The Old Arcade in Cardiff

Good Brains beer. Steeped in history Rugby pub

Loved this place Grab a drink and sit out the front to people watch!

hello! the vegan nachos, bbq cauliflower wings and onion rings were very tasty! i would love for more vegan options like alternatives to cow's milk, more pudding options and a vegan burger. the bar staff are all lovely especially chad :-)

One of the best pubs I’ve had the pleasure to drink in.

The best 👌 staff fabulous. Food great. Our favourite place ❤️

It was great. We will come back. We are from Germany

A fab pub to visit. Staff are amazing. Food was value for money. Great atmosphere.

Nice experience and really good atmosphere 😊 And they love football and rugby

I had a really nice lunch with a mate. Lovely food, great choice of beer. The Old Arcade is a proper Cardiff pub and should be treasured as such.

Mark, the owner, is great. Very hospitable. The pub is superb as evidenced by the number of locals that go there. I am from Lima Peru and finding this type of attitude makes your trip truly enjoyable!!

Great little pub for a pint of “Brains” - the guys behind the bar where very welcoming.

Extremely busy and loud at weekends, but becomes a quiet pub with excellent beers during the week

Very nice place, friendly service, good food

Lovely old pub. Great food that came quickly. Really nice staff 😊.

I visited here in August 2024, Never been there before but passed it many times when visiting Cardiff. Its a wonderful pub friendly great beer, I didn't have any food but will next time I'm there. And the Welsh rugby theme of the bar is absolutely amazing.

Great pint of Brains, some good banter in the afternoons with locals and it's central to the city

Staff attentive, no waiting too long & eagle eyed to see next customer. Premises clean, atmosphere great, good choice of beverages, so nice to see it's still thriving after all these years & still a great atmosphere.

Cracking rugby pub with great ales on tap

What a disappointment on the weekend advertised August Sunday bank Holiday Elvis music should have been playing all day got there at 2pm no Elvis music at all thankfully the Elvis tribute made up for our disappointment he was fabulous.. Update thankyou for your reply funny that as it was the tribute act wife who commented on it to me also

Regular visitor nowadays. Exceptionally quiet here on the day after St Patrick's Day Definitely worth visiting Thanks

Friendly pub located at the rear of the market hall. Open all day, has a sun deck which is no smoking so you have to enter the street to enjoy a smoke. Busy, friendly sports bar atmosphere.

Had Steak&Ale pie. It was terrible… barely any meat, no taste and pie crust was all soggy. PS: To be clear the photo show original amount of meat inside

I met with friends and ate lunch. The service was excellent and food tasty. The drinks were also top quality.

Shoutout to Curtis the security guard. Thanks to you fir all you do in keeping us all safe!👏👏

Good old style pub great staff very friendly will be back 17 /08/24 for another great weekend in Cardiff

We were welcomed very friendly and courteously. After a quick round of tasting, everyone was treated to a pint and had some interesting conversations with the bartender. We recommend. Cool and rustic atmosphere.

Great place, staff are absolutely lovely and the security is top notch, a credit to the pub. Food is good, lots of choice.

Happy nights had by all feel at ease coz there is security on the door

Called in for a drink , while we were there we thought we would order some food , thinking back now I wonder why !!! With all the wonderful places to eat in Cardiff we dicided to eat here ( big mistake ) the food was bloody awful it looked like a school dinner from the 60s , ordered dirty fries and other things but there was NO nacho cheese on them it was more like a cheap cheddar . The place isn’t that clean either I dread to see wht the kitchen is like ……please don’t make our mistake and steer clear .

Great beer, good atmosphere and good food. Very attentive waiter. We liked a lot.

This place was recommended by another pub owner of all people! His pub didn't serve fish and chips which is what we were looking for, so he directed us to The Old Arcade. What a great spot off the beaten path. We not only enjoyed the fish and chips immensely, but the staff, service, and ambience were great. If we ever get to Cardiff again we will certainly seek out this place.

Visiting from Canada, great food and service!

Just arrived in Wales today from Florida! Luckily we got the inside scoop from a friend whose wife is from here. They recommended the Old Arcade and we were happy we came in for lunch. They have light bite specials for lunch each day. I got a burger "lite" with no bun and fries, with an excellent salad. Others got chili which was also great. We enjoyed seeing all the locals eating in there. Check it out!

