The Ernest Willows in Cardiff

Friendly staff, good food, great atmosphere, fantastic bathroom

Lovely beer garden. Toilets were nice and clean. Good atmosphere and very fast service, especially for a Saturday

Propably the worst cheeseburger with bacon ever, even by Wetherspoon standards.

Was an average spoons, had a nice burger

Enjoyed it here. Nice & busy. Food was good 👍

Ernest Thompson Willows (1886–1926) was a pioneer Welsh aviator and airship builder. He became the first person in the United Kingdom to hold a pilot's certificate for an airship when the Royal Aero Club awarded him Airship Pilots Certificate No. 1. Willows was born in Cardiff, Wales on 11 July 1886. His parents were Joseph Thompson Willows (1859-1931) and Evelina "Eva" Louisa Willows, née Garrett (1858-1953). Both English-born, Willows' father was a dental surgeon born in Hull, and his mother was born in Bath. Eva previously worked as a music teacher before marrying in 1885 and starting a family. Willows had two sisters: Doris May (1895-1961) and Daisy, the latter of whom was born in 1888 and died at 2 months of age. Willows was educated at Clifton College in Bristol, entering the school in 1896 and leaving in 1901, aged 15, to train as a dentist like his father. Willows, however, had different plans for his career. He built his first airship, the Willows No. 1, in 1905 when he was 19. It was first flown from East Moors, Cardiff on 5 August 1905, the flight lasting 85 minutes. This was soon followed by an improved Willows No. 2, in which he landed outside Cardiff City Hall on 4 June 1910. No. 2 was re-built as No. 3 which he named the City of Cardiff before he flew it from London to Paris in 1910. This was the first airship crossing of the English Channel at night and the first from England to France. The journey was not without incident, including dropping the maps over the side during the night, and problems with the envelope caused the airship to land at Corbehem near Douai at two o'clock in the morning. With the help of the local French aviator Louis Breguet the airship was repaired and arrived at Paris on 28 December 1910. He celebrated New Year's Eve with a flight around the Eiffel Tower. Willows moved to Birmingham to build his next airship, the Willows No. 4. First flown in 1912, it was sold to the Admiralty for £1,050 and it became His Majesty's Naval Airship No. 2. With the money from the Navy, Willows established a spherical gas balloon school at Welsh Harp, Hendon near London. Although, this did not stop him building Willows No. 5 in 1913. This airship was a four-seater designed to give joy rides over London. During the first World War, Willows built kite or barrage balloons in Cardiff. After the war, he continued with ballooning. On 3 August 1926, he died in a balloon accident at Hoo Park, Kempston, Bedford. Willows was killed instantly, along with a passenger. Three other passengers died later that day either in hospital or on their way, making five deaths in all. There is a school named Willows High School built on his old airfield to remember him. The pub called The Ernest Willows is situated not far from the school.

I went to the Ernest Willows for lunch and coffee, the coffee was refillable and was lovely, it's Lavatta l had sausage, mash, peas and gravy it was ok, well cooked. The atmosphere was great, staff were great. Great place to visit. Wheelchair friendly.

Good rating due to the expansive toilets. This is due to the fact that the venue used to be a car showroom. Nice breakfast and service.

Myself & my hubby visit ere often, we enjoy it here, friendy & relaxing

Great pub, great staff, child friendly

Long standing local pub of Roath. Many of the local drinking establishment along City Road i.e. Poets Corner (Tut and Chive), The Roath, Milgi's, have gone! This and Bar 147 (which isn't always open) are the only remaining along this stretch. Good post-work drinks meeting point for Roath-ians that worked in surrounding businesses!

Good spoons pub. The food is always great and the staff are really attentive. It's an older pub in the chain so the decor is looking worn but it doesn't put us off visiting. With a refurb, this would be a fantastic pub.

Disgusting pub. Really gone downhill. Really smelled in there and looked run down. Food was terrible. Will not return and don't recommend.

