Darran in Caerphilly

Very relaxing.. reasonable price..staff very friendly 😄

Service was good considering we were a party of 5 adults and 4 children, although we had quite a wait for desserts. Given that these mostly consisted of ice creams, we felt they should perhaps have come out a bit quicker. The main courses were ok and everyone enjoyed their meals. My only complaint would be that the portion sizeof my vegan chilli was pretty small for the price of £8.50...the chilli itself was tasty but looked lost in the bottom of the metal skillet it was served in. The portion of rice it came with was, in my opinion, too big for the amount of chilli. I will point out though that I had ordered from the lunch deal menu which I was aware meant smaller amounts. We've been here a couple of times before and would return as quality of food is quite good and prices are generally reasonable

This is our third time in last few months that we’ve chosen the Darran for food and can’t fault the service! Staff are really friendly and the food has always been really nice! Mother-in-law had the fish and said it was bloody gorgeous! 😊 Thank you, we’ll be back! 👍

Service and atmosphere really good , food was really tasty but portion size was very poor.

Had an amazing meal, cooked to perfection and enjoyed a wonderful atmosphere and friendly staff!

Amazing service today from the team at the Darran. I ate here a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed but something has changed. The team were brilliant I booked a table for my mums birthday put a note on the booking to say it was her birthday, a banner at our booth, bunch of flowers even. A great start. Starters went down a storm; garlic mushrooms, prawn cocktail, mozzarella bites and chicken strips all empty plates. For mains; a couple of us opted for the roast dinner, so good, very generous portions and the homemade Yorkshire puds were fab, meat was cooked perfectly and te roast potatoes were yum 😋. The teens had the cowboy burger and again empty plates. Little room for puddings but the surprise little cake and candle for my mum was the icing on the cake. 7 of us dined and with drinks less than £160. Good value, great service. Thank you and defo recommend a visit

Service was really slow won't be coming back here.

We had a lovely time and the food was excellent we will be returning.

Great food, which was piping hot and all reasonably priced; staff were courteous attentive and welcoming. We'll be back.

Not impressed. Didn't have 2 of the main meals or 1 desert. Very rude young staff member

Food was now where near what the menu said. Very poor, with staff having no clue what the menu was ! Complete waste of money

Arrived earlier than our reservation but we're able to have our table which was great. Took advantage of curry and a drink and it was delicious. Staff very friendly and polite.

Well where do I start was up there on the 17th Feb for my birthday with 24 others the steak was rubbery hunters chicken without cheese and bbq sauce.service without a smile except for lisa she was helpful as for the others well rude,unprofessional and slapped Yr plate In front of you and the beer is priced for London not for risca, so it's fair to say won't be going there again not even if it was free

We had a family gathering of elderly cousins and some younger members of the family. We were very impressed with the food, both in terms of quality and value for money. The staff were very welcoming and were very flexible regarding the ordering process as 80+ year olds would not have coped with QR codes. All in all a very pleasant afternoon, just a shame Wales lost to Ireland in the Rugby.

Went to ' The Darran ' didn't even know if they served food ? But scampi and trimmings were ordered along with the 8 oz dump steak . The food was light and tender not chewy with all the trimmings . The staff were extremely helpful as I am partially disabled . The puddings were so good we actually had them prepare one each to take home with us !!! Parking was easy and plenty of room . A big must if you struggle getting around !!!

Friendly, helpful and polite staff. Food is reasonably priced, with good service

Food was lovely other than all the soup coming out freezing but in warm bowls. The organisation needs working we were a big group but the last of the food wasn’t brought out until the first people had finished. We all ate at different times. No hot drinks were available until half way through the meal .

We were a table of 5 visiting this afternoon. Food was lovely, and great service. We would especially like to thank Keran who stepped in when one of our party members fell ill. Her quick response and reaction made a massive difference. Thank you to everyone involved. We will be returning again soon.

Occasionally the full menu isn’t available. I had a a few issues with the food but it has been replaced immediately.

From booking over the phone to ordering and food arriving, we had a quick, friendly service with a relaxed atmosphere.

Very friendly staff and reasonable prices. We weren't rushed in any way and the atmosphere was great

Sunday dinner was lovely , great service friendly staff.

