The Butchers Arms

22 Heol-Y-Felin, Rhiwbina [map]

There's something of the gothic about The Butchers Arms (widely referred to as Ye Olde Butchers Arms but we're sticking with what it says on the front of the building).

The fact that an outside banner advertises a farmers' market only increases our sense of dread.

We're not wine drinkers but anywhere that has merlot on tap is clearly our kind of place. Ordering a pint of the stuff does, however, tend to be frowned upon, we discover.

Between what's on draft (they even have Coors Light, possibly the most pointlessly tasteless beer ever conceived - and that's coming from Foster's drinkers) and contained in the outsize fridges, there's a wide enough range of tipples to keep everyone happy.

Watch out for those oddly generic-looking bottles of the vodka on the middle shelf, though. Not that we're suggesting they were bought off some dodgy bloke operating out of lock-up in a Grangetown back street, you understand. It just looks as if they were.

This is very much a pub for people who wear cagoules, it would seem.

Ah yes, the classic Cardiff City memorabilia/posh nuts display.

There's quite a lot of information to take in from those little blackboards. "Every Thursday Quiz Nite & Pizza & Pint Night!!!" enthuses the one on the left. Wow, Thursdays sound amazing, you think.

But keep reading and you'll learn that "Sunday Night is also Quiz Night, with Mike." Clearly, the locals love a quiz. Although we are left wondering quite what the difference is between a quiz nite and a quiz night.

The pub offers a handy crèche service, enabling you to leave your teenage children in the play area (equipped with a pool table, telly and fruit machine) for a few hours, supervised by Mike, seen here on the right.

The crèche is closed on Sunday evenings though as Mike, as we have just learnt, is busy running the quiz.

On the rare occasions we come across a pub with a piano in it, I'm always tempted to a have a quick tinkle. And after that, I sometimes play the piano.

Ahem. I'll get my cagoule.