please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
You won't find a better pint of Brain's, so that's OK, so long as you're not fed up of Brain's.
Carpet seemed a bit smelly, but generally well-maintained.
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Visited on an International day so access was controlled but lots of space once inside. Felt customer comfort was more important than £ through the till. Brains Dark of course. Next trip to Cardiff will include a visit to here.
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I quite like this pub. No particular outstanding points but does its business in an solid way. My pint of Brain's SA (3.00) was quite good, & the service was efficient if not effusive. The name gave me some giggles (I'm easily amused) and insertion of a comma & question mark amused my equally easily pleased pals down under.
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I was led to believe this pub had a good selection of guest ales and on entering the abundace of pump clips on the walls echoed this. On going to the bar all that was available was Brains beers. The bitter i had was ok, nothing more. BBC news on the silent TV and background music. Not many in just made it seem souless.
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Excellent pub. The SA is flat because it's served direct from the cask by gravity. It can occasionally be a little flat - but 9.9 times out of 10, it's excellent.
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There is a nice Victorianesque feel to the place with the wood panelling and tiled floor around the bar. Spoiled a bit by carpet and leather arm chairs which make it feel a bit chainish:-church pew seats and wood floorboards please!! Lacking a bit of atmosphere on my Monday evening visit. Probably better on a match day or weekend and with the fire lit. An excellent pint of Brain's dark. One of the best I've tasted in a long while. No doubt I will return (for the dark alone) but on a busier night. With the demise of the Vulcan this is about as good as it gets for a Cardiff centre Brains pub. Some tasteful and sympathetic changes to the decor etc could make it excellent.
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A retunr visit to reaffirm this as one of the few decent watering holes in the city centre. The Brains ales are as good as you'll get the stuff.
anonymous - 25 Sep 2013 22:44 |
Another city centre Brains pub and this was probably the best. It is fairly small inside, but very cosy. The bar staff were helpful and knowledgeable. Brains beers on were SA, Dark, Bitter, Dark & Calypso. The latter was good. One of the best pubs in the centre.
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Picked a few pubs from the Good Beer Guide before visiting Cardiff and had good hopes for this one. What a disappointment! - pint of SA served from a barrel behind the bar was as flat as a pancake and after drinking about a quartet of it the vinegar taste was starting to come through. Could have gone back to change it but probably would have been a challenge to explain this to the two girls behind the bar who were more interested in messing around than serving good beer.
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Decent friendly pub in the City Centre. It has a fair range of Brain's offerings and plenty of small screens showing the rugby. The locals were mainly middle aged men, but this added a good deal of atmosphere, as did fire situated towards the rear.
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Great pub, friendly welcome and relaxed atmosphere. Brains ales in tip-top condition, including the craft-brewery specials. A 'must visit' when in Cardiff.
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Have to agree with the last poster - we found the staff efficient, friendly, welcoming and very competent. The beer was also very well kept, and we could happily have stayed much longer, but had other ports of call to visit.
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Having just returned to the pub I have to add another comment. This one is for the staff. I have been served by 4 different bar staff and have never had such good consistent service. The staff are knowledgeable about the beer and excel at making you feel welcome. It may be a good sales pitch by Brains or the pub and some people might be scared by such enthusiasm but for me it makes the difference between having a quick pint and going on elsewhere and having a second.......and a third. Well Done
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Visited the pub for first time in 4 or 5 years. Glad to see it hasn't changed and is still serving excellent beer. The Dark was perfect. Bar staff excellent and as one comes from my neck of the woods, Crawley/Reigate, we had a good chat.
Comfortable and relaxed.
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Standard "old man's pub" but alright. Had a Brain's Dark which was in good shape and beef and ale pie (they only serve pies). Not the best I've had - literally just beef and no veg in the pie but I guess good value for money as it's only �7.50 including very well cooked chips (crispy outside fluffy inside). The boyfriend's Wye Valley chicken pie was more akin to a soup though..And the puff pastry was cooked separately and just placed on top.
However, pies aside, it has a very good barman - the poor chap was on his own and had to manage a wedding party which showed up for drinks but he managed it well.
7/10
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Good pub. Perhaps Brains only? But a pleasant and able barman. Nice space.
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Just been back and it is still as good as ever. I liked their optomism - January 2nd pouring with rain but they had the outside tables and chairs set up!!! Good beer again and in hindsight we should have eaten here.
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Excellent pub at the end of the High Street. Spotlessly clean bar with shiny brass fitings and tiled flooring. Efficient and friendly service; very good pint of Brain's Bitter followed by a superb pint of York Brewery's First Light (the pubs guest ale).
Barman offered tasters of all beers if required. Well worth the walk up from Central station and this will be a regular when I'm in Cardiff again.
