Queens Vaults in Cardiff

Looks like an old fashioned pub with lots of wood and fabric but deceptively large once inside. Plays sport events in early afternoon but tends to start playing music later on. Music is varied but does have a strong rock/metal focus. A couple of pool tables are available which get plenty of use. The crowd is pretty diverse, and depends on the day but a lot of older people mix with younger patrons although the later it gets the fewer old people are present. It has a good range of drinks and a reasonable menu of your looking for food. Atmosphere is generally friendly and security staff are normally present at busy times. There's a small smoking area outside as well as a few tables for when it's not raining. Whenever I'm in Cardiff city centre and need somewhere relaxed to kill a couple of hours this is invariably where I end up. Jukebox is very good, and it's very friendly to just pop in for a couple on your own which after the last couple of years isn't a given. I recommended the queen's vaults a few years back and can only recommend even more now. Rating updated as appropriate 😀 Generally pop in before any city center gigs and still thoroughly recommend it. A few years on from my initial review, it's much the same and I mean that in a good way. Still my go-to pub for when I want to relax, but still feel the vibe of the city. Pre-gig, get together with friends, or just a quick pint on the way home from work. Always delivers.

Was out on a very early xmas meet up our team dropped in for a couple of drinks, never been in before lovely place.

Overcharged via contactless for two drinks, didn't realise until checking online banking the following day 😞

What a treat if you’ll looking for a true face of Cardiff. Food was amazingly delicious (high quality full English breakfast & triple smash cheeseburger with chips and coleslaw) and atmosphere truly friendly and heartwarming. Not even mentioning great affordable prices and very, very cool music.

Fun pub to enjoy before the rugby game - Great atmosphere.

Brilliant service, great beer, good vibes!

Only beer v good and prices ok.

I enjoy coming here as its friendly and excellent value for money.

Always likes coming here,a nice friendly pub great staff, very welcoming

Only visited late morning so did not order food, service excellent, very pleasant young man. Will be back.

Me and my wife love a pint here and a game of pool when we travel to Cardiff

Decent pub, one if thd oldest running under the same name in Cardiff, worth a visit bit nit thd hipest place, it's a renowned as an older person's type pub.

Avoid, absolutely shocking venue. Advertise u14 carvery, went in 1030 on a saturday and and asked for ID for my 16 year old son.. Losds of better bars in Cardiff. Pleae don't entertaine spending a penny in this dive.

Lovely old fashioned pub right in the city centre. Great atmosphere for the rugby but gets very busy!

A great pub and has been there years, used by people of all ages and always a friendly atmosphere and good staff with prompt service.

Nice friendly city centre pub,good prices,good food,reccomend steak night wednesday you fet a free drink with your meal,staff great especiallly barman nick👍👍👍👍

My brother and I came here for breakfast. The breakfast was outstanding sausages and bacon good quality really tasty. The bar staff Ben and Nick were very welcoming and very attentive outstanding customer service very friendly and chatty would highly recommend a visit. Its very clean toilets were to a high standard. Thanks guys it was a very enjoyable experience 😁

Excellent place for a bite to eat on a Saturday afternoon plenty of choice on the menu reasonably priced. Ben and Nick had outstanding customer service very friendly and chatty would highly recommend a visit it's a classic homely pub feel as opposed to a trendy overpriced bar. Deffo one to visit

Had a great time, brilliant music, excellent food I would recommend to anyone. Staff are engaged with customers to enhance your experience

Good bar staff and nice landlords and good drink good places to have a lovely food and drink with the family and friends come and see yourself

food was delicious i had chicken curry off the bone with chips in a polystyrene container and a pint

Solid Beer pub that’s in The Good Beer Guide 2024. Food menu looks solid, WiFi not so much. However plenty of 5G.

Might sound like a strange thing to say, but this is a proper pub. The food was great (we had the steak) cooked to perfection. Good selection of beers and the best Guinness I've had in a long time. Friendly staff and a great atmosphere made for a very pleasant visit. 10/10

Great pub, good football and lots of atmosphere with reasonable priced drinks!

Eating a full carvery while watching football and drinking a great beer.... ... What more could you need

Good atmosphere. Food was good. However, took my glass assuming it was "empty" when there was about a third left in my glass.

Came for a couple of afternoon pints, ended up eating the steak sandwich (can't spell ciabatter) and asked for it to moo in rareness, and moo it did. I am in awe over it and can't stop mooing at customers. Hopefully won't be asked to mooove on by the lovely bar man Damon. Cracking, 10/10, udderly amazing!

Great place to have a drink and chill out. Damon was a great server with great customer skills. Great service from friendly staff.

Best pub in Cardiff city centre in my option. Real good vibe inside, proper pub. Great selection of beers and excellent customer service from the team.

Traditional classic Cardiff Victorian pub. Great tap ales at reasonable prices. Under £3 pint.

