The Head of Steam Cardiff in Cardiff

Took French friends to game. Door staff had humour transplant. Quite confrontational. Wanted to joke about being unable to come in due to volume and all they did was think we were arguing. Will not be back (they will be delighted i'me sure)

What a cracking find! HOS Burger, Pizza and a few pints of beers I’ve never heard of and tasted fantastic. Luke was a stand out on the staff as was Alex. We’ll be back 🤘

Watched 6N rugby here. Fab atmosphere. Great selection of drinks, even Belgium beer. Had fantastic service from Woody behind the bar. Bar staff were all great and they had plenty on so you didn't wait too long for a drink.

Decent enough pub and a fairly good selection of beers but totally understaffed for a Saturday evening. And an alarming lack of knowledge or otherwise disinterest in the quality of cask ale served. Ordered 2 pints of Brew York. Eggy smell, slightly cloudy and very very flat with a head that separated like the water on a poached egg I know my beer and anyone who’s ever even looked at a cask ale would acknowledge this was off. Past its date / end of barrel Took it back. The bar man tried to tell me it’s “supposed to be flat as it’s on cask” and I had to pay for another ale. Should have been changed and if I wasn’t with a large group I would have stood firm. Left 1 hour later and they were still serving the beer that was off to unsuspecting / gullible punters Will avoid as a result …

Staff so friendly and chatty was a nice relaxed atmosphere! With good food and good choice of drinks and beers. Had a burger and a gyro and couldn’t eat all the food on the plates!

What a great bar. Brilliant selection of beers. I had a local Welsh Tiny Rebel beer which hit the spot. The bar staff were absolutely fantastic particularly the man who served us (Woody). I will definitely be returning.

Woody very welcoming with me and whippet who was instantly loved in this cool bar with great food and beer selection.

Really bad service from bar staff. Waited for around 10 -15 minutes at the bar 3 people who came after me were served before. The bar wasn't even that busy either which if I were I could understand. As a bar worker myself I was pretty disappointed by the level of service and left. Staff were serving people they knew and people who jumped in first. Didn't ask who was next at all and when I asked for service they answered back at me that they were serving others (who had pushed in or who were their mates) I have been here a few times and the story is pretty much the same each time. I won't go again.

Slightly better offer than standard pub fare - our gyros were very tasty - though the beers were disappointing especially as none of them were cheap !

Best boozer in Cardiff!!! Was served by Nell, Luke and Cadi, they were fantastic and attentive and really made me feel heard! Would absolutely recommend!

We went to the venue on Friday 01 December as me and my partner both male were walking towards the entrance, we were holding hands only to be told by the staff on the door that the venue was full and not letting anyone in so we said OK and walked away. As we did our straight friends who didn't see this walked straight in as did a group of 6 males. Never thought a place like this would be homophobic. Will be ringing head office to let them know.

Not the best experience really. Our group of 7 went here for food as part of an evening out. Only 2 plates were returned empty at the end of the meal. Two orders of Dirty Fries were almost completely untouched as they tasted unpleasant, the cheese sauce being the main culprit. Burgers and seasoned fries ordered were described as being overly greasy and lukewarm to cold in temperature. A pizza was the only meal that had a positive comment made about it. To make matters worse, the female members of the group were very vocal about the state of the toilets, with all but one cubicle being rendered unusable due to 'blockages' shall we say. The staff were helpful and friendly however.

Came in with some friends for food and drinks, the vegan pizza was the best I’ve ever had, so many vegan options to choose from too, will definitely be coming back to try something else off the menu! Nell served us most of the evening and was an absolute delight, what a lovely young lady and a credit to your team she let us have some samples so we could decide which beer was for us, I loved the amaretto sour, thank you Nell :) !

Lovely place, friendly staff. Nell was very helpful and recommended the perfect pint. Will definitely be back soon.

Nice pub. Fab cocktail. Food poor, cold unappetising. Poor value for money. Would not return for food.

This was a real trip down memory lane for me. I worked in this building when it was Old Orleans (far too many years ago). We had drinks on 2 -3 occasions and dinner once. The drinks were great with a good range of beers and cocktails. The food was also good and had wide range of choices for vegans / vegetarians. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here, it was great to see the place again albeit in a different guise.

Great selection of beers, we even were able to try a few different ones before we ordered! Lovely people working (bar one older man who was a little hostile when I mentioned my industry discount). Food was lovely, great portion sizes!! Will deffo be back

Lovely selection just a pity they still haven't mastered pouring a full pint ! especially considering the price fantstic location.

