While I've had many good nights at the Pick and Shovel over the years, there's no denying that the…read morefood, definitely lets the pub down. When I first moved to the area, the food was awesome; great value for money, delicious and a decent portion size too. By the time I left three years later, the price had gone up, the quality had gone down and the portions had shrunk considerably. Prime example; after a long night of slaving away on uni coursework, my housemate and I ventured down to the Pick and Shovel for the mighty "hangover cure" fry up - the biggest breakfast on the menu. An hour and a half after ordering, it finally arrived, colder than the draught I was sitting in yet, somehow, overcooked. This would not be the last time I had to wait an annoyingly long time for a meal, only for it to turn out below my expectations. Once or twice, these kind of mistakes can be forgiven but when they become a regular occurrence it's no longer a mistake but just poor standards. Ah. Now that I've vented my anger at the shoddy food, on to the positives. If you're not sitting down for a meal, the pub is a great place to socialise, as everyone tends to know someone there at any given time. The drinks are well priced for the surrounding student area and promotions are held on various nights of the week. There is Sky Sports, making this an ideal venue to watch a big game and the pub is always packed with sports fans on big match occassions. Also, the music is usually top notch as the jukebox is a comprehensively stocked with more tracks than Simon Cowell's iPod. So if you're looking for a social pub to watch the latest Premier League game with a pint and some friendly banter, the Pick and Shovel is a good choice. If you're after some great tasting, quality food with excellent service, I'd probably look elsewhere.

Great little pub, popular with students and locals alike. Good range or drinks and promotions (try…read morethe bayside cooler cocktail if it's available - it looks like trafic lights!). Activities (other then eating and drinking) include darts, pool, music quiz, open mic nights and guitar hero competitions on the wii. The staff are really friendly and the food is pretty good too for the money.

A.A.Gill woke up in a sweat. He had been dreaming that he was lost in the Welsh Valleys, surrounded…read moreby the people he loathed, with nowhere to eat except endless chippies, kebab houses and chinese take-aways. But he didn't know about Alfreds. Alfred's looms out of the heart of Pontypridd's market area, an oasis in a desert of unexceptional shops, caffs, and tawdry van traders. It is a roomy conversion of an old Bank building, expensively refurbished (with a sizeable grant from the EEC, I'm told) and set over two floors, the design being based on Modernist Manhattan, with exposed brick, steel beams, strip-oak flooring and bespoke contemporary artwork. A large atrium with a glass balcony looks over a sofa lounge and fireplace. Downstairs you will find a 20 metre bar, with light meals and tapas available; upstairs, a spacious twin-roomed restaurant, with food counter and openplan kitchen centrally placed. It was opened in late Summer 2004 and named after Alfred John who was the founder of Pontypridd Market. A large photographic print of this gentleman dominates the atrium. And it has survived, proof that a good restaurant can flourish anywhere. There is a Lunch Menu with a dozen choices running out at around £10 for two courses. A la carte is always available with some twenty staple choices and a changing daily Specials Board. Most of the food is on display in the refrigerated counter, where you can choose your piece of meat or fish, and even specify how you want it cooked. A help-yourself salad table and cheese selection lies alongside. A comprehensive Wine List gives you the opportunity to enjoy a glass or two at very reasonable prices, or push the boat out with a Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux. The service would melt even Gill's heart. The waiting staff consists of homely Welsh mother figures who fuss you to death, some intellectuals from the nearby University of Glamorgan, and a selection of internationals, including at today's count a Brazilian supermodel, a delightful Spanish Manuel type chappie, and a pair of Polish elopees. What's better is that your table is open season for all of them - no demarcation here - so one by one they all come past to see how you are doing. Food can go cold as you engage in lively conversation with each of them. On Fridays and Saturdays the bar downstairs morphs into a nightclub with DJ's and doormen, and genteel diners descending after a fine meal can have a bit of a shock as the Ponty Mob get down and dirty on the dancefloor. It fails to get 5 stars on one account. The owner, Nick John (same family as the eponymous Alfred), slinks around from time to time but looks straight through his guests and has never spoken to me in 4 years of custom. At least he doesn't foist himself on you. And his staff more than make up for him.

The food was delicious as usual but I've given 2 stars because the service was ridiculous tonight…read more if they cant deal with a full restaurant they shouldn't take the bookings. Waited 45 minutes for orders to be taken then another 50 for starters to arrive. Not all mains arrived together and one of the sides didn't arrive at all. Needs improvement.

