Varsity

Not a very friendly place. Very strange smell near the bouncers and they were practically strip searching possible patrons who just moved on.
The food is pub so don’t expect a 4 star meal.
Drinks are cheep.

I think varsity is one of the better bars in the grey friars road scene, offering reasonable drinks and a party atmosphere that isn’t overly loud. Service can be a little slow as the bar is always jam packed full of people waiting to get a drinks round in. With so many people all cramming there way into every bar on the road Varsity seems to get people who start the nigh there and end up in Oceana or Tiger Tiger. It’s a good place that everyone knows so a lot of people meet up there.
One unfortunate consequence is the cliental tend to be boozed up with the chav element annoyingly everywhere. You’ll find a lot of loud patrons blery eye downing the bars offerings and it’s not uncommon to find yourself being jostled and having to avoid the more aggressive beefcakes of the area.
The music is pumped out and there is always a dance floor packed with partygoers, busting a move.
The showing of all great sporting events will impress the sports fans out there.
At the end of the night you can see cabs line up out side this bar to ferry people back home.

I think I quite like Varsity’s sometimes, I think this is mainly in the daytime though. I have been here to eat in the daytime and have enjoyed the food, it’s super cheap which is great. They do some of their food out of dog bowls, now this is a little weird I realize, I have yet to order one as have considered feeling mildly embarrassed about eating off of this strange plate substitute.
Now the night time, this is where the score gets lowered for me, I’m not a fan of this place at night, it gets too busy with people desperate for the cheap booze. They do massive fish bowl sized drinks where several of you can get around it and drink out of the same receptacle, delightful.
It is a fairly large venue but due to location it will fill up, especially on a weekend. It is situated along a strip of bars and nightclubs and this street can get pretty messy. I’m happy to just visit on a day time, but you really won’t catch me here in the evening, there are more interesting bars out there.

Located on the same street as both a Lloyds bar and the vastly popular Oceana, Varsity faces strong competition for its trade. This is a good pub come bar, providing customers which good service at all times. Whilst this is hardly the most unique venue, it’s not entirely deprived of character and soul. It’s lack of authenticity is more than made up for by the vibrant atmosphere which often engulfs this place during the evenings.
With live sport also played on a number of television screens, this is a popular venue with students and locals alike, with big games attracting large volumes of customers. The drinks are as reasonably priced as one could expect from a bar like this, with various deals in existence. There’s also a quite extensive menu offering a range of pub style food. The food is a little over-​priced for what it’s worth, but aside from that, the place generally offers pretty good value for money.

Strategically placed near Cardiff’s busiest club, Varsity on Greyfriars Road is a great bar to start a night out. While it mat not be the biggest bar in Cardiff, what it lacks in size it makes up for in atmosphere.
Boasting a large bar that spans the length of the club itself, there is generally good service the majority of the time, although there can be large queues, particularly on a Saturday night. However, this problem is often only temporary as the bar staff are normally very efficient.
For Cardiff prices, the drinks are reasonably priced especially if you own a V-​Card, which are well worth purchasing and can be used at Varsity bars around the country. At just £1, you get the V-​Card itself, which allows you discount on a wide variety of drinks and meals, and also a small booklet of coupons with various offers such as «2 for 1» on shots, bottles and mixers, cheaper drinks and cut price food.
There is frequently fun themed events held such as Karaōke and Poker nights, with prizes offered to the winner. On top of that, they have full sky sports package which makes this an ideal location to watch your favourite team compete if you can’t be there to watch them live.
This bar gained extra brownie points for me personally when I found myself desperately traipsing around Cardiff last year, searching for a venue to watch the David Haye heavyweight boxing title fight, and is now the first place I go if I want to watch a sporting event.
A fun bar with great facilities and an even greater atmosphere.

Varsity gets a bit of a bum rap due to its location; it’s a perfectly serviceable bar, with great staff, a huge selection of possible drinks and decent, if a little broad music going on. However, it does happen to be situated next to Oceana and Lloyd’s Bar; two of the bastions of the chav nightlife in Cardiff. As a result, Varsity often picks up the run off from these places, making for one hairy evening should you be stuck wandering the Greyfriars walkway of a night.
During the day, it’s a little better. I’ve always found the food in Varsity to be pretty great for the price; they do buckets of food, which can never, ever be a bad thing. On top of this, you have a generally relaxed atmosphere; Varsity is a place for students to hang out during the day. They’ll meet up, have a few drinks, grab some food and head off to somewhere smarter at about half 6/​7pm, so the afternoons are none too bad here.
It’s unfortunate that Varsity gets the run-​off from Lloyd’s and Oceana; the sister-​bar on Richmond Road proves it can be quite a great place to grab a pint. This one’s alright, if you can avoid getting caught in the trouble that usually occurs there Friday and Saturday nights. But if you can do that, you’re clearly a ninja and wouldn’t have any trouble there anyway, so it’s entirely up to you.

Varsity is another pub you visit before you go to a club. Drinks a fairly cheap here and if you have a members club you can get some pretty decent prices on things here.
It’s great for sports and litters the entire pub with screens and projections. They also have a dart board for the more traditional pub goer. Minus an oche though?!
Weekends are generally hugely packed and you will grow a beard whilst waiting to get served, yes even you ladies.
They do food here too and is your general pub affair of steaks/​chips blah blah. All respectable as is the price.
You can warm yourself up on the dancefloor aswell in training for your club of choice, which adds to the normally fun atmosphere. Well worth a stop off.

The food is great value for money, with a large menu that is very cheap. They operate a special menu which is particularly good value from 3.30pm. The drinks are quite good value, but it is a popular after work meeting place, and so be aware that it can get very crowded around six o clock, and on Friday night I have struggled to get a seat.

I think the best thing I can say about Varsity in Cardiff is it’s great value. The food portions are superb, and many dishes available for around £5. The free wifi is great — and the students of Cardiff obviously like to take advantage as I was the only one in the pub without a laptop! Cheap and cheerful — which is great!

A very lively bar on a Saturday night, went in whilst on a weekend trip to Cardiff, knowing that I can always rely on Varsity for a good drink and meal we found this bar to be no different but none the less not a patch on my local Varsity. Found this bar to have friendly staff and a great atmosphere. Good range of music and very strong WiFi connection for those times when you need to check your emails and your facebook quickly etc. Very spacious bar with great seating and lots of screens that show live sports :-)