Great night out cheap and cheerful

I had a ham egg and mash potato it came ham was warmer than the mash and the eggs were solid I could have used them as a frisbee lol

It's a standard Wetherspoon's. You get what you pay for.

never had a bad experience here ever and it's the cheapest weatherspoons around

Bought a Xmas dinner not very nice at all. I've got to say it was awful. On the upside the toilets were clean and tidy.

Ordered 2 rump steaks as it was steak night asked for them to be well done well when it comes out I stuck my knife in and I swear it moood it was that rare it was blue so I asked for them to cook it to order and 40 minutes later I told the manager I was still waiting for my order and wasn't quite chuffed about it. So we had a refund. Not up to it's usual standards this time

We had breakfast here and people were so kind and friendly, we like Wetherspoons but Ernest Willows is a favourite in Cardiff now.

Great service from Connor and Luke as always - nothing but great customer service and assisting with an unpleasant customer. Would definitely recommend.

Was cosy inside and everyone was polite. We ordered main meals. Thought a bit skimpy on the chips. And not all sauces available,usually a better selection. Our visit was only spoilt by a man constantly being horrible to his little boy,who was a lovely little soul, He was aggressive to him when he could pull himself away from his mobile. It really upset me. We would come again (Two oap's) but please let's have a few more chips please.x

It's westherspoons so noisy needs to redecorate the toilets be great to have toilet seat

Gorgeous chicken jalfrezi, gorgeous fish and chips, cheap and cheerful, would go again

Didn't order any food but had a couple of the phrizers they were amazing I recommend the Blue Lagoon and Tropical Balst.

Kind of a sad spoons, not awful but not great either, and compared to some local student bars the value isn't even that good.

The food and drinks are very delicious 😋

Standard spoons.. cheap n cheerful.

Very clicky place with regulars that go there think they own the place will not be going there again.

Very nice for 7 people and very lovely staff with big toilet

It's a wetherspoon, same as every other one in the country! Cheap and cheerful, buildings always have some history with them!

If you are coeliac please be aware they are no longer doing gluten free options as listed on the breakfast menu photo above. It’s hard to get allergen info and it’s high risk of cross contamination.

Good old spoons service and value.

A clean and comfortable spoons with great staff.

Nice friendly staff and good value for money, my favourite wetherspoons in Cardiff!

As you expect from a weatherspoons pub, great beer,good service at good prices

Nice enough. Although quite a rough area. Staff all lovely

The staff were very helpful and friendly. The atmosphere is really good and I will certainly be coming back soon

It's a Wetherspoons. It's great if you like old men drinking pints at 9am on a weekday, talking complete nonsense, and thinking they own the joint. Pizza was decent and staff were nice. Best Wetherspoons toilets in the country.

This is a very grim Wetterpants. I've been to many Spoons pubs in the last 20 years and I've had hundreds of breakfasts but this was by far the worst experience I've ever had in the world of J.D. Wetterpants. Granted this was during the Covid "lock down" so diners were reqired to eat in the beer garden. This so called "garden visit" entailed sitting outside in the rain-soaked patio area amongst all the hardened early morning boozers. The food was awful. Hard eggs and cold beans, I should have sent it back except I was angry for visiting this horrid pub and ordering this muck in the first place. It's a dump on a really horrible road in Cardiff that makes Cricklewood Broadway seem like Knightsbridge. I have only myself to blame. It's the worst Spoons I've ever been to. Obviously no one gives a stuff what is said about this pitiful place as my review has only been viewed a dozen times in two years such is the disinterest. As for an update, I ate here in late December with my parents, and the chill wind coming in from the non-stop opening and closing front doors made the experience even more miserable.

