Pen & Wig

1 Park Grove, Cathays [map]


We've always liked the Pen & Wig. We once bumped into the manager on a beach in Minehead at about five in the morning (it’s a long story), which served only to endear the place to us further.


Pretty standard stuff at the bar, although we like the sign that begins, "What's going on?" It's something we'd like to know ourselves.


The front seating area: a bit of chat, a bit of eating, a bit of drinking. And a ruddy great motorbike on the telly. Note also classic pub carpet.


Not only does the Wig offer a generous array of nuts and other savoury snacks, it's also got the stickiest tables in Cardiff. Try as we might, we just could not prise that HP Sauce off the table top. They really do need to invest in some Mr Muscle.


Out the back there's a decent-size patio area, which is - predictably enough - largely populated by shivering smokers.


There's clearly never a dull moment here, from the promise of £1.79 Foster's on Mondays to Sunday's "Big Fat Roast Dinners". Although, on reflection, that does sound slightly unappetising.

Don't forget, you can now follow us via the achingly modern Twitter, as well as the slightly less trendy Facebook and the positively old-fashioned MySpace