Bar Cwtch

Bar Cwtch is part of Jolyon’s Boutique Hotel and is situated in the Mermaid Quay area of Cardiff Bay. It is a small, modest basement snug of a bar, quite modern & tastefully decorated.
They serve wines, cocktails and real ales. They also offer food such as pizzas cooked in a wood stone oven, smoked fish, freshly baked bread, cheese boards and platters, tapas & mezes, welsh breakfasts — all fairly hearty & rustic fare. All organic & locally sources I am led to believe too.
They cater for private parties too, which happened to be such an occasion when I went with a works Christmas party for drinks afterwards.
Loved the intimacy, cosiness & charm of the pace with the open fire and big red leather sofas.
What also sold it for me being a real ale enthusiast and a member of CAMRA was the fact the bar man was also a member too. This meant he had a good working knowledge of the ales and was able to suggest a couple of American craft ales and a Belgian Trappist Monk beer.
A highly recommended watering hole that is well worth a visit.

Right in the heart of the bay, opposite the Wales Millennium Centre, is this tiny bar consisting of a few picnic style tables along the side of the bar and some sofas at the other end. It is really tiny (hence the name). The menu boasts about 8 or so pizzas it even has 2 vegetarian options! The pizzas are really tasty (and big!) There’s a lovely beer garden and the bar is situated right next door to the Eli Jenkins. Pricewise, it will set you back about £10 for a pizza and average prices for drinks. Fantastic atmosphere and friendly staff lovely place.

A nice little basement hideaway down Cardiff Bay, with great atmosphere and friendly staff. Near the Wales Millennium Centre.

A great find unlike anything else in the area. An intimate and inviting bar would recommend it to anyone visiting the bay.

I think I had the misfortune to go on an off night but I have no desire to go back to Bar Cwtch. I’d been briefly before just as it was getting it’s food license so we could only have a drink but the whole experience looked very rosy indeed. Quite intimate, dizzying steps to go down to get in and out and very cosy inside.
Basically I returned in the summer with some friends to try the food. We were sat in front of the open bar and kitchen area but there was quite a smell which turned out to be some gone off prawns, being prepared for us. Our money was refunded and we went elsewhere to eat but the smell permeated throughout the pub.
We also ordered our food a good 40 minutes before the food was cooked. The wait wasn’t helped by the fact that as it was high summer both doors were open and it was like being in a wind tunnel. It was really cold and we shivered waiting for our food. Even though we asked what the delay was nothing seemed to be happening. I didn’t have confidence in the staff being honest, it all seemed a case of «
…»

Bar Cwtch doesn’t really fit in down at Cardiff Bay, and that’s why I like it. ‘Cwtch’ means ‘Hug’ or ‘Cuddle’ in Welsh, but not really, a cwtch is different from a hug, slightly, it’s a Welsh hug. The drink prices are certainly not cheap, it’s more like a wine bar than a pub, but they have a good selection of different ales and things. They also do really great food.
As the name suggests, this really is an intimate affair. If more than one person has entered through the Doctor Who Tardis doors then it’s crowded, but that’s part of its charm. It can be a great place to spend an evening taking in the atmosphere, but not really somewhere to grab a swift pint. Once you’re in Bar Cwtch you’re in for the long haul. A place that serves pizza and wine and ales isn’t too bad a place to be inside for the long haul.

Bar Cwtch is the type of bar I really want to work. Tucked underground just two minutes away from the Wales Millennium Centre it has such potential to be the kind of place I could take my friends with pride.
And yet, it doesn’t quite live up to the dream. Yes, as the name suggests it’s very cosy. But rather than a place where you can cuddle up with a loved one with a drink in hand, you find yourself pushing past a bunch of strangers getting strangely annoyed with the fact the bar area has the atmosphere of a crowded corridor.
This sensation is heightened when it comes to dining. It’s not uncommon to find yourself so close to someone else you can practically taste their pizza. This is perhaps all very well