OMG WHAT A DREADFUL PLACE THIS WITH DIRE FOOD ON THE MENU Lets start with the brain dead girl behind the bar. Ordered Panini x 2 with Tuna , Mayo and Cheese Arrived in a timely manner but hardly no cheese or mayo inside . Tasteless and awful. The forks were dirty and Sauce bottle all three of them empty. You know when a place is at the bottom of the pan when the condiments are sachet packets which just remind of a burger joint. The chips were ok but how can a chef mess them up. If Gorden Ramsey paid them a visit he would simply shut them down. JDW may serve cheap beer etc but the food quality is dreadful incl breakfasts , ideal for truckers or folk that have never seen a free range egg to a quality sausage. That reminds me of the awful breakfast at the the weatherspoons by Gabalfa. Never again will I have breakfast lunch or Dinner in these pubs as they have no idea. Suggest spending the same amount at the Fino lounge.

Lovely pub just near my hotel. Great staff. friendly and efficient. Food was lovely. Thoroughly enjoyed my 2 visits

Food was good, it took a long time to get to our table. We waited for about 30mins for some fish and chips. And about 10mins for two drinks.

Always enjoyed the Fish and Chip meal. Last three times has not been very good at all. The fish is getting a smaller portion and thinner. The chips are also being cut down as well. Every time I tell the staff, they will have a word with the chef. Not sure if they are reducing the meal if you eat after 2pm because it is cheaper. But the quality is not as good either. Will try again in about 3 months time to see if there is an improvement. Always enjoyed my visits here. Hope it improves.

Drinks great. Blonde barmaid called Lou,I think, dealt brilliantly with some drug takers by baring them and throwing them out tonight.

Typical Wetherspoons pub serving good food and a good variety of drinks. Good value as always and the food is always plentiful.

Dobre jedzenie, dobre piwo, miła obsługa i towarzystwo. Bardzo dobre miejsce na English breakfast i lunch. Są też desery, kawa etc, ceny przystępne, lokal ładny. Toalety jak w pałacu 🤣 Fajna sprawa - w toaletach jest specjalne miejsce na odłożenie drinka.

I'm out and about in this lovely Cardiff place and weatherspoons is a place that everyone was telling me to avoid... no wonder filthy table's no bar que etiquette staff have no clue what's in their menu just waiting for my sirloin that normally only come with chips or potatoes 🤣 oh boy can't wait 🤣 ooh no I'm not getting any food cause my card didn't go through well it did sirloin and sirloin was alright but staff absolutely useless and unapologetic for their incompetence or lack of customer care... thank you but no thank you!

Bit naff even for Spoons. Food no longer cheap enough to compensate for what is always a slightly strange atmosphere.

Good Wetherspoons pub, some of the cheapest prices I've seen for good quality drinks. Didn't have any food. Would recommend.

Largest bathroom ever lol. You could host functions in there!

Who doesn't love a star wars bar

Very nice place. Very nice beer garden. The toilets are massive, clean and air conditioning 👌

Nice place, good facilities, and good service with lots of outside space.

Staff were racist to my brother because he was black and the food was cold and overcooked 0 stars

Draught ale is never consistent,topped off with Tim's 20% head,EVEN on ciders 🤣🍻. And what bugs me the staff are adamant, you have to beg to get it topped up along with a stinking glare as if your in the wrong.

Not the best place the staff are very rude the food is small and under cooked don't waist your self or money

Nice and Friendly place especially the outdoors is amazing.

Great very breakfast. Staff good too.

We got drinks delivered that weren't ours and the manager came and had a word and made us pay for it as my friend had had a sip. Although the manager was nicer to us later on, it was still kinda humiliating.

It’s a nice spoons! Nice staff and things were delivered promptly after ordering. They had everything that we wanted available that day too.

Loved the vibe...very energetic and hype

Had a girls night with cocktails good service, reasonable price and great tasting drinks.

The willows is not your typical warm and friendly pub, More of a frosty smokey premises. The rear doors right by the smoking area are nearly always open allowing smoke to billow in while your eating drinking and trying to socialise whilst having to wear your overcoat, sometimes you get a refreshing cloud of strawberry/vanilla vape urgghh.

Lovely place to meet friends and enjoy life . 😊

This is my new regular! Everytime I come in here staff are so friendly and lovely. Expecially the lovely guy serving my drinks behind the bar. The food is nice and drinks and food are a great price. 10 out of 10. Would recommend. Plenty of tables and space. Great atmosphere. Happy day's.