Loved it. Food and service was excellent. Can't wait to go…read moreback. Not the same old menus you get everywhere else. The Real Ale was well worth the visit on its own. Probably the best meal we've had this year!

As good as it gets! Stunning food, lovely restaurant, excellent staff and service. The Bunch of…read moreGrapes has the kind of menu that other establishments should aspire to. It costs a little more than you'd normally pay in this part of the world, but for food this accomplished its worth every penny. Relaxed atmosphere in an informal dining room, their own ales and local ciders were the cherry on top. Perfect venue for that special meal when you are celebrating or want to impress. On street parking and easy to find on the outskirts of Pontypridd. Imaginative vegetarian options!

Great addition to Pontypridd's town centre, filling in a gap between top and bottom ends of town…read more Good real ale selection from the same brewer. On the small side but cosy. Very friendly and full of local characters! Some call it "The Wonky Bar"!. Great to take the weight off your feet when shopping in town or just to get to know the regulars. Reasonable prices and friendly staff. Well worth a visit.

this is old style pub, majority of guests are men so can feel bit awkward on first going in. Good…read moredrinks & good prices.

I'm not a big fan of the Maltsters, but that was because I had a bad experience there. If you're…read moregoing for a few quiet drinks then I guess this place would be great, and the beer garden by the river is wonderfully tranquil. My friend and I went there for food and had to wait over an hour to eat! We tried getting the attention of the staff but there was no-one in sight. Then when our order came it was wrong and the staff did nothing to try to help. I'm by no means a snob but the female toilets were quite frankly scary. The day that we went, we were told that a new manager had taken over the previous day. So hopefully by now they will have made significant improvements. With some refurb to the toilets and new manager I hope that some new life can be breathed into this place, because the building itself and the riverside location are wonerful and they used to have some great gigs in the cellar.

One of the best places to go out in Ponty, the Maltsters Arms is a tidy pub where you can go to…read morechat with friends at the start of a night out before moving to 'heavier' locations. There is a downstairs that sometimes has 'clubnights' but I mostly stick to upstairs and just chill out in the bar. It's a great place to go when the rugby is on - especially the six nations - as the atmosphere is great - really warm and friendly and not threatening regardless of your nationality. One warning - my sister had her purse pinched out of her bag in here. By the guys sitting at the next table who had chatted away to her and her friends for ages before getting up to go. However, I think this was a one off 'chancer' occasion and not the norm.

I've been socialising at this pub for around 10 years now. During the week you see a lot of…read morestudents using the wi-fi, pool table and eating home made grub. The weekend is more of a mixed bag with mostly local people (Young and old). Great atmosphere, great beer, amazing food! p.s the Sunday dinner is to die for!

The Rickard Arms is one of my favourite pubs in Treforest. With a huge rooftop beer garden, a fully…read morestocked bar and resident speciality shots, this bar is a great place to go if the weather is hot and the sun has got his scarcely worn hat on. "What are these speciality shots," I hear you ask. Springboks are a range of creamy liqueurs that come in a variety of flavours, ranging from banana to mint to toffee, and they are awesome. With a price tag that even the most needy of hobos could afford in abundance, these shots are a local favourite amongst the surrounding student community. Despite the admittedly enticing allure of the Springbok shots, the real attraction is the beer garden. Situated above the actual pub itself, there is little obstruction when catching some rays on a sunny summer's day...even if those sunny days do only come round a handful of times a year. A great way to spend an evening after a long day.

It's called The Tumble Inn and that is certainly what my friend and I did when we found it. For…read moresome reason we decided to walk from Cardiff to Pontypridd (of all the places) along the Taff Trail. By the time we finally made it to Ponty (NB: Do not trust the Taff Trail signs, we walked for about an hour, but were always three quarters of a mile away for it, like Ponty had its own peculiar set of rules in the space-time continuum) we were gagging for a pint. A quick tour of the town centre revealed little in the way of boozers apart from one terrifying bar that looked like a dole office from 1973. Resigned we headed for the train station. Lo and behold, right by our escape route back to the city was The Tumble Inn and for once I was grateful to espy a Wetherspoon's. Like a safe, identikit harbour, we were glad to see the silent tellies, the microwaved food, the lurid interior. A couple of hard earned pints of perry later, we were on the train suitably refreshed. Thank you Mr Wetherspoon.

