Black Boy in Swansea

Was visiting from Australia and sadly the end of our holiday left a bitter taste after our experience with this venue. We attended The Black Boy on 11th December 2024 for an evening meal with friends before we left Swansea. We parked our hire car in the rear car park and then attempted to pay for a parking ticket. There was an issue with the ticket machine as it kept spitting out the coins we were putting in. There did not appear to be any alternate payment method, so I went inside and reported this to a staff member and was told not to worry about it. The staff member made me write down the registration number of my hire car and was told they would record it on their system so I would not get issued with a fine. Based on their reassurances we decided to stay and I purchased meals for the family. Before I left I even double checked with staff that there would be no issue with the parking. I was repeatedly assured I was all good. Sadly the venue and staff members did not honour their word. They failed to do anything and a few weeks later I get informed by the hire car company that I had been issued with a parking fine. The hire car company had already paid the $60 and took it off my credit card. To rub salt into the wound I was also charged a further $42 in an administration fee! Because the hire car company paid the fine before I was even aware of it, I was not able to contest it or get my money back from the scam parking company that issued the fine. The venue will use the excuse that it is beyond their control and the fine is issued by a private parking company. This is rubbish as surely the venue and its owners are the ones responsible for employing this private parking company in the first place. This scam parking situation is a disgrace. How this is a considered a good business model when customers are treated like this is mind boggling! You only have to read other reviews and complaints about the parking, so PLEASE stand up and let them know this behaviour is unacceptable. If customers stay away and it hurts them in the hip pocket, then maybe they will stop using these unethical private parking companies. If you need to drive and park at this venue then I highly recommend you reconsider and go somewhere else where you won’t get ripped off. Basically if you are not a local then stay away!

Staff Xmas party, food was delicious 😋 service was also brilliant.

Bar staff always friendly ( i travel about 6 miles to specifically go there and have done for many years for catch up with friends and monthly book club) food is good quality, service great .

Celebrated my Birthday with my family at the Black Boy last night couldn't fault it. Everyone was pleased with their food and staff were very frienfly and helpful. Will certainly be back again. Thanks for a lovely evening

Staff are friendly and helpful. I found the atmosphere relaxing and the food excellent.

Un gran grupo de nosotros había reservado el menú establecido. La comida tardó un tiempo en salir - culparon a lo ocupado que estaba, ya que también había una fiesta privada. Entonces, ¿por qué tomar la reserva si el personal no pudo hacer frente? La comida se servía al azar, por lo que algunas personas todavía no habían comido cuando ya había guarniciones en la mesa. La comida era decididamente promedio, la verdura congelada preenvasada no estaba a la altura, no particularmente caliente. Definitivamente no recomendaría este lugar, especialmente si eres un grupo grande. Con todo esto hay que pagar por el privilegio de aparcar en el parking! (Solo £ 1 fue reembolsado en el bar).

staff was very good and the food was excellent very pleasant

Necesidad de llamar la atención el aparcamiento ridículo en este lugar pagamos nuestro dinero y nos alojamos unos minutos antes de 2 horas tuvimos una encantadora comida y bebidas familiares y ahora 3 meses después recibió una multa de aparcamiento esto es totalmente inaceptable nunca visitará este lugar de nuevo está arruinado lo que fue una encantadora reunión familiar

Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to step through the door as it was locked at 11.15am! This is the second time this has happened we arrived 11am last time and so left it a little later today. Having checked the website the opening time is 11am. Before giving up waiting in the cold outside I thought to ring and see if they've forgotten to open the door. Having spoken to someone they said doors won't open until 12. I said the website was 11am and that this is the second time I've arrived with friends to find you closed. The young guy very cheerily said thanks for letting us know and hung up. I had already paid for parking, we had coffee and lunch round the corner in a very noisy cafe. Not what we planned to do at all. Will not visit this pub again.

Amazing atmosphere that waitress caitlin is 10/10 and so funny, enough about her good gammon too xx

Ok but just pub grub. But nice meal

Good Value Food with prompt service

En referencia a mis madres mayores visitan con sus amigos. Lamentablemente usaron el aparcamiento pagado una libra durante 2 horas y mientras estaba allí una de sus amigas tenía un hechizo mareado así que aguantaron hasta que cam alrededor de un poco resultando en una estancia excesiva. Tuvo una multa de estacionamiento posterior de una compañía de estacionamiento de chicos abusadores y le llevó esta carta al chico negro. Un miembro del personal dijo que no te preocupes, ya que sabía que el intervalo de 2 horas se había aumentado 3 horas y le dijo a mi madre que rompiera la carta. Ahora ha recibido otra carta amenazante de la compañía de estacionamiento de niños intimidadores amenazando con acciones judiciales y baliffs. Mi madre contactó al chico negro para que le dijeran que no tiene nada que ver con ellos. Lo siento, pero para el pub para permitir que sus clientes sean tratados de esta manera es terrible y nunca volvería a visitar este lugar de nuevo. Sin duda aconsejaría a cualquiera que esté pensando en ir allí que no lo haga, ya que hay un montón de pubs alrededor que tratan a los clientes mucho mejor que el chico negro