Like every Spoons, but the toilets are super fancy. Fast service as out of town

American in the house!! Thought it would be packed on a Saturday morning but not at all. Clean and convenient. No 🍅 though today....Good. Don't eat them anyway! Had breakfast and an 🍊 juice but noticed the variety of spirits and beers. I'll be 🍸 🍷 back!

Classico pub inglese, rumoroso, molto frequentato, non è stato facile trovare posto. Cibo in linea con la qualità del luogo. Birre ottime. Servizio veloce. Prezzi buoni. È stata una serata in compagnia molto piacevole nel complesso. Consigliato per vivere il vero pub!

Lauren Thomas was amazing she gave alot of information and has a wonderful personality, connor hadley was also amazing he was a good laugh and really humble

Nice breakfast and friendly staff

Go there once a month with my daughters as a treat as my daughter lives near by always amazing food

Nice place to go and have lunch.

I arrived for breakfast and was given a warm welcome by the staff, the food was excellent, warm and cooked to perfection. I liked the bar and one of its standout features are the large picture windows making the place feel open, bright and airy. I'd definitely visit again if I'm in the area and it's well placed for the hotel I was starting in which was just around the corner.

A member of staff antagonised my friends and racially targeted her and said she was rolling her eyes when she was actually getting her ID out because the lady asked and then the woman said that she was being rude which she was not, all my friend was doing was getting her ID out for the bartender

Member of staff antagonised my friend for no reason

standard spoons no complaints 👍

Great pizza and plenty of seating when we visited

Another great Weatherspoon to go to!!

A busy ‘spoons, not different from many. Was put off by three blokes in one toilet cubicle all loudly talking about snorting stuff off a girl.

Great food, great atmosphere! Locals can be loud but other than that no issues.

Good service, great ambience, sweet spot to chill with friends!

Great value for money. Not filled with students either which is a plus for me!

You have a city centre experience with out city centre costs and crowds. The management are all over the bad people in a totally professional way.

Loved the pleasant atmosphere here. My favourite breakfast place. Loved the Service.

Está bien, la comida bien, buena atención

My favourite haunt. This is an exceptional pub, always great service, and very many happy memories.

Staff we're rude on our visit. Advertising1 thing presenting other in our meals. An constantly made to feel uncomfortable for staff's errors. Real poor hospitality

January sale food looks dry but can't complain 2.50 with coffee

Service was so slow. One of the girls spent her time talking to another member of staff, while one poor chap served all the customers......not good

Cheap but with good quality. Also the vibes are cosy

Somewhere in Cardiff not plagued by students! Perhaps the nicest and quietest Wetherspoon in Cardiff, don't be put off by it's flat roof. While it's exterior architecture is nothing to write home about, the interior of the Ernest Willows is stunning, perhaps more so than the local Prince of Wales. The toilets look like something out of a Roman Spa. Staff are really friendly in here, and there's a very cozy local feel to this pub. Standard Wetherspoon food and drink otherwise.

No staff delay on food and food not good

Busy...some staff okay but obviously overworked

Our hearty breakfast was tasty enough, it could've been hotter but I think it was because the plates weren't warmed rather than the food itself.

Excellent value for money on food and drinks. Best part was not overrun by students and no quiz night on a Thursdaynaking for a quiet pint.

Good choice of drinks,friendly staff,good atmosphere and good surroundings, well recommended.

Been coming here for a while now and we'll service is good Ordered a mixed grill fish n chips the beans were freezing cold batter was uncooked The egg on mixed grill burnt to a crisp the meat was uncooked and very fatty got a refund £ 9 96 we won't be coming back again Unsatisfactory sorry to say The staff are lovely tho shame about the cooks

Lovely pub that me and my work team popped onto after a team building day. Lovely staff but I was SO impressed with the toilets!! Nice layout in the pub, smoking area etc

Good place to grab a beer and a munch .