The Tumble Inn is a Whetherspoon's pub located a short walk from Ponty town centre…read more Having lived just five minutes away from the pub, I spent a lot of time and a lot of money in there during my time in Glamorgan Uni. While that money was usually spent on the weekly Curry Club menu on a Thursday afternoon, there was one occasion in particular that made this pub a personal favourite of mine while I lived in the area. During a routine rummage through the kitchen junk drawer, my housemate stumbled across a large booklet of Whetherspoon's coupons that expired that same day. It was then decided by the gods above that we would make the most of such a heaven-sent gift by spending the rest of our day working our way through the booklet from cover-to-cover. Two steak dinners, a curry feast, two desserts, a bottle of wine, and dozens of brands of beer later, and our work was done. We had beaten the Coupon King at his own game and stuck two imaginary, drunken fingers up to Mr Whetherspoon, as we basked in our gluttonous, money-saving glory...despite having spent a lot more money than we would have had we not found the vouchers in the first place. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time... After hours of excessive "money-saving", we finally made our triumphant exit. Despite being named the Tumble Inn, after a day of furious discounting, the only option left was to tumble out. Good pub, good times, great memories.

felt like writing a review as the staff, food, wine and beers are superb. it is a lovely place and…read morethoroughly enjoying going there whether it is for a Sunday roast or weekday meal, highly recommend going there, you won't be disappointed.

This pub is great because it attracts both students and locals. The Otley is a real ale pub and…read moreoffers a fantastic range of local ciders. It has a juke box with a good 80's / 90's indie selection, at 4-5 songs for a pound this is a fantastic bargain! The Otley also does lunchtime and evening meals. There are interesting vege options, not your bog-standard lasagna. It's not brought-in stuff either, there are huge potions and proper homemade chips, Glamorgan sausages and lentil burgers. Apparently the meat dishes and pizza dishes are really nice, but I havn't tried them. Annnnd you get a proper meal for £4 and you're absolutely stuffed after. The lady cook is very lovely and attentive, will cater for vegans and also adapt meals if required. There is an outdoor seating area/courtyard with an old toilet with flowers growing out of it. Inside there's a conservatory area, which is light and sets it apart from your average pub. The rest of the pub is more traditional and dark, the conservatory area is better for eating if you like to see what you're shovelling in. The only downside of sitting here is that it can be very noisy when it rains. Be warned the toilets smell of wee. This is certainly emanating from the mens, but thankfully can't be smelt from the eating area or the main bar. Top tip for the people watcher: There are always interesting characters at the bar and in the smoking area, very old, very odd and always willing to share their 'diverse' observations on the world.

Ah, the Market Tavern. I spent so many nights in here when I was growing up. It's a very decent pub…read morein the heart of Ponty that has an upstairs nightclub, so caters well for the weekend. There is also a downstairs bar, though it has low ceilings and can feel claustrophobic. When I was young (many moons ago!), I used to come in here with friends on a Sunday evening and Budweisier was on tap for £1 a pint! man oh man I suffered many a Monday morning in college because of that. I like this pub a lot. There's also a hotel upstairs, which I have stayed in and thought very good. Watch out for the cobbled street outside if you're wearing heels. Once that fresh air hits you, you'll go down like a sack of spuds if you're not careful!

The Market Tavern is an old mans pub in the middle of Pontypridd. It also has an upstairs nightclub…read morecalled strads which always plays music you ca have a dance too and downstairs is Chilli Peppers a bar with rather low ceilings so mind your head!

Cool cocktail spot with loungy, trendy vibes. Music is loud, so don't come here for meaningful…read moreconversation. Solid third date kind of a spot (dark & sexy) but also a cool place to hang with friends. Cocktails were good, though we went right after the Oasis gig so they had a reduced menu for the weekend. Still everything we had ranged from solid to great. Service was friendly and helpful.

I wish that I could give this place more than 5 stars. This is absolutely one of my favourite…read moreplaces that I have ever been - and certainly the best cocktails that I have ever had. My husband took me here as part of my birthday treat a few months ago and I will be forever grateful that he did. It is really quite difficult to put in to words just how good the cocktails are. The premise of this place is that they make 'molecular cocktails' - essentially cocktails that they have scientifically concocted so that all of the ingredients complement each other molecularly. For just £50 per person, you are treated to a 7-course cocktail menu. With each delicious cocktail you are brought a unique side dish that has been chosen specifically for that drink. We were given such unusual dishes (including slices of cured meats and filled pasta!) that oddly did enhance the taste of the cocktails. As well as the delicious cocktails, what this place also has going for it is the decor. It is very sleek, elegant and gothic. The service is also incredibly good as well. I would absolutely recommend going to this cocktail bar if you can. You would be stupid not to go here. It is absolutely worth visiting. I cannot wait to return.