. It’s frustrating as it’s got a lot of potential.

A bastion of old school pub values, despite that name, The Cottage isn’t actually — unless it’s a cleverly-​disguised secret — a gay bar. A proper boozer of the sort they don’t make any more, a cheap drink and the possibility of crossing paths with local characters are the chief attractions. Not to be confused with the similarly-​named (Cardiff) Cottage on St Mary St.

This certainly isn’t in the city centre, its in Spott which is a good 10 minutes from town. Now Splott doesn’t have the best reputation in Cardiff so you expect a few dodgy characters in here as well as the genuine locals.
What I hate most about it is the smoking ban just means that everyone smokes in front of the door, so to get in there you have to walk through a disgusting cloud of smoke. All the fag butts outside make it look digusting.
Inside you get that oldy worldy feel where you will get some looks if your a newcomer. The barstaff are friendly and welcoming though and will chat away.

One of the very few remaining traditional pubs in the centre of Cardiff. They Predominantly serve Browns Beer.
Usually quite quiet in the week, but tends to get incredibly busy at the weekend, especially on match days, when the atmosphere really is fantastic.
What I particularly like about this place is that the cliental is so varied; on you’re average weekend you’re quite likely to see teenagers and even 90 year olds, and there are never any tensions.
Good place to go after shopping, or if you’re looking for a place to meet up for drinks with friends after work.
They have a great quiz machine which I’ve had endless hours of fun with (and even made quite a bit of money on, due to my weird memory for useless trivia).

The cottage used to have quite a bad reputation but has been turned around recently and has changed all for the better. Likened to the light beachwood of say a harvester, The Cottage has that great local feel to it without ever trying to hard to be anything it’s not.
They have all the important stuff for man of my simples needs. A dartboard, huge plasma screen for live sporting events, a jukebox and a pool table.
Drinks are so cheap here also. If you fancy a quick drink after work you’ll will only use two of your shiny pound coins in exchange for golden nectar.
The Cottage has also just started to do roast dinners on a sunday for the very reasonable sum of £5.95. I can vouch for it’s quality too, the taste far exceeding it’s price.
The thing with local pubs such as these is that they need local support. The building has been standing for over a hundred years now and needs that continuing support to stand for another 100 years.