Friendly staff with a varied menu

Dirty & run down PUB Food is awful It’s a locals drinking venue and not an eatery. Will never return unless management make substantial changes

Lovely food great staff, chatty helpful and friendly. Would highly recommend for a relaxed few hours out.

Lovely place to go for food. Food is amazing quality, staff are really friendly

We had steak meal which was cooked exactly how we requested and was served hot in reasonable time delicious, the staff were friendly and helpful overall a great evening thank

Called here as we had 30% voucher through door,no wonder they are posting vouchers looking for custom.Portions have shrunk in size,mixed grill was over done and has for hunters chicken don't know where the barbecue sauce was disappointing, won't be going back.

Always a great time coming here

My family and I come here often, always warm and friendly atmosphere. Couldn’t go wrong with this place, fast food service and lovely customer service. Exactly what it says on the tin👍🏻 Also, very aquatinting to my mothers gluten intolerance and in years of coming here she has never once been ill so their handling of allergies and intolerances is taken very seriously as well.

Great food and great pub to meet friends or family for a catchup. Carpark is a little small but there is plenty of parking in front of and behind the Co-op a 1 minute walk away

Good service, it was quick and food quality was excellent. Very good value for money too. Parking cost is a pain but understandable

Good friendly service. Came with our dog and were moved to a table with more space and bowl of water bought out too

Great pub with great food! I popped down to the Black Boy for the first time in a few years for a meal and some drinks with the family. The place looks great, modernised from what I last remember, but with that cosy pub vibe that you want from this sort of place. The menu didn't disappoint either, there was loads to choose from, with the most disappointing thing being how long it took me to decide. The food was served quickly, was piping hot, and definitely didn't disappoint. I was tempted by the desserts, but after that meal I couldn't take another bite. The staff were great, very friendly throughout and checked in on us during the meal to make sure everything was ok. No hard sales pitches, just pleasant and welcoming. Even the chef who was walking past stopped to ask if we had enjoyed the food, the clean plates around the table might have tipped him off! The drinks selection was great, with a cracking selection on draught which seems to be a rare thing in most other oubs these days. All in all, a great experience. 10/10!

Gran pub con buena comida! Fui al Black Boy por primera vez en unos años para una comida y algunas bebidas con la familia. El lugar se ve muy bien, modernizado por lo que recuerdo por última vez, pero con ese ambiente acogedor de pub que quieres de este tipo de lugar. El menú tampoco decepcionó, había montones para elegir, y lo más decepcionante fue el tiempo que me llevó decidirme. La comida se sirvió rápidamente, estaba caliente, y definitivamente no decepcionó. Fui tentado por los postres, pero después de esa comida no pude tomar otro bocado. El personal era genial, muy amable en todo y nos registró durante la comida para asegurarse de que todo estaba bien. Sin argumentos de ventas difíciles, simplemente agradable y acogedor. Incluso el chef que estaba caminando se detuvo a preguntar si habíamos disfrutado de la comida, los platos limpios alrededor de la mesa podrían haberlo avisado! La selección de bebidas fue genial, con una selección de grietas en el calado que parece ser algo raro en la mayoría de los otros oubs en estos días. En general, una gran experiencia. 10 / 10 !

Booked a meal for family and friends. We all enjoyed our meals - hot and tasty and with the 30% voucher off main meals, it was really good value for money. We were able to stay more than the 2 hours allotted slot which was a bonus. Staff were friendly. Only criticisms would be that there was only 1 member of staff behind the bar when we were there which resulted in quite a queue ordering drinks and food Also the spray used for cleaning the tables makes the surface sticky.

Very disappointed! Wrexham v B-ham City was advertised on the website so we turned up to watch it and eat a meal. We had to pay to use the car park so we paid for 4 hours at £3 which we thought from reading the instructions would be refunded with our order. We were told they would only refund £1. Then we were told that despite info on their website the match would be put on without sound as it was quiz night! As we are not familiar with the area we accepted the position reluctantly but as the time approached still no match on tv. They knew we had come to watch the match but left mtv on. Terrible customer service! We ate our meal (which was ok) and went to the Village Bar Cafe who had confirmed they would put the match on for us.

