The Gwaelod Y Garth Inn

Our large group was given a warm reception, at this country pub. We ordered ten meals. All the food arrived promptly so the whole group was able to eat together. The staff where happy to bring extra gravy at no extra cost. The food I was very tasty. There is also a friendly cat.

Top pub top staff great food a drink, well worth a visit

This pub/​restaurant used to be my favourite! Rob the manager is so friendly and will go out of his way to help. Food is of a high standard and lunch time menu usually has pub classics such as gammon and cod. Sunday lunch is always nice but since my boyfriend and I started eating here, the prices have gone up and we both feel the food used to be exceptional but is now just good. It’s a shame as we have been going here for years and its not as nice as it once was.

I love walking up the Garth Mountain. The mountain is famous as the one featured in the Hugh Grant film «The Englishman Who walked up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain». There was a dispute apparently about the Garth actually being a hill rather than a proper mountain so legend has it the villagers carted mounds of earth up the mountain and piled it on top to make it a proper mountain. Having walked up there a few times I know it can be pretty steep and quite treachorous in places so these Gwaelod y Garthians must be made of stern stuff or lunatics.
Anyway having enjoyed the amazing views at the top of the mountain it is great to come and have a well-​deserved break in the pub. Last time I was there the food was outstanding. The only issue being as it’s a great pub lots of other people want to share it too. The view from the beer garden is lovely too. The pub has got everything a country pub should have, character, low ceilings and a great beer garden.

I’m pretty privileged to have this as my local. It used to be a bit of a dive but then some years ago Barbara took it over and has been gradually transforming the place.
We now have fantastic food, always a good range of real ales, a pool table, a pleasant outdoor seating area and even B&B! Tuesday nights are quiz nights — pretty intellectual stuff but no one calling out questions, just a civilised quiz sheet and you give a donation to charity. If you want to eat be sure to book in advance and well in advance for Sunday lunch or weekend evenings.
The only downside as a local person is that sometimes it’s so packed with people coming from far away to enjoy its pleasures that it’s hard to get a seat! Perhaps I shouldn’t be writing this glowing review…

So this isn’t your average village pub. It has a real emphasis on serving up good quality food, using fresh and local pubs. Its got a reputation now so it can get pretty busy and some friends have found it quite slow when they’ve been on a weekend night. I’d recommend ringing in advance.
When I was there last we were lucky enough to get a table by the window looking out at the view over the valley. If that wasn’t enough I had a beautiful duck dish that was just perfect. Wasn’t cheap but less than £20 per person and worth every penny.
They also apparently do an amazing Sunday Lunch so I might have to give that a try next.

If you’re looking for a small country pub just a few miles outside Cardiff the Gwaelod Inn is the place for you. I went there recently with my mum for lunch and had a great time.
The lunch menu was varied and although not cheap the food was very good value. As it was lunchtime we both settled for just a main course, mum having the sea bass with braised fennel (£15) whilst I had the beer battered cod fillet at £9.
For those of you who like beer this is a real ale pub and on warm summer evenings I imagine it would be an ideal place to sit outside drinking a pint!

No-​one ever passes through Gwaelod-​y-​Garth. Unless you live there, you need to make a special journey. The Gwaelod Inn is worth that special journey.
The village of Gwaelod-​y-​Garth lies midway between Cardiff and Pontypridd, a hamlet of fewer than 500 souls in the middle of nowhere, but within a 15-​minute drive of half a milion people. Even many Cardiffians don’t know of its existence. The village lies on the eastern slopes of the Garth Mountain, a 1,000-ft giant that guards the entrance to the Rhondda Valleys and that was made famous by the 1995 film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain starring Hugh Grant. The Garth cradles the Inn lovingly in its bosom. (One of the pics will give you an idea of how the village lies.)
The village began life in Elizabethan times as a source of iron ore, and was given a new lease of life in the 19thC when ore became wedded to coal. Many of the dwellings in Gwaelod are old miners’ cottages. Such is the layout and context of this hillside village, that new houses are, thankfully, difficult to build.
Owing to its monoply of village pub business, the Inn has always been a locals’ meeting place. But until the present owners took it over, it languished sadly under a period of poor management. Now happily order has been restored. Barbara Evans and her partner Richie have carefully refurbished the Inn and converted the upstairs into a fine restaurant. Yet the flavour of a locals’ local has not been lost. A good-​sized room is dedicated to pub games with darts and pool prominent, and these games give way to live entertainment on a regular basis, with Soul, Blues and Jazz acts often appearing. The pub has fully embraced village life once more, holding events for children such as a Halloween Party, regular Charity Nights, and more usual events such as Quizzes.
Apart from the Bar, there is an L-​shaped Lounge which is really two rooms. The walls have been exposed back to the original stonework, and they are adorned with interesting old prints of the village, and antique bric-​à-​brac representative of old Welsh life. Log fires roar as soon as it gets cold, which is often. Drinkers can enjoy Hancocks HB, Otley Ale (brewed in Ponty!) and at least two other guest ales. There is a good choice of wine by the glass.
Bar meals can be enjoyed downstairs, prepared by the same hand that graces the upstairs restaurant. The menus will always include local specialities: at the moment for example you will find Welsh Laverbread with Bacon, Roast Garth Mountain Lamb, and Vegetarian Glamorgan Sausages. Sunday Lunches are very popular and feature a choice of 7 dishes to start and 10 mains. The Home Boiled Ham with Parsley Sauce is a delight.
What more to be said? Ten out of Ten.

Top notch food with a friendly welcome. We’ve eaten here several times and have yet to find anything really to grumble about.