Amazing venue, fab selection of drinks and good menu. Spent few hours there for my friends hen weekend. Bar staff friendly

Im sure the staff and the food are very nice but the ambience of the place is terrible. The seating benches had ripped/ torn shabby covers, the tables were sticky and horrible, the music was far too loud and unpleasant, the toilets were disgusting and overall the place is shabby. It's the sort of pub you visit when there's either nowhere else nearby or you're too drunk to notice where you are. On the plus side there is a huge selection of drinks. For gods sake have a refurb and sort out those rotten toilets.

The staff in Head of Steam Cardiff went above and beyond in ensuring that my corporate event ran seamlessly. From their proactive communication ahead of time and attentive staff to great food and accommodating atmosphere, their efforts made the event a resounding success!

Great night in The Head of Steam, staff were really friendly and the music courtesy of Liam was a great mix

I frequently do pub quizzes in Cardiff, and had wanted to try the Head of Steam's quiz for a while. Me and my friends found the quiz reasonably challenging, and did not think we stood a chance of winning given how much we'd struggled. To our shock, it turned out that our 18/35 was the winning score. Even more to our shock, we were immediately disqualified for supposedly having "cheated" with our phones. Even though we all offered to show the quizmaster our phone histories to prove that we hadn't cheated, he refused to even look at them. He then explained that he had clear that phones weren't allowed. I responded that whilst it is very common for quizmasters to say 'no phones allowed', this is virtually always understood as meaning 'don't use google', not that looking at your phone for any purpose is banned, as if we were GCSE students at high school. As I say, I have been at many pub quizzes, and occasionally do check my phone for football scores and to respond to texts etc. This has never been picked up on because it something incredibly common that I always see people do at quizzes. It is worth adding that there is no way the quizmaster could ever hope to enforce this rule, as his seat in the corner of the pub (right next to our party) would not have allowed him to see whether almost any of the other teams were looking at their phones. At the end of the day, it was hard not to be extremely unimpressed with the quizmaster. Not only for the fact that he never made clear that holding your phone (for whatever reason) would lead to automatic disqualification, or for the fact that he allowed us to waste our time completing the quiz despite having clearly decided that we should be disqualified. What was most unimpressive was his refusal to be proven wrong, as he would not look at our phone history as offered. If you are going to have such a ludicrously strict rule, which you could only hope to enforce with regards to less than a quarter of participants, at the very least you should let those you suspect of cheating know that they will be disqualified if they are seen on their phones once again. I have been doing pub quizzes for years, and have never cheated; being accused of having done so leaves an incredibly bitter taste. Simply put, this is defamation of character.

Staff are always friendly, Always a decent choice of cider for the non beer drinkers Food always good Never seen a fight, argument or people having a bad time. Works as a date location, drinks with friends, food with family or unofficial work dos

We had a great experience here, so quick even though it was so busy! Service with a smile cannot thank Holly enough!

Fantastic choice of beers. Friendly and helpful staff who know their beers can’t do enough for you. Best place in Cardiff

I booked a table of 6 for the rugby 6 nations on 25/02/23 back in November to ensure availability only to gave the venue cancel the table in mid January as they are no longer taking bookings for the 6 nations, only walk-ins. Totally unimpressed with this level of service from what is usually a really good venue. Deposit was paid at time of booking so that is being returned.

This is a welcoming city centre pub. There's plenty of space and the staff are friendly. There is an amazing selection of bears and lagers ... we gave up counting

Great place, food is tasty for a pre evening snack ( or meal) and the atmosphere is laid back and friendly. Would definitely recommend if your in Cardiff

Allows their senior management to get drunk on shift. Embarrassing to watch the service. Save your money and drink elsewhere.

The coffee was absolutely amazing. The food was delicious. The staff were friendly. We will definitely go there again. I'd recommend this place.

In Cardif for a weekend break with the family. Had a meal at Head of Steam .Great venue - very welcoming and the food was very good - 8 of us and everyone enjoyed their meal.Well with a visit

I always try and grab something when on the go. It’s always a good sized portion or roll and many train journeys have been so much easier to deal with when food from here is in a bag. Always good.

Really lovely venue with a chilled vibe. Gareth the bar man is really lovely and welcoming and always adds to the experience. He also makes the most wonderful cocktails and his Porn star martini is the best I’ve tasted in a very long time !