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The Goat is a marvellous pub.
Traditional, friendly, nice mixed-age crowd of serious beer drinkers. Also very convenient and central.
SA Gold was particularly tasty on my last visit. I shall be visiting again soon. You can't go wrong with this one.
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A good traditional, cosy and convivial city pub with well kept Brains on my visit.
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Good old style city pub a goat's throw from the castle. A Brain's house with Dark, Bitter and SA on draught. Had a decent pint of the bitter. Has an uptairs bit which I didn't venture to. A proper pub in a sea of dross.
anonymous - 10 Jul 2010 23:18 |
Spot On pint of SA Gold was supped, YUM 7/10
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Clean, friendly pub with quality interior. Brains SA was excellent, didn't have time to try the food but it looked pretty boring. I'll be back.
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Good beer. Good food. I always go there when I'm in Cardiff.
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Classic traditional pub, beautiful original(?) tiled floor. Good range of well kept Brains (Bitter, SA, Gold and Dark). Good atmosphere for a good chat. Popped in for one big (13) round on a Thursdy evening (7.30ish). served quickly, well worth a visit if you appreciate tradition and real ale.
brouk - 17 Apr 2009 00:33 |
Really rather good for a city centre pub - probably sufficiently old-fashioned to keep some of the more disruptive elements out. Four Brains real ales on draught, including a nice pint of Dark.
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Dashed up to this pub before catching a bus, but it was busy so I didn't manage to get served before having to leave. Lovely interior, and one to make sure of when next in the city.
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Cracking boozer selling great Brains beers. Sadly left here to go to a "party" in TigerTiger prior to seeing The Boss.
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Decent Brains beer here, the SA Gold is particularly good. Food is alright, fairly typical. One of the better pubs in Cardiff, certainly in the City Centre.
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Decent city centre pub serving Brain's beers in excellent condition.
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the old blue bell as was. Some great nights in here when i was younger.
still serves a good pint
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Lovely pub, dropped in there late one lunchtime, couple of very nice pints and the Cawl was fantastic. Pretty and chatty little barmaid behind the bar made it all that much nicer :)
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A characterful (but not original) pub with good food and good beer. The Brains Dark was lovely, and the Lamb Cawl delicious.
You can get cheaper food and beer in most of the nearby Brains pubs, but the atmosphere isn't as calm as here. Of course, it wasn't a match day....
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Went to Cardiff recently for the speedway GP and discovered this great pub whilst trying to avoid hordes of drunken Poles. Nice friendly welcome (not always the case in Wales) from the locals who took time out to explain the legend that is The Goat Major! Go to this pub.
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Glad to hear that Rev James found the bar staff friendly on his visit. This was invariably the case until recently. One or two poor attitudes can spoil the evening. Otherwise a good solid city boozer.
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Excellent traditional pub right in the city centre, one of the few places still serving Brains Dark (the real stuff, not the Smooth keg version). Also does good food at reasonable prices, and the bar staff are always friendly. An oasis in a desert of trendy bars!
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Fantastic pub, one of the best in the city centre. All the Brains beers, plus the usual lagers. The walls are covered with photos of goats accompanying the Welsh Guards around various far flung corners of the globe. No visit to Cardiff is complete without a visit to this wonderful place.
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Lovely place to go to avoid the rabble in their horrible chain bars - only prob is it's too popular on match days
Def worth popping in if you get the chance.
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Several evenings spent here enjoying the laid back reaxing feel, good place for a cigar (until they ban it anyway!), food nice too and top range of Brains beers. The pub is dedicated to The Goat Major, a Goat apparently assigned to the Welsh army, so good pics of it looking cheeky among dignified soldiers at ceremonies.
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Spent an extended early evening here and really enjoyed it. The beer was top class as was the atmosphere, service and attitude of the staff. If you're feeling peckish, I'd recommend their plate of cheese and crackers at �3.50. It fed two of us! This is the sort of pub that city centres should have but only rarely do, well worth a visit if in Cardiff
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Ah, a Welsh pub with Goats in the title, you can't beat it.
Quite a nice pub, one of the few pubs in the centre that is not a horrendous chain bar.
TheGP - 22 May 2005 17:56 |
The Goat Major is a traditional Brains pub in the heart of Cardiff city centre. Named after the the handler of the famous Goat mascot of the Welsh Guards, this pub is full of military memorabilia and pictures of Goats! The pub has recently had a make over, which for once hasn't spoiled the atmosphere. The pub now proudly sports an ornate bar with brass goat heads and plush leather arm chairs. Nice place for a quiet afternoon pint while out shopping.
Sal - 16 Jun 2004 15:31 |