UNMISSABLE EXPERIENCE. We are a family with a dog. We come from Ancona, Italy.

Great place, great food, nice desserts, lovely people, we’re glad we visited from Corsica! 😉

Superb pub not far from Cardiff Castle. Very good atmosphere which mixes locals and tourists, like us coming from France

Had a lovely afternoon at the old arcade. Really nice place with lovely and helpful staff, sat outdoors and the drinks we got was nice too. Would recommend visiting!

Very nice place, great selection of local beers, friendly staff

Amazing Place, very friendly and perfect to hang out and leave your sorrows behind.

Lovely place with warm and welcoming staff. Food was delicious and we also got a football lesson! 100% recommend.

Love this place as it suits me age demographic! Food and drink all good vfm AND there is a loyalty reward system!

Properly run pub, great sport, atmosphere, and music 👍

Came to watch the NZ vs England rugby! Great atmosphere and open early enough to watch the game! Will be back to watch the Rugby championship in August!

So glad they open early for 8am All Blacks games, great staff will definitely be back

Cracking pub. One of the best in Cardiff.

Hands down, best pub in Cardiff, come here every time I'm in Cardiff

Excellent. The manager is a legend.

Had a great time in The Old Arcade. Mark behind the bar could not do enough for us and seemingly for everyone. Great atmosphere and a proper pub.

Lovely food! Came for food the day of the foo fighters and there was a long wait but the owner/boss I assume was lovely and welcoming! Only problem I had was seeing the cocktail promotions only to be that 'they aren't that kind of place, we don't do cocktails!'. Lovely place overall!

Great pub. Excellent service, food and beer. Everyone was very friendly. Lovely pint too. Very clean also. Highly recommend

The owner is really nice and gave us a 13 fake tattoo for Taylor swift.

Best pub in Cardiff. Great staff, service and beer

Staff were amazing, recommended cocktails were class. Guinness could do with some work

Brilliant service, great food and beer selection. TV for sports. Great banter from locals. Was well looked after by bar man Tag!

I celebrated my birthday here. Excellent service by Tag. He’s a star!!! Great food & drinks. We’ll definitely come back here

Lush food lush people and brilliant prices

Truly the best night out in Cardiff. Amazing staff and a great time!

Busy today considering home rugby International tomorrow, staff attentive, great atmosphere.

Great atmosphere. Amazing staff, especially Georgia

Great city centre pub, great atmosphere, lovely food and a great pint. Staff are lovely especially the new lady Lianne.. Will be back soon for sure

Taylor swift night was amazing !!

Best place I’ve ever been to in my life. Taylor swift is the best

Amazing fish and chips in a lovely locals pub! Stumbled upon this place after a visit to the Cardiff Castle and found great food but even better atmosphere. Our bartender was the best ambassador for Wales and made us feel very comfortable. Try the beers, ales and lagers but if you don't have the jam sponge pudding, you're making a very big mistake. DELICIOUS!

Amazing service from Mark. We had a great meal and time with my friends from Chile (the Bday Girl! ) Brazil, and me from Venezuela. Thank you guys the chips were the best ever!

Wouldn’t be anywhere else for match days. Great rugby pub, great prices on Brains beer. Mark behind the bar couldn’t be better. Serves the best SA Dark on the planet.

Faboulous place faboulous staff

Good music and very good service. Will definitely be visiting again!

Good beer and friendly staff. Mark runs a very good pub and all the staff are very attentive. Special thanks to Molly for being so friendly and helpful.

As an American, I loved this place. I did not eat, but the food looked good. What a great atmosphere for a pint & friendly locals! The bartender Tag took great care of us!

Best pub in Cardiff. Always a friendly welcome. Great atmosphere traditional values just how a pub should be. Good value pub food washed down with a pint of Brains finest SA for me and dark for the OH. No place quite like it in our opinion ENJOY .

Hadn’t been to the Old Arcade in many years, I’ve now been twice in the last 2 weeks. The atmosphere is brilliant. The manager Mark is super friendly and makes you feel so welcome, as well as all the staff! Food is really tasty and good portions. This will now be our go to pub when we’re in Cardiff City Centre..forget Wetherspoons!