Little disappointed they didn’t have the mixed grill or gammon but it didn’t spoil our evening. The food we all had was lovely in fact better than my last visit in nov. Everyone enjoyed and will definitely be visiting again. It was a little cold in there but I put that down to being within the dog friendly area as we took our dogs with us. Lovely meal

Prawn cocktail was delicious but had to empty out of ridiculous narrow glass onto plate to be able to cut into small amounts that we can eat. If you want to serve it in glass bowls they need to be wider. Main course was hunters chicken, chicken was cooked to perfection as was bacon and cheese but where was the barbecue sauce, a little dribble that you can't even taste was useless please add barbecue sauce to the chicken, enough that can be tasted.

Good food at a decent price but portions could have been larger especially the curry. Service OK, understandable as they were very busy

Couldn’t have our first choices as no fryer to do fish, etc Couldn’t have coffee as the coffee machine was broken Couldn’t have a pot of tea as no kettle I suggest you invest in some equipment as this is embarrassingly ridiculous!

Nice place, terrible food, also running out of food items is usual.

Very enjoyable Sunday roast made all the nicer by pleasant staff, thank you

Went for food yesterday with my wife, food was awful steak was well overcooked and no seasoning and tasted of cleaning product, wife's was the same also, another couple had same issue stone cold food and remade twice totally gone down hill drinks overpriced food still overpriced for the quality served and will never go back there and hopefully all the people I k ow from risca read this and avoid for food also wound not waste my money again even 1 star is to much

Nice meal out, great food, although the staff always seem slow l, as in we were waiting to be seated nearly 10 minutes after entering (only one other table was being used, and all staff were out the back). Also, it always seems to take nearly an hr after ordering until the food is brought out, even though the pub was quiet.

Lovely little chain pub. Very friendly staff. Excellent service. Food hygiene rating 5 which is well deserved as the place is immaculate including toilets. Poor choice for vegetarians and the choice for vegans is vegetarian without the dairy! No alternative milks.

Amazing food and service, will be back again

Amazing food, Came to my table piping hot. Would highly recommend coming here.

Service was very poor, hugely understaffed, waited 90mins for a burger, food was average.

Great cod and chips, best in risca

It was our staff work do and there were 11 of us. We arrived at 7:30pm. We left WITHOUT getting served our food at 9:40!!!!! Kept saying nearly done, we are serving it now.... 30 minutes later...NOTHING! Disgusting!!We even had 2 gluten free people and a diabetic, which they never contacted us beforehand to accommodate us! They took my name and number to get a manager to contact us. NO MANAGER THERE! 2 bar/waitresses. and 2 trainee Chefs! We should never have been served if service and staffing was not adequate! We should have been told there were issues 30 minutes in so that we could have made the choice to leave and go somewhere else, but they did not and kept us there on a string for over 2 hours! I have left my name and number and still have had no contact or compensation for this appalling visit! 11 Free meals please and even then do I want to go back anyway?! EMBARASSING!

Where to start? Ordered 2 pints of Brains SA to be told they haven't got any. Ordered a disaronno, they started to pour my measure but ran out and still charged for a full measure. Ordered some pasta but they didn't have any. Then when we sat down the table was all sticky and there was food on the floor from previous customers. The wait for our food was ages. My wife ordered a veggie burger, when it was brought out the waitress didn't know if was meat or vegitable and her fries were cold. All this was in the afternoon so god help any later customers.

This review is a weird. I brought my nan here for Christmas dinner, service was great. We then waited 2 hours for our food. It, at best was 1.5 hours. I had order a main and nan ordered a starter to come out. This is the good... The 3 women (warriors) working.... Did their best. They were polite professional kind caring a d honest. I worked in hospitality for 15 years and I got their pain. But they continued being epically awesome. The food.... Steak, over cooked. Prawn cocktail.... Where were the prawns? Front of house.... Amazing. And give these women a rise or thankyou. As without them. Your business will close. Reaward the good. And. Get rid of the dead wood. Merry Christmas. And to the 3 women who made my nans nights.... I have contacts for alot of bar and restaurant owners xxxx Craig Ball on face book

Waited 2 hours and 15 mins for our food, by 9.45 pm we decided to leave all 11 of us. Felt so sorry for the waitresses they did offer us a free drink but by that point we had had enough of waiting. If it had been busy I could understood but there was hardly anyone there. I have listed on social media as I wouldn’t want anyone else having their staff Christmas meal ruined like ours

Staff were friendly and helpful, even though it was a busy evening with Christmas party's, food was prompt and tasty, will definitely be back. Lauren behind the bar was fantastic

Average food, terribly poor service from staff. I get its a busy time of year but doesn’t hurt to crack a smile or look you like actually care about your customers having an enjoyable time whilst dining with you. Not to mention it was freezing cold. When it’s 3 degrees outside, you’d expect to eat in a place that can put the heating on for their customers…didn’t even to take my coat off it was the cold. Will not be returning anytime soon.

