The Mackintosh

Mundy Place, Cathays [map]


You join us just after we have fled the Lynchian hellscape of The End.

As we stumble, blinking, into the daylight - never have the backstreets of Cathays looked so beautiful - we're desperate to recover with a pint in an alehouse in which being confronted by a dwarf who talks backwards would actually be a surprising turn of events.


The Mackintosh, then, is reassuringly conventional - from the Carlsberg/Stella/Carling triumvirate to the garish decor, which is reminiscent of a Little Chef circa 1989.

We half expect to be given a free lolly on the way out.


Spacious, too. Just look at all that exciting stuff they've managed to squeeze in: big plasma telly, internet jukebox, quiz machine, pool table. There's even an on-site cash machine.

And with that harsh fluorescent lighting, it really is like a shopping mall. Albeit one that has a single retail outlet that only sells booze and burgers.


Check out those fragrant young people having fun. It's what The OC would be like if it was shot in south Wales instead of southern California.


Shame about the casual misogyny though.