We came to this pub on our first evening in Cardiff as it was close to our hotel and served local beers. We decided to stay for food as we had travelled over lunch time and were a bit hungry. The local beers were great, hand pulled and well kept.. also very reasonably priced for a city centre pub. The food was also good, I had halloumi 'fish' and chips well cooked, not greasy and good portions. My partner had real fish and chips, also well presented and well cooked. We also came in for a beer on another day later in the evening and although it was busier, it had a good vibe and friendly staff.

Great lively pub with Pol and some good ales

Good sports bar. I didn't eat but couldn't help looking at the huge plates of Sunday Roast others had bought

Great place close to the stadium, good prices good selection of food good staff service will be back

For the price it was very good- will come again.

The food was so greasy I only ate half, then felt ill for the rest of the evening. They have a good drink selection, so I'd suggest skipping the food and just having a drink.

Great bar for pool, drinks and atmosphere.

A proper Cardiff pub. This is your heritage. Enjoy.

Huge atmospheric bar. Like all the best in Cardiff. Very traditional feel. Does it well. Not going to get a Belgium quad or DIPA here.

Always a nice place to visit, with a great atmosphere, especially on match days. The real ale selection is decent, and reasonably priced.

A bit noisy, but very tasty food and very cheap!

Went there for a few beers before an Idles gig at the castle. Great atmosphere. Great beer.

Been going here for a few years. But this weekend found the food not as good as it used to be. Disappointed.

Had curry was nice , shame they don't do Welsh beef curry anymore

Pretty good pub. They got pool, sport on the TV and a good variety of tunes on jukebox / sound system and its right next to the Principality Stadium too, so ( like we did) you can have a few pints and a more reasonable rate and then go to see gig at stadium.

Gone there for the UCL final and the atmosphere there was amazing and the people were friendly and people would come up and talk to us and cheer with us. The wings were amazing too

Superb pub with pool tables, jukebox, friendly staff and plenty of seats. Would highly recommend!

Brilliant pub good pint fantastic price

Gents toilet stinks of urine so badly it’s unbearable. Just throw a handful of detergent blocks in the urinal. Put me off visiting again. Pool tables there. City centre pub…..

Loud sports bar with pool tables. Great for drinks. Food menu small but inexpensive. Staff are excellent.

Popped for a few games of pool and beers didn't get home until 4 am.

Been going to the Vaults for years, always been great. About a year ago they changed managers' it went downhill rapid. The manager hardly served, she strutted around the place, hardly engaging with cusomers' she was full of tattoos everywhere & wore a dress slit right up the side. She played the music so loud, tourists, regulars, 1st time visitors all left because she kept putting bands like slipknot on all the time, not to many peoples' taste! She has gone now, thank goodness it is much better, music could be turned down a little. Food has always been good value & excellent quality, we've had burgers, steaks & tortilla's with with cheese & chillies, all delicious, hot & good portion, well done !! 5 stars! PS there was a staff member there called Gareth he was a great worker, sadly they let him go, shame he was brilliant!!

The vault is an interesting place. Catering to pool players, gamblers and quiet night out drinkers. J.

Went for a pint and a game of pool, plenty of pool tables and staff were very friendly and helpful

Old skool pub serving the elders and the alternative kids. Plus live sports and pool tables and a pint of ale for £2.75!

We came across the B- staff apparently. We had come in about 7 pm on a Sunday after a long drive and went there for our evening meal. There were many customers but lots of empty tables and not many diners. Our first experience of the poor service from staff was a young male who apparently couldn’t see two older ladies but had perfect vision for younger men and served them in preference. Then the “on duty manager “ served one of us but I was left standing while he then served two other customers before me. ( he later claimed that they had allowed us to be served first but they had been waiting - this was not correct. One had come to the bar to chat to a friend while I was already there and the other came while my friend was having her order taken. ) The staffer taking my order was offhand - making a fuss about my request to not have peas and not establishing eye contact. He did not mention that the meals were not seemingly cooked on site and that the wait would be close to an hour. We ordered fish and chips and a grilled steak. Plus a red wine, a beer and two glasses of water with ice. I went back for another beer while waiting for my meal and observed that the younger staffer was offhand if not downright rude to most customers. He frequently turned his back and very loudly exclaimed “thank you “ with an exaggerated sigh and shoulder slump as though he was doing customers a favour. He did the same with me because he apparently hadn’t heard me say thank you so I called out loudly again thank you but I was not happy with his attitude or service. He overfilled the glass and pushed the rim of the base under a heavy plastic mat which I didn’t see so that it spilled further when I picked it up. Not that that was unusual - the bar near the on tap beers was overflowing and dripping back or spreading everywhere so I take it that’s his usual standard of service. After nearly an hour I went back to the bar to enquire when the meals would come. I was there with another customer who was also asking. The manager phoned the kitchen to check. While this was happening ( and both myself and the other customer were standing back from the bar), the rude young man came back to the bar and loudly proclaimed that I was denied bar service. I pointed out that I didn’t want bar service, and gestured to the other customer to go up to the bar. Turned out that he had been upset by the young man and only wanted his meals and get out of the place too. When our meals finally arrived, they were satisfactory but not anything out of the box. And I feel that anyone ordering meals should be advised of the expected wait time as a matter of course and professional practice. I have dined in pubs around several countries and can’t recall ever having such an overt display of rudeness from a staffer. The owners, trainers and managers should ensure that the frontline staff know they are representing the business and establishment and it’s their behaviour which affects customer’s opinions and generates income. I certainly wouldn’t go back here and would recommend that other potential customers observe the behaviour of the staff before ordering. There’s another establishment 10 feet away offering pub meals and drinks.