I’m sat on the train to London with a takeaway from your place to make the journey better ( had a Delerium Red while waiting which warms my soul). I took a bite out of your steak gyro and was beamed to another universe where...

Came here tonight with friends as it is one of our favourite pubs in Cardiff. Enjoyed the night as usual until a member of staff (old scruffy guy with grey beard) came over to our table and aggressively told us that the bar was closing...

Visited recently with my mates. Now I have been in to craft beer for a while but a lot of my friends who came with me are hardcore Stella and Carling drinkers who are stuck in there ways that those beers are the holy grail...

Nice place, have walked past a few times, glad we stopped by this time. Good selection of drinks and knowledgeable bar staff. Enjoyed the head of steam lager and gluten free beer for my wife which is super rare! We’d visit for that alone, thanks...

We were served twice in the same night by an awesome barperson called Drew, she had amazing knowledge and genuine passion for beer, it was such a breath of fresh air and was great at what she does

Had absolutely no idea what we wanted for dinner so we went out of our hotel, picked a direction and that's how we found this place. Pretty empty when we got there and you have to order via qr code if you want food which...

Something for everyone here!! Came with my partner last week and we had more than a few pints. We definitely will return on our next date night!!

Nice bar with good food and occasional live music. Particularly pleased with the big range of alcohol free beers on offer from Brooklyn and Drop Bear.

Stayed in Cardiff for a few days, and came here twice. Both times, everything was an absolute dream. Cracking choice of beers, food very good (burgers/pizza/kebabs), service very friendly. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good time.

Staff friendly, food was very good, best french fries I've ever eaten. Only downside (small issue only) no sugar for the hot drinks!! Would definitely come back for more fries, just bring my own sugar! 🤣🤣🤣

Party of 4, we had the mixed meat kebabs. All the meats were stone cold and didn't taste fresh at all! One of our party had to eat straight away as they were extremely hungry and couldn't wait, they said it was terrible. The 2...

Honestly, I cannot recommend this place enough!! My partner and I come here all the time!! Like too much! 😆 The food is so tasty!!! They do the best Nachos in the world! I’m surprised I haven’t turned into a Nacho to be honest😆 the...

Ate here with the family. I had a tandoori chicken kebab which sounded lovely from the description. It arrived and had 4 minuscule pieces of chicken in it. I asked the barman if this was normal and he said it usually had more and would...

Visited twice in a business trip and we should have visited more, not your usual British or Italian beers but mostly fantastic German and Belgium. The German Wiess beer was excellent and actually cheaper than a Peroni that we got in a pub not far...

Came here today as everywhere was booked up, but I’m SO glad we ended up here! The food is absolutely amazing and so filling, and the customer service is unbeatable. Really enjoyed our time here and it’s my new go to now!! Thank you so...

We love this place and we decided to get some food delivered last night. We spend £50 and this is how burgers were delivered. We really lost the appetite

Spacious and welcoming! Staff knowledgeable and friendly with regards to beer recommendations and food options. Due to covid regulations, we were unable to order from bar, however staff was very good at visiting our table often. We ended up having several drinks and snacks, and...

Half of Head of Steam’s pizzas are vegetarian friendly, with 4 of the 10 being 100% vegan. And Head of Steam’s meatless offerings can’t be accused of being boring either with jackfruit, vegan ‘duck’ and vegan ‘chicken’ all on the menu. I had the Hickory...

I’ve visited a few times to try the vast selection of beers, but recently tried the food for the first time. It was excellent. The pizzas are huge and incredibly filling. The burgers are tasty and love the Head of Steam branding on the bun,...

We popped in for a drink on our way to the restaurant we'd booked for lunch. The Covid measures in place were excellent. We were greeted and attended to by Ri, who totally rocked the front-of-house role. There was a fine range of beers on...

The service was brilliant, and the nachos were wonderful. The music choices were also excellent, I could swear Head of Steam has taken my Spotify playlists!

Went for our first indoor pub visit last week and it was great here. Well spaced sign posted and clean. Everything was explained to us and we felt very looked after and had a great evening. We will hopefully be back soon.

Went in for a couple of drinks with friends. The social distance the pub have put in place make you feel safe to be in there. The pub is extremely clean and staff are extremely helpful. The menu is very extensive. On this occasion we...

This visit has been my first visit to a pub since lock down restrictions have been lifted. In all honesty I was rather worried after seeing all these horror stories in the media in regards to pubs failing to meet covid guidelines. As soon as...