Lovely little local, always great service, food is top notch. Cannot recommend enough

Hello there I am here to inform any future visitors of this pub to STAY AWAY.Spend your hard earned money on a pub that treats you with good service and at a minimum respect. For many years me and family have had many lovely trips to the ‘Black Boy’. However this evening we had such a terrible experience we wish to turn our backs on this beloved pub and never visit it again. We had qued 18 minutes to order our drinks and a child’s fish and chips. Which was longer then normal but we dismissed the issue as it was a busy day. During our 1 hour and 15 minute wait for food. The couple next gave us these 30% off vouchers. This is when we unfortunately realized that since this pub was always empty. They had became so desperate they gave these food vouchers out to the locals. Cheap or not, when we were told after one hour we had to move tables we were far from impressed. Especially when 20 minutes later after finally having sat down and carried our drinks. - still without our fish and chips- The boy came and informed us that we would have to move again. This left me and my family simply appalled especially as we were still trying to hunt down our fish and chips! The table he then gave us wasn’t even clean. I politely requested to speak to the manager hoping to at least receive a compensation for the hassle that had been caused. He rudely ignored this request and the manger never came and spoke to us. One toilet was simply a bowl of urine since it was blocked. So this my friends is a warning to you to never park your car for a charge of £1 and visit the ‘black boy Do not bother using the bathroom.

Hello there I am here to inform any future visitors of this pub to STAY AWAY.Spend your hard earned money on a pub that treats you with good service and at a minimum respect. For many years me and family have had many lovely trips to the 'Black Boy'. However this evening we had such a terrible experience we wish to turn our backs on this beloved pub and never visit it again. We had qued 18 minutes to order our drinks and a child's fish and chips. Which was longer then normal but we dismissed the issue as it was a busy day. During our 1 hour and 15 minute wait for food.The couple next gave us these 30% off vouchers. This is when we unfortunately realised that since this pub was always empty.They had became so desperate they gave these food vouchers out to the locals. Cheap or not, when we were told after one hour we had to move tables we were far from impressed. Especially when 20 minutes later after finally having sat down and carried our drinks. - still without our fish and chips-The boy came and informed us that we would have to move again. This left me and my family simply appalled especially as we were still trying to hunt down our fish and chips! The table he then gave us wasn't even clean. I politely requested to speak to the manager hoping to at least receive a compensation for the hassle that had been caused. He rudely ignored this request and the manger never came and spoke to us. One toilet was simply a bowl of urine since it was blocked. So this my friends is a warning to you to never park your car for a charge of £1 and visit the "black boy’

Always a lovely visit to the Black Boy! The food is delicious, the prices are reasonable and the staff are always happy to help!

Good value with 30% voucher. Food good, quick service and nice environment if somewhat busy. Needed to book table!

food was really good , Dinks were great , staff were friendly and very helpful atmosphere was great nice clean pub couldn’t ask for more

Really welcoming staff, perfect get together for all the family, dogs included!

Went to the black boy recently. Really nice choice on the menu. Staff knew the menu which was helpful. Good value for money, will visit again soon.

Excellent service, welcoming staff and superb food with a very short wait!!! Will visit again very shortly!

Excellent food prices good enjoyable food

Fab place always cater to my needs. Jon and dave in the kitchen make the best food. Caitlin the small waiter is always happy except when she dislocated her finger! Apart from that great workers and atmosphere definitely worth a visit!

Brilliant pub with friendly staff, served by Jess who couldn’t do enough for us. Lovely atmosphere and good priced drinks.

Had a lovely steak baguette cooked perfectly and a good size portion of chips, and chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Staff were outstanding with their service very attentive, the little waitress with dark hair, Caitlin was amazing 🤩

Excellent food and service , as always , at our local pub. The Philly steak baguette and chips ,served from 12-3 , was excellent. We often eat here and it's always friendly and relaxed. Lovely staff work here too :)

Stopped for a meal here last night after I had some 30% vouchers posted through the door. Went for a mega mixed grill and wasn't disappointed. Good quality meat and the steak cooked to perfection. Mushrooms were tiny, but that's my only gripe. Partner had a hunters chicken, which she enjoyed. The atmosphere wasn't perfect, with lots of swearing coming from the bar, but that's not a complaint, just a reason for the 4 star. We will be back with our last voucher!! Cheers guys.

