The Old Library

18-19 Trinity Street, Cardiff [map]


It's a weird island of alcohol this, wedged in the strait between the back of the market and the old bit of St David's.


It promises food, drink and music - all of which it delivers, albeit with varying degrees of success.

The 'drink' bit it accomplishes effectively enough. The bar staff are somewhat uninterested but there are enough of them that service is generally pretty swift.

And they even do old-school five per cent Stella, if you fancy going particularly mental.


Opposite the long, snaking bar is a raised seating area, which turns into a dancefloor as the evening progresses (it's open until an astonishing 4am on Fridays and Saturdays).

We've been to the indie disco on Friday nights a couple of times and bopped about like drunken idiots to Blondie and the Stones - an activity for which there is much to be said.


Oooo, disco stairs. Our favourite sort.


Don't, whatever you do, allow yourself to be tempted by anything on the menus though - The Old Library has just been named as one of 11 Cardiff establishments to have scored zero in new food hygiene ratings compiled by the Food Standards Agency.

According to the Echo, this indicates, "Habitual bad practice that could potentially lead to contamination."

Take our advice and stick to the booze and bad dancing.

O'Neill's

21 Trinity Street, Cardiff [map]


Like a faux Irish phoenix rising from the ashes, the Trinity Street branch of O'Neill's is again open for business after it almost burned to the ground on 3 June (and threatened to take half of Cardiff with it in the process).

The blaze was caused by a pan fire that reached the kitchen's ducts, which were full of grease. That tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the catering here. The fire was fierce enough that the roof was destroyed.


The bar, which was originally known as the New Market Hotel, has had a general spruce up but it's hardly a radical redesign. It's what you could call middle-of-the-road chain pub chic.


We finally tried the new Guinness Red for the first time. It's sweeter and less heavy than proper Guinness. It's an enjoyable tipple although they might as well have named it Guinness For Girls.


As well as the extensive seating and various nooks downstairs, there's a separate upstairs bar, although the tables are a bit close together for our liking.

If you can cope with the cacophony of fiddle-based music that's endlessly piped in and the slightly fishy aroma (it's next door to the market), this is a decent spot for a couple of pints. But if you smell smoke coming from the kitchen, run.