You'll get a nice crispy fresh pint of beer. However everything else is poor. The bar staff just serve who they want rather than in an orderly manner. The food is not great. Small portions. There's a rude American man who wears shorts and a...

Have been in before for drinks as selection of beers is good. Ordered food this time. Never again. The kofte kebab (£9.50) arrived with side salad. The tortilla wrap was huge, so I opened it up to explore the delights within and found two, yes TWO cubic inch sized pieces of meat. I sent it back and was told that the kitchen staff made it ‘to spec’. To the management’s credit they gave me a cash refund but I won’t be returning. There’s competition from too many good eateries in the city to bother, even in these covid19ish times.

A lot of showing off for little reward.We had:- beer battered vegetables- smoke mountain burgerVery greasy batter, but tasty veg.Burgers were brought over with a glass trapping smoke over them - very pretty. But smoky flavour disappeared and it just tasted like a regular burger. For £15 we were very underwhelmed. My partner found a hair in his fries. Gross.Won't be ordering a burger here again in a hurry.

We visited after a shopping spree. Two of us had three tiered burgers and one had a vegan burger and they were all absolutely scrumptious. Every morsel was delicious. The service was friendly and the place was modern and spotless.

Visited yesterday lunch time with my husband. It was very quiet, so we wondered what was wrong that hardly anyone was there, must have been the time of year, or the fact that it was a Tuesday lunch time.

Left my brolly one night, went in to get it next morning but it wasn’t there. They took my details and a week after they phoned me to say that they’d retrieved it from a local. Also, great range of beer.

Lovely food at a great price - will go again to try the Halloumi Burger. Great options for vegans and vegetarians too.

Absolutely fantastic, stumbled upon this bar/ restaurant for lunch.

Enjoyed our first visit. Very quiet Friday lunchtime. Food was delicious and hot.

Came here with friends and the manager spoke to us awfully, no manners or respect. Will not be coming back here and will be advising everyone to stear well clear.

Super beer choice . Ate on this last visit and didn’t disappoint. Super all round would recommend . Food was fresh and prompt . Service good . Staff knowledgable about the craft ales

Enjoyed a lovely meal and drinks at The Head Of Steam 👊🍽 great pub grub with a good choice of ales... Highly recommend this place, staff are warm and friendly was a great atmosphere with great food and drink 👊

Great food fantastic choice of beer and lagers just a pity the staff can not pull a proper pint they never pour a full pint and if you ask for it to be topped up they do it begrudgingly

Only come here as the italian was shut over the road. Working away on business. Amazing food!!!! Chicken wings were fantastic

First time to go in this place with my husband. Very impressed with the decor and the layout but I would have to agree with previous comments regarding not very charming staff. A smile goes a long way!!

The place and atmosphere are really nice. The food and drink are both amazing in terms of selection and quality. The service is letting this place down though - when busy the staff just seem to lose the will - not sure whether they're understaffed or undertrained, but hopefully the management will address it. I like this place, but bad service can be so offputting - remember that service is what turns visitors in to regulars!

this restaurant/bar had a really good atmosphere. It was modern clean and not the usual food. We had kebabs that were in home made nanbread. Me ne was haloumi hummus pepper chilli and red slaw and my partners was chicken they were both served with hand cut chips. We really enjoyed our meals and would definitely recommend this place.

Terrible service from staff. Security are rude. The lady on the door has no manners. Won’t be spending my hard earned money in there again.

Jim bean is not Jack Daniels, overly sugary cider once tasted and found to be awful is apparently not a reasonable thing to ask for replacements! Great customer experience! Wouldn’t share his name, short fella, beard what a delight!

Second time eating here and every bit as good as the first time! Eating vegan pizza and 3 x sides, shared with an omnivore who remarked how good the pizza was ("would never have known it wasn't real cheese")

We come here quite often, great selection of beers at good prices, which is what saves them.

We went here this Saturday afternoon and liked the place as it is one of the few pubs I've seen with such an extensive range of vegan and vegetarian food. We ordered in excitement but it took 45 minutes for the food to reach our tables! apparently one of the chef was ill and the were understaffed, but this wasn't communicated to us, equally why were there no backup measures?

my mum and i came here for some food and drinks before attending a gig nearby. we were both very impressed with our food. my veggie pie was very tasty.. perfect comfort food for such a cold evening. there was also a lot of choice with drinks. we will definitely be coming back soon.