We always enjoy a visit to this pub. The food is always good with great service from all the staff. Caitlin in particular is always superb, always smiling and goes out of her way to be helpful ❤️ Great atmosphere and a warm welcome whether you’re dining out or just popping in for a pint 😊😊

Great pub, great beer. I often pop in for a pint after work. Good place to watch the football and meet up with friends. Also dog friendly 🍻

Great food with amazing staff! They have really good deals on!

Really lovely good quality food. Staff friendly

Great service, food was delicious, staff were friendly. Definitely can’t wait to go back.

Lovely atmosphere and great food. The only negative is the new carpark pay system.. it used to be £1 and now it’s different fees based on hours and we went over the time and now waiting to see if we have a fine. Annoying when you’ve spent £70 on food and drinks

Absolutely amazing atmosphere and food.. service was perfect .. they was very helpful with placing me and my son who has autism somewhere quiet .. perfect. Higy recommend

Great food , nice staff , had to wait ages for our food to actually arrive which was quite upsetting having to wait more than an hour and a half , also they forgot to give the peppercorn sauce which then took additional time to arrive , also me and my boyfriend ordered the rocky road sundae and the picture it shows it comes nothing like it our ice creams were missing the brownie pieces and the cream

Parking in disabled bay good. Value for money good. Used meerkat voucher. Staff friendly and helpful. Will be going back soon.

We called here as I had a voucher come through the door with 30% off main meals. We had never been here so decided to try the place and was pleasantly surprised. The food is decent and the bill was very good. It was a Monday so they had a quiz on which was good fun and my partner had some cocktails. The food itself is good and we will go back.

Took the grandchildren and they loved the food.

Good food Nice atmosphere Nice and clean toilets

Food was good as far as marstons pubs go school holidays go lots of kids then you have your after work workmen drinkers .The lad that saw to you as you came in was very intensive couldn't do enough for the customers he wasted here and hope he finds himself a better position

Gott meal wrong 3 times. 1. Jacket potato cold, 2. Overcooked rump steak, in fact doubtful it was a rump, 3. 2nd steak over cooked and inedible. I received a refund for a meal that l couldn't eat, and due to all the issues, my husband ate alone.

Still a shadow of it's former self, food was ok, inconsistent cooking of our steaks, one over the other under, small portions for price, I'd say average to poor value. We attended on a Sunday afternoon expecting it to be quite busy however, it was deserted aside for an elderly couple. It's a shame, this used to be our go to for Sunday dinner and impromptu local dining.

Parking is expensive considering I’m using their restaurant, although the restaurant was quite empty it took us 15 mins to be shown to a table by the server pointing to “ it’s over there “ We only ordered main courses as it seemed “un liked “ tables not cleared next to us etc Over all not very welcoming

Really lovely helpful staff. The meals were great. Faultless

My seat was very cramped and I am very short. Not even enough room to hang my jacket on the back of the chair. The customer sitting behind me was touching my seat and she was short too.

Great food, good price. Nice patio area.

Fine service and food.staff very welcoming

Beth the waitress was amazing!! Best pint from a bottle I’ve ever had! Had special service

Came in for quick pint 10 days ago, just got a £100 parking fee. Didn't see the machine until we were leaving, have read other comments about the same thing.

We've had some good meals here, but today was very poor. Our table was booked for 12.30 and our order was taken 5 minutes later. Our food did not arrive until 1.30. We complained about the poor quality of the food and the delay and were told it was busy, with only 1 chef on duty. Very disappointed

Came here for a food and a pint after sky diving and ended up with £100 parking fine. No signage of the left side car park indicating this and then staff refused to do anything about it. Won't be returning.

Good quality pub food. When we arrived it was communicated there would be a 1.5 hour wait for food. We opted to stay and ordered a starter to tide us over. This arrived within 10 minutes and we were informed the kitchen was back on schedule so no delay on the main. Very much appreciate the honest and open communication, regularly updated at many stages through the evening. Will be back

Food is good, staff are great, although we had nearly a 1 hour wait on food (May 24th). Parking is rediculous however. An hour wait for food and im slapped with a £100 fine. How can that be right!?

The staff are all so friendly and helpful and the food was delicious, I had a hunters chicken, the chicken was juicy and there was lots of cheese, bacon and bbq sauce. Could not recommend this pub anymore or the hunters chicken. Best hunters chicken in Swansea

Service okay...food appalling ..ordered Hunters Chicken no BBQ sauce ..even though the waitress said there was....barely any cheese and no bacon either ....the plate and chicken were dry as a bone ...when i asked for some on the chicken they bought me a bottle of Heinz!!..Had to get a refund in the end and leave...would i go back?....Unfortunately not....

Food was very nice and the staff were excellent.