Absolutely love this pub, friendly staff they always make you feel welcome. Traditional pub food always well cooked and good value for the price. Quite happy to sit here all day soaking up the atmosphere. If you're in the neighbourhood I would recommend a visit.

Just had a drink but the barman was great fun and so friendly

Top pub, excellent staff. Atmosphere is conducive to a great day out. Will defo be coming back.

Excellent service, very welcoming staff. Food very good.

Great service and great food good atmosphere, a great choice of beers & real ales landlord very friendly. Will be back soon. Cheers Jim

Good food and friendly staff, definitely coming back!

Friendliest proper pub in Cardiff city centre. Will be coming back for tasty food and drinks again no doubt!

We had a lovely lunch. The food was really nice.

Great Pub (be aware the sound on sport for on TV is very loud) with amazing service. The bar was packed as we were visiting Cardiff for a Springsteen concert, but service was timely, polite & always accompanied by a smile

Lovely & friendly staff. A great place for a pint and a bite to eat

Fantastic service and great food. Highly recommend

Came in with a friend after a works meeting and met Mark behind the bar and wow what an amazing and attentive host a real knowledge on local stuff and the food is fantastic had the gammon with eggs it was perfect Stuart was fantastic and had such a knowledge on local ales amazing cant wait to be back amazing see u soon

Been here twice now, food has been brilliant and the service at the bar is fast, friendly and efficient. Will definitely be my go to place anytime I am in Cardiff for a good bit of pub grub and some beers. Great selection of ales also, the brains dark is my favourite 👌

Personally, I didn't like food. I found it tasteless, especially the macarons and the peas. The service is quite good! The waiters are so kind.

Excellent food wonderful atmosphere here and our waiter / bartender Stuart was so friendly and approachable he is an asset to the company

Best pub in Central Cardiff for live sport!

Lovely and friendly local pub. Ignore the chain restaurants and pubs in the city centre and hang out here. Great local beer on tap, and super charming and friendly staff behind the bar. Layla will take good care of you! Great atmosphere all around, highly recommended.

Stopped in for a beer and Leila was so great!! Must come to Brains if you are visiting Cardiff!

Fantastic venue. We were welcomed in such a friendly way and the atmosphere was fun without being mental. Keiah and Daisy were so friendly and were really patient and answered any questions, they were very knowledgeable about pricing, recommending and everything else. Brilliant service and fantastic staff members

Mark, Gabby and the team are great! Old fashioned local, not many around anymore! Always a great atmosphere. Best pub in Cardiff!

The best pub in Cardiff City Centre for Brains. They get the beer directly from Brains in Cardiff. It’s also well priced in today’s mad world of beer prices. There is the front bar and a back bar where the regulars tend to drink. They show a lot of sport in there. I had the bitter and then the SA. I have always preferred the bitter.

Visited here with my dog in tow. Staff were extremely helpful and friendly, especially MOLLY. Cooked two sausages for my dog without fuss or issue and they were so welcoming and helpful during my visit. Thank you to the other barmaid and chef for making my visit so pleasant.

Fantastic pub with live sports on tv and a very friendly staff!! Bartender very knowledgeable with beers and spirits and extremely kind!

Lovely traditional old pub in the heart of the city serving great pub food and excellent Brains beer.

Good day with friends an family , lovely atmosphere didn't eat here so can't comment on food , landlord very welcoming

A fantastic early morning of Rugby on the box with a great crowd in to watch the big match...All Blacks giving the Springboks a bit of a lesson down under....Mark is an awesome host...everything organised superbly with the half time fry up cooked to perfection by the Master Chef Gabby..washed down with a coupla refreshing Bows...A brilliant way to start the day...Will be returning very shortly...Cheers to Mark and the crew! See you again soon : )

Traditional British pub. They treated us like a 10. Good price, good food and unbeatable service. They even invited us to come to the bar to take a photo.

A real discovery, right in the center and with a typical atmosphere (absence of tourism). Very delicious food and super pleasant service.

A very traditional pub and the history was visible on the walls and in the customers. One of the finest experiences in Cardiff. Professional staff who would do their job well even in a hurry.