Great bar with pool tables. Good selection of beers and friendly staff. Not too pricey either. Only downside is that it's looking a little tired. Worth a visit though.

Two fish and chips on a Tuesday for £12.99 was delicious 😋 great value for the money. Always visit this place when in Cardiff my fav ❤️😋

16 older persons out for our regular Wednesday day out. This week however it will be our last. Beer has gone up but so be it, the reason never going there is the bar staff. The heavy metal music at 6.30 was so loud it made your ears bleed. We asked politely if they could turn it down so the barman turned it up. Asked again if they could turn it down and he said ‘what can’t hear you’. If this is how you want your pub run into the ground then carry on. It needs a good clean - toilets filthy and smells really bad. Could be a fab pub but staff let it down badly which is a real shame

Steak and cheap for £10 Pool tables and wide open space for large group to sit. Perfect for our drag group

They love to sing here. Crowded and friendly

Great pub to play darts and watch sports on the telly.

Cannot beat the queens vaults for atmosphere and value. Love it !!! Perfect location, friendly staff and always busy..says it all.

They have a great range of beers on draught and always show live sport.

Not happy. Had a drink while choosing from the menu. When I went to order was told the prices advertised were not on the till. When I questioned this the manager asked if I was trying to get a free meal, so insulting.

Way to expensive for a drink atmosphere i though was unbelievable cold. Service was shocking

Good atmosphere pub, nice drink before match days

I've been going to this pub for over 35 years still a great time

Great place during rugby. Food good and good portions.

Really reasonable,but was a match day and really couldn't move inside so did not even stay for a drink.

Great pre-match pub. Staff on top form.

Great place friendly great beer.

Great atmosphere here. Ordered breakfast for 2 adults and 3 children. Waited an hour for it. When we got it, it was ok. Busy place. Staff were friencly but could do with a tidy up.

I loved this pub! The staff are brilliant! The food is beautifully cooked! And the beer is superb! I would recommend this pub to anyone visiting Cardiff and will definitely come again! Beer at £2.50 a pint? Wow!

Classic pub, but man orientated but the pool tables were ace

A brilliant pub with an incredible pint of brains at a great price. A superb vibe and atmosphere about the place too.

If you want a bit of an old school cardiff pub it's OK 👍

Amazing bar tenders especially Neirin, most friendly bartender i’ve met. 10/10 experience at this pub because of them. Highly recommend.

A Cardiff institution. Grade II listed building and it's been a pub since the 19th century. It's an old school pub with a great atmosphere and friendly staff (small bar can get very busy though) Does a great pint of Guinness and decent Sunday lunch Men's toilets have thankfully had a little refurb, can still get a bit wet under foot though.

Great atmosphere, great beer food, superb prices

Lovely carvery but not very hot .Seeing that we were the first customers to choose our food.

Great pub , good value excellent staff

Had a lovely steak baguette..shame the carpet was soaking and place smelt damp ...

Love the place .watching darts .👍

Went in here a couple of time - their Felinfoel Double Dragon ale was top notch and one night we had their Welsh beef curry which was excellent. Just the right side of spicy with good quality beef. Very well-recommended.

Lovely pub with good beer and atmosphere.

Enjoyed a nice pint here fairly reasonable prices too and friendly staff.

Lovely staff. Typical pub, pub, only one in Cardiff. Great on rugby days.

The great Queens Vaults, quite a massive chance since I first stepped foot in there over 30 years ago. Still attracts a good crowd, great selection of food & drink at reasonable prices too. A real gem in the City Centre.

The toilets are a biohazard - the smell permeates the atmosphere. If you like gagging at the stench of urine then this is the place.

Great staff and good atmosphere

Fantastic food even though really busy, Staff were great. Had a steak fantastic value, Wine was also really good.

Had a good afternoon meeting up with mates. Live artist was great

Really good time. Great atmosphere and karaoke!

Popped in for a pint and football, reasonably priced and pleasant atmosphere.

Lovely food really friendly staff good atmosphere will definitely go there again

Great steak, great atmosphere, great pub.

Great food and beer👍Bar staff are great! Music great too👍

I enjoy older and newer style pubs. This one is older style

I went there to watch Rugby It was packed 😩. But I liked it