Service was excellent and the food was delicious

Great staff, very attentive and helpful. I had the piri piri chicken wings to start, followed by pulled pork topped mac and cheese. Both were tasty and nicely cooked. My friend had the breaded mushrooms then gammon for main. She enjoyed both. I’m glad the food standard has improved. Over the years it has been hit and miss

Lovely food and very friendly staff.

Polite staff and quick service.

Cheese burger and the kids cheese burger was good. Chicken burger not good as I believe it was a frozen chicken. We’ve ordered donuts but there wasn’t any strawberries with them! Asking for straws for drinks but they said there’s no straws! We couldn’t get 30% off as well. The waitress told us just order via QR and we will sort out that at the end another lady at the bar said we she can’t do anything. Hence the service was not what we were expecting.

I thought if a business is offering 30% off their food it was because they wanted to showcase how good the quality was. I was wrong. Worst fish I have ever had.

The interior and exterior were stinking dirty, It looked like it was left from the previous night. The beef was all fat and grizzly and the Turtey was tasteless. The place was a complete dump

Had 2 Sunday Lunches 1 Beef 1 Turkey as Chicken was off the menu but still advertised, food delivered quick, Beef was tougher than an old pair of boots, very fatty and no taste, turkey was very bland absolutely shocking, the only nice thing was the larger. The floor where we were sitting was absolutely disgusting looked as if yesterday’s food was still on it l, also dirty cutlery on the floor.

Excellent food and very pleasant employees recommend very highly

We usually love coming here for date night. Unfortunately, we found the mains a little overcooked this time (maybe it was a different chef 🤔) we enjoyed our starters very much! Our server was very friendly and easy too talk to and chat with 🙂 definitely coming again but maybe on a different day though.

Sunday lunch was. Awful the beef was like rubber Sad because usto be really nice for food For a lovely sunny day it was dead there now I know why,won't go back

Staff were perfect. Food was great (and reasonably priced). Bar was clean and tidy. Menu was varied and great that there was a GF menu and dog menu too!

The staff were so friendly and welcoming. The place was immaculate and everything was so clean. Stunning venue and the food was absolutely amazing everytime we come! The best prices for the best food!

The beer has gone up again, the Guinness is now £5.35 a pint!

Great food, nice place, poor service. Everything from tea spoons to floors could do with a clean.

Popular local, pub grub but great charcoal flavour burgers. Rev James excellent pint but little hit and miss when it's available. Staff top notch. Super helpful and on it.

The food was lovely and the service was great! All the staff on shift were really helpful and friendly and I would definitely come back!

Had a nice meal at the black boy quite reasonable for food,

Best place in Swansea!! Beth is 10/10 amazing service and food!! Great drinks and quick service, staff are extremely friendly definitely recommend the fish and chips! Shots are good as well!

We had lunch at the Black Boy today. I was pleased to see a vegetarian lasagne on the Special board, this needs to be on the daily menu, as it was excellent. A goat’s cheese and spinach lasagne, which appears to have been very popular. My husband enjoyed the Steak&Ale pie, which was excellent.Both meals were served hot and promptly. All the meals I saw served, looked good. The staff are efficient and pleasant. The Black Boy is well worth a visit, especially if they bring back a vegetarian lasagne to their main menu.

Easy to book table online. When I had to ring to make amendment & had a query it was dealt with very professionally. We had asked for a table that would be suitable to watch open mic after our food & this was accommodated. One of our diners had dietary issue & our server was able to check ingredients efficiently. Food was fine & will recommend.

Having visited before, knowing that any dish with meat is of the lowest quality, I ordered a vegetable Thai red curry. Even this supposed safe option was beyond poor in quality. We all tried the sauce, it resembled a bolognese more than a curry. The rice was microwaved too.

Typical pub food but done well. What really makes this place is the staff! Always happy and welcoming, nothing is ever too much trouble!

Lovely night with wonderful friends. Food and service were excellent 👌 xxx

Great value meal with friendly and professional service

Went tonight as a large family group to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. We were given the little room at the back which was great.Staff looked after us really well.The lady who took our orders was fab.Food was nice,typical pub food and reasonably priced.Lovely night .

Food was only average and same for the staff. Fell into good company and that bit of adventure is worth giving an extra star for! Was back here again recently. Staff were super helpful and friendly. Really could not have done more to help us all. Again - fell into great company and had a really super night! I think I might be starting to enjoy this place!! :)

We came to watch the football which was advertised on your Website. We travelled 15 miles and when we arrived they wouldn't put the advertised match on. We were thoroughly disappointed and drove 15 miles back home again. Please keep your Website accurate. We also wasted our £1 parking fee. From very unhappy customers.