Varsity

Greyfriars Road, Cardiff [map]


After an extended winter vacation (largely spent skiing in Aspen, thanks for asking), we’re back on the Cardiff bar scene.

And where better to kick things off than in the delightful milieu of, erm, Varsity?


The customary panorama of lagers starting with C on tap: Carling, Carlsberg and, rounding out the unholy trinity, Coors. Be very suspicious of anyone who ever orders a pint of Coors.

More intriguing is the hulking pump on the left bearing a clip that reads 'Dirty Tackle', beneath which is daubed 'Coming Soon'. It's not entirely clear whether this constitutes a promise or a threat.


The seating options are many and varied, and even include evidence of a recent game of musical chairs.

Note also disco ball, presumably there in an optimistic bid to bring a touch of glamour to the place.


The Photographer, arrows fan that he is, heads straight for the dartboards.

For the record, we'd like to point out to whoever scrawled those house rules on the wall that the plural of dart is darts. Not dart's.


We finally settle in a corner from where we're afforded this view of the, um, action.

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, we realise that something is horribly wrong. To wit: what the hell is going on with those tables straddling two different heights of floor?


The Photographer goes in for a closer look.

Whoever came up with the concept of sawing the legs off one side of these tables to allow them to be half on/half off the stage is evidently some sort of Coors-drinking joker.