The Travellers Rest

Now is a Vintage Inn and the staff are always friendly and welcoming.
Food is fantastic and on their website you often get a chance to win vouchers.

Matt B and his grandma and I rocked up at about 6:45 on Saturday and we were seated immediately.
I got salmon with veggies and chips. The salmon was perfectly cooked, the chips were chunky and crisp, and the veggies were lightly sautéed. It was pieces of red pepper, yellow pepper, and aubergine.
They were busy so everything seemed to take a little longer.
We had brownie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Totally delicious. Gooey brownie with fudge and creamy ice cream.

Very quiet which was nice… but my food was burnt and the cutlery and tea containers were dirty. On more than one occasion as well. Will not be returning.

Offering bland food. You have to queue to place your order, which can take ages when it’s busy. Very popular, so getting a table can be a question of patience & perseverance. However, the mediocre food is not worth the hassle or the wait. There are plenty of superior pubs in and around Cardiff that I’d recommend before this one.

Like so many rubberneckers queuing to catch a glance of a car accident, there’s nothing us Brits will do so unquestioningly as frequent somewhere recommended by multiple persons, whether their tastes align with your own or not. Diners flock to this Caerphilly Mountain pub like vultures to a fresh corpse at weekends, specifically Sundays, with one promise in mind: The Travellers Rest do the best roasts for miles around. And, hey, given how many people wait to be seated on the average Sunday, there must be something in it, right? Well, not quite. Put the anticipation levels up so high and the end result has to be damn fine, particularly when you’ll struggle to get a seat without a spell hanging around awkwardly/​hungrily for a berth. And are The Travellers Rest’s Sunday roasts infallibly brilliant? Not really: there’s nothing here the average country pub carvery doesn’t manage, although the pub itself is a splendidly homely space.

This place used to be great. Used to.
Now whenever I’ve been there it’s been full of screaming kids and food that looks like it’s been microwaved prior to being left out. Vegetables look like they’ve sat on the plate for about an hour before being served up. Brownies that are rock hard and taste a bit off. I usually have to pick about two other things from the menu too as ‘back ups’ as they tend to run out of things quickly.
I try to avoid it now.

One of the best loved and well known pubs in Cardiff. Right smack bang on top of Caerphilly Mountain, and the only pub for a few miles around so also very busy.
The pub is very pretty in a «ye olde pub» kind of way all low ceilings, wood fire and remarkably spacious once you get inside. The food is good and better still you can have a tab going so you can pay for everything, drinks and food at the end. There’s lots on the menu, portion size is good and their pies used to be legendary taking up most of the plate. It can be a bit of a wait to get served but once the orders are in the food comes out pretty quickly. The meals generally come out together and are hot and usually consistently good.
Desserts are also lovely but i tend to share them as they can be quite filling.
Avoid Sunday or peak times. You can generally find a parking space but the space allotted for individual cars can be quite narrow so be patient.

This really is a pub that prides itself on its food. It’s not the kind of place people tend to go for a swift pint. As other Unilocalers have pointed out, Sundays are manic. There’s really no tip I can give for that other than be ready to pounce for a table as soon as one becomes available. If you manage this then The Traveller’s Rest do a fantastic Sunday lunch that really hits the spot. At other times of the week it is not quite as busy and a bit more of a relaxing experience, so this may be a better time to go for some pub grub.
The setting of the place is great, if you have walked over the mountain from Caerphilly towards Thornhill, or are walking up the steepest part of Thornhill Road towards Caerphilly then the fitting name of the place becomes really quite apparent.

This is a lovely little pub that serves fantastic pub grub!
…However the seating needs sorting out.
I am put off of this restaurant on a Sunday as you literally have to sit on a strangers lap to encourage them to leave, to free up a table for long enough to swallow your last mouthful, before you get the lap treatment from somebody else. It is a real put off.
Why cant they have somebody ready to meet, greet and seat you when you enter. Or even a number system, as there is nothing more annoying than seeing somebody who got there after me, seated before me! Grrrr!
Other than the seating issues this is a fabulous pub, serving fabulous food by fabulous staff!
I will go back… Just not on a Sunday!
One last thing, if you get there too late on a Sunday they usually have run out of carvery!

I have often gone to the Traveler’s Rest for Sunday Lunch and I must say it is the worst time to go. it is always busy and because you can’t pre-​book you end up, along with other would be diners, hovering around looking to jump into someone’s seat if they look like they are leaving. Quite embarrassing if they are only going to the toilet.
This problem aside I’ve always had a good meal here. So maybe I should think about going when its less busy.
It’s a nice looking pub, with a thatched roof, nestled into the side of Caerphilly mountain. Watch you don’t bang your head on the way in as it has a low beam warning you how low it is. The problem is I am usually too busy reading this sign and forget to duck.
The inside is quite dark but adds to that quaint cosy cottage style feel and the service is good. The only thing I would add is that the manger seems to have problem smiling.

Just a few miles outside Cardiff on Caerphilly Mountain the Travellers Rest pub is the perfect place to come for a meal or just a simple drink. There is always plenty of parking available, and the food is reasonably priced.
There are plenty of cosy nooks if you want a quiet chat, but equally there are larger tables where you can eat out with all the family (weather permitting)
I particularly like coming here in May time, when after lunch I can take a short walk into the nearby bluebell filled woods, which have an almost ethereal feel to them. Once through the woods you can enjoy the most amazing views over Cardiff and the channel. If you have time I’d really recommend doing this walk, it’s not called the Travellers Rest for nothing!