Had a great afternoon atmosphere was lovely staff were helpful and polite will be visiting again

Thoroughly enjoyable lunch, service was good in pleasant surroundings.

Great service. Staff very friendly. Food always served in an appropriate time. Very dog friendly with a dog menu. Outside and inside seating. Plenty of parking. The food is always lovely and great portion sizes. Menu has calories and lighter alternatives. Highly recommended. Have been going there for many years now.

Been going to the Darren for years it’s always been a warm and friendly place however when I came here last week with friends we left very disappointed. Food was good as always but found the atmosphere unwelcoming didn’t help with barmaid speaking to customers very inappropriate even though she may of known them and it was banter it wasn’t very pleasing for other customers to hear. We won’t be returning again which is sad as it’s been a nice place Ps: don’t tell me to call or email

We had a 40th family Birthday meal here for around 20 of us on Saturday 21st October. We were allowed to use the upstairs to host this meal where we brought music and also a projector to host a slideshow. The staff here were really welcoming and amazing, the food and the service was outstanding from beginning to end. The team also kept our cake for us overnight and allowed us to keep our projector there also until we picked it up the next day. We were also allowed to decorate the room the evening before also which made things much easier. An oustanding team, so a huge thanks to everyone that helped. You are all a credit to the Pub. We will definetly be back, thank you 😀❤️x

Lovely food always great service, coming back for my birthday on the 27th

Three of us visited at 7pm for my friend's birthday. The staff were lovely, the food delicious and I thought the price was reasonable.

The experience wasn't the best on this visit. Food was ok, not the worst I've had but also not the best. Nobody came over and asked how everything was, which you expect this type of service just incase you have an issue. The pumps were frozen so couldn't have any drinks on tap. I believe I was also over charged but I didn't really realise until I left so I couldn't really do much about that.

Really Nice food. Excellent staff in there serving us. I had a 3 course meal of the Christmas menu and it was really nice. Highly recommended.

Came here last week but were told fully booked althouh only 1 table had reserved on it. We were advised to use the booking system in future so we left. Went on the booking system within minutes of leaving out of curiosity and there was plenty of availability for that time but ate elsewhere then. Today we turned up with vouchers for drinks. Asked for lager but the 1 on offer wasn't available. No alternative lager available. I was offered ale which i dont like so i asked if there was cider but told no. Ordered food bur told mixed grill not available (usually get told this before seating) Tried to use my blue light card but told not able to use it with the 30% offer which I have done in the past. The 30% is available to everyone but the blue light is my discount. The staff apologized as they were under new management to which I Said it doesn't look good at first impressions.

Place was cold. Lots of empty tables but people were turned away. They may have been reserved for later but they weren't offered the table for a short time. This was 5.30. The food was below average and seemed to have been bought in and heated up. We won't be going back.

If you're looking for just something to eat and nothing special then The Darren is a place to go. Has what I call a "chain" menu. Standard food. Nothing special or different on the menu. Food was hot, portions were minimal and quite pricey. I regularly eat out and I'm sad to say that I wo t go here again for food. On a plus note, they serve a good pint of lager.

We really enjoy going here with our dog, he is always welcomed by staff. On the whole the staff are very friendly and helpful, the food is great value with a good choice. The pub is always very clean and tidy with a nice atmosphere.

Friendly staff, food was nice and warm, overall an enjoyable experience. Could have been a little warmer as there was no heating on.

Went there with 5 colleges from work All meals were lovely

Met up with family after a while apart and we had a beautiful meal here, waiting staff attentive and bar staff knowledgeable and enjoyed a chat which was lovely. I will be back with friends for our Christmas meal soon!

Love the places but different staff on who don’t communicate needs more training. The food wrong way round , cold , give an ice bucket which was empty. Food is lovely ❤️❤️

Great service and polite staff. Food was prompt and well cooked.

Absolutely amazing customer service off Kelsey, food was delivered at a good time and the food was great! Due to the customer service I received off Kelsey I’ll be attending the Darren again! Made me and my family feel comfortable and easy to approach when we needed. Thank you for a great evening!

Everything about this restaurant was great. The place was clean and smelled good. The staff and the greeter was very nice. Our waiter kelsey was awesome, she went above and beyond and made everyone laugh all evening! the staff also worked as a team in bringing and cleaning up our food. The food was fresh and awesome. Then we also had dessert and that was really good as well. Great atmosphere with really nice people.