Went for some beer, and chess and lunch and couldn’t have found a better place. Relax, nice drinks and nice staff

Had both the steak and lamb pies in the group and both were tasty. A clean and nice local pub with ample seating on two floors. Outdoor seating as well although not heated.

Venue nice and clean, quiet as it was a Sunday. Chicken wings were amazing, so where the burgers. The only thing I would say is, the portion if chips you get are quite small, maybe having a Coleslaw on the side would compensate for this. We will be back again soon.

Great beers, wonderful vegan pizzas, burgers and sides. Main dishes are not cheap but balanced by sensibly priced sides. Generous portions. Good, attentive staff. For a pair of vegans on date night, it fits the Cardiff market perfectly in between Greazy V and Anna Loka.

Great selection of vegan food and drinks and knowledgeable and friendly staff. We had the No Sin Duck Pizza, Dipping Dog and Dough Fries. All delicious and not something you'd find elsewhere!

Excellent and friendly service, great food options. Quality of food very good, good portion sizes. would definitely visit again.

We spotted this on our hunt for somewhere to lunch. What a find food was delicious, we had a burger with nachos on the side and haddock and chips crummy and a huge selection of beers on tap Belgian and German included staff were brilliant, will be back next time we're in Cardiff

Here today for the rugby. Managed to get a booth which was good. Good selection of ciders and lagers. I ordered the chicken burger which is messy and delicious. Service was quick. Apologies to the waitress who we managed to totally confuse by ordering twice (more people joined us!). She was highly entertaining! I'd recommend!

Went today for a quick lunch before work and loooved it. The staff the head of steam burger and the relaxed feeling of it all

Had visited the same chain in Hull so was expecting a really good lunch. Terribly disappointed. Soggy burger and chips, rubbery, not even hot. Sauce on chips appeared to have come out of a packet and the chips had been 'warmed' in a mircrowave. However, the staff were excellent, friendly and helpful and refunded the cost of the meal - which we could not eat. Sure you can do better.

It's so nice to go somewhere where there are a few good vegitarian options. I had the "duck" burger and it was amazing. Also friendly service from all the staff!

Been a few times for food and drink and were hoping this would be a substitute for our fave small bar that closed down next door. Always pretty chilled, decent staff and huge selection of drinks/nice atmosphere. First few of times we had great burgers and chips and were impressed with the quality for 'pub grub' - big plates of stacked burgers and toppings with hot chips. However already portions have shrunk and a nice previously chunky proper bit of southern fried chicken in the burger has become a thin gelatinous fatty layer. Bit sad to see and may be a blip, will give one more chance but if it continues to go downhill there's plenty of competition...

Good choice, not cheap but the drinks are good. I’ve been avoiding it recently though because even at quiet times you find yourself waiting so long at the bar. It’s a three sided bar but there only ever seems to be one working till.

International day (August 17th) although not busy still didnt have enough bar staff on. And the ones working were not the quickest, more annoying than anything totally ignored that people were waiting and just started serving people walking up to the bar. Poor service left without getting a drink. Dread to think what it was like when it actually got busy

If you fancy a pint of beer. Don’t go here. Waited 15 minutes before giving up. One bar man rushing around. Not sure why. Another trying to make cocktails. Obviously didn’t know what he was doing. They did keep apologising but hopeless. Left with out getting a beer.

I’m not one to leave reviews but this has to be spoken about. I was part of a group of six, I ordered the vegan ‘watt the duck’ burger which was imitation hoisin duck on a ‘B12’ burger. Staff at the bar were nice but not too much. Food came within ten minutes; the burger was amazing!! Everything nice and fresh and at the right temperature. As a vegetarian who misses the texture and taste of meat this burger was amazing!! Staff were lovely even when there was a bit of a mix up with my friend’s order. Just right. Would definitely recommend as a tasty and easy vegetarian/ vegan option.

Very impressed with the cocktails. Nice decor, location and atmosphere. Staff very friendly especially guy with beard

Had an expensive pint of Beavertown Gamma Ray here. Tasted awful. Tried to take it back but the bar staff obviously know more about beer than me and refused.

Went in there before on a night out, but decided to try the food this time in the daytime. Excellent service, good range of food. Went for the burger and chips. Very tasty, not the cheapest, but filling and better value than the other fast foods around the corner. The pub does stock a large array of ales and ciders, so worth a visit