All staff were friendly and welcoming, food was delicious aswell as dessert! Kelsey delivered amazing customer service and certainly made mine and my family’s night, what a huge difference having food out with amazing staff serving(Kelsey). I would definitely recommend and will definitely be returning in the future. Thank you for a lovely night!

No mixed grills ,no steaks pretty poor effort for what was going to be a busy weekend

We had the burger and chips 1 vegan and 1 meat very nice tasting burger highly recommend

Great food, nice atmosphere. But desserts are way overpriced for the portion you actually receive.

Lovely welcome staff very friendly food was delicious

Great place me and some family friends had a variety of foods I hade traditional fish n chips i took a star of the food because my sister said the pastry was to hard on the steak and ale pie I also removed one star from service not because service was bad not at all but it did take a long time for the food to arrive sue we believe to staff shortage also it was perfetdor is as my sister has a dog and they also we're allowed in the car park is a good size well worth a visit for sure

Very pleasant waiting staff. Quick service. Tasty food at a good price. The peas and steak pie could have been warmer. Very good scampi and burger and chips. Very clean toilets and good parking outside. A good variety of seating arrangements.

We came to have a Sunday lunch which was excellent, we also come in the week on a regular basis and food and service is always excellent. Staff are helpful food is always hot and presented well. For a pub chain it’s one of the best locally and I highly recommend to anyone I speak to. You are a great team and keep up the good work.

Popped into the Darran for lunch had a great lunch very tasty chicken and bacon Salad, well presented and a good size. Met the new pub manager, he was very friendly and professional, staff were super helpful and seemed very happy in their job. Had a dessert and the chocolate orange brownie is to die for. Will definitely be back again and again.

Food was okay i will be returning back to the blaina even tho i live in risca munch better drinks quality but nice staff prices are very high for what you bring to the table

Didn't have what I wanted on the menu Ordered steak x2 Steak was tuff fatty skimpy meal definitely won't go back over priced I don't mind paying as long as the food is quality I have worked in some of the best hotels in Wales I was in catering for 30 years but I'm sad to say this was the worst meal I have ever had .

Staff natural and friendly nothing was too much trouble ..Enjoyed our desserts outside in the lovely sunshine 🌞

Lovely afternoon with my lovely friends 💕

The girls were welcoming and cheerful. Service was excellent. Food was delicious. Compliments to the chef. Had a great night. Just wish you’d go back to having 8 people on the round table near the toilets. Much more fun if we can see and talk to each other. We have in the past rearranged our tables to a square.

I came to The Darran today for some lunch with my dad and occupational therapist, There was only one lady working there but she was kind and explained that she was on her own. She brought our drinks over and gave us a few minutes to decide what we wanted, She came to take our orders and brought them out. Yes we had to wait a while but i'm not complaining about that because she was on her own bless her. The buttermilk chicken strips and popcorn chicken was really nice and amazing presentation, The chips and fries were full of flavor and went down well. The rocket was really nice as well. The drinks were nice and fresh and lovely decor. No it didn't have the Marstons logo on it but it had other things on to show that it IS a Marstons, It was really nice like The Otter and The Spring River, although i do think the Marstons logo should be added, I will 100% be returning and will recommend this place to eat, 10/10 experience

Food when we eventually had it was lovely. Unfortunately prices for drinks was absolutely extortionate considering your in risca . Expect to pay those prices in Cardiff but not in local

Visited the Darran yesterday for some lunch and a few drinks. Service was great and food was outstanding, cooked by Katie and Jamie. My burger was delightful, whilst my partners food was delicious!

Absolutely awful food. Drier than the Sahara desert! Not even an apology after waiting nearly an hour for food.

Arrived for our meal and the computer was playing up so stood by the bar for about 5 minutes. Then told to find a booth to sit at. Ordered food at 7:25pm and food was delivered at around 8:15pm, had we not paid for it we would have left. No cutlery at the table so I looked for it after getting a second beverage as we’ve been waiting so long. No waitress to ask us if everything is ok with our food. I thought the chips were disgusting, seemed like they’d been cooked a few times, very greasy and a few chips had a filling but a majority were crispy shells of potato. Service was slow to non existent and I think the overall service was well below any standard I have ever witnessed. Service let the food down.

Nice food, pub was abit draughty, could of done with the fire being lit or heating on. Only 2 on the bar serving everyone but were very friendly and attentive. Had a 30% off voucher. Would come more often if there were more deals. Vegetarian options were limited thou.

As per our trip advisor report we had a fab time , the food, ambiance and beer was brilliant

Welcoming, clean, warm pub with professional and happy staff. Our meals were really tasty, mine being washed down with a number of pints of SA Gold which was awesome. Great menu and desserts and we’re looking forward to coming back for another visit. Thank you

Food was delicious very impressed and service was spot on, will be recommending to family and friends.

Friday night was excellent good artist and plenty of songs i knew good night let’s have more Friday and Saturday night with entertainment please

Another enjoyable night at the Darran pub with good food and good service. Relaxed and friendly and dogs welcome too

Good food, nice people, clean pub. Excellent Guinness

I booked a table for pretty early in the evening, thinking it would be quiet, and all went well as we were sat at our table by a friendly waiter, who told us that he would be 'back in a few minutes' to take our drink orders. But alas, we never saw him again - or any other waiting staff for that matter! After 15 mins, I gave up waiting and went to the bar to get drinks, and thought that by the time I got back to the table, the waiter couldn't possibly be much longer. Well... we waited and waited, and after another 45 minutes of sitting there, we decided we would be better off leaving and going for a takeaway, as we were all starving. We have been to The Darran before and the service has sometimes been slow, but we at least got served! To just be sat at a table and forgotten/ignored felt really rude. This was supposed to be a farewell meal for my daughter with our family, as she is leaving for university tomorrow. My parents had travelled down for the occasion too. This has never happened to me before - it's pretty bog standard stuff to take people's orders, so I can't believe we never even got as far as ordering food. Needless to say, we won't attempt to eat there again. On the plus side, we saw some lovely dogs and the locals and bar staff were lovely, hence the one star. (To not get as far as the ordering of the food bit after an hour of waiting, means that one star is all I can give.) An apology about the wait, or at least some acknowledgement of the fact we were even there would've been something.

Excellent service and the food was top notch 👍... one of the best mixed grills I've had today served by Kaydie

Brilliant place, great food and amazingly friendly staff

This pub is a lovely little spot to have some drinks and snacks with friends. The sun was shining and ordering at the table outside was easy. Will be returning.

Lovely, friendly service and a really good meal.

Excellent food (madras curry, lasagne), good service

Ordered Sunday Lunch was told couldn't order an extra Yorkshire as they were running low and might run out. Roast beef dinner was served with soggy bits of broccoli, soft reheated roast potatoes, a 50p size of dried up supposedly mashed potatoes, luke warm gravy and red congueled liquid which I was told later was red cabbage but there was nothing solid in it? On top of which had been placed a metal dish with the pigs in blankets so the red liquid was running throughout everything and all over the bottom of the dish? 1 carrot /batton and a slither of carrot. All in all appalling presentation and quality. Asked for a refund immediately. Walked to the bar to find 3 staff sarcastically discussing the plate until one member noticed I was stood there and tried to alert the others to stop. One staff member then asked "Can you tell me what's wrong with it?" I was shocked as he was looking at the plate but described it all anyway and said I was shocked he had to ask. He then told me they have lots of good reviews. No apology just more attempts to embarrass me. So shocked at the customer service, no offer of an alternative or any sorry for the food served. It might have been towards the end of service but the price doesn't go down so I would expect the correct meal and decent service. Will not be recommending at all. Unbelievable reply, full of lies. Makes my mind up that I will never go to this place again. Disgusting service and to add a reply full of blatant lies just to make yourself look good is despicable. By the way I was a walk-in. I didn't book and was told you had several tables available for food, not that you were busy, running out of everything so be prepared for a dried up, over cooked small portioned roast at full price! Your arrogant attitude smells of rotten customer service and is totally unacceptable but doesn't surprise me now I've read your lovely apology! . Looks like the TA in Rogerstone provides great food, better quality, appropriate quantity and price and it definitely wouldn't take anything to improve the service to better yours. I know where I'm going next time and who to recommend. I will also make it known to people what type of person you are and the service you provide!

Lovely sunny afternoon at The Darren for some food and drinks with friends. Staff helpful, food was lovely and drink were cold 😊

Good food and hospitality; always a good. Great to be on the old turf again 😁

Very nice food. Excellent service from Kelsie. Nice ambience at the pub. Meal are very reasonably priced.

Freshly cooked food and great service. Not been here for a while, would highly recommend and would visit again.

Prompt service, food was good and staff were friendly

Really friendly staff on arrival, showed us to our table kindly let us sit outside for our meal polite and welcoming staff food came within 10 mins of ordering very fast service enjoyed every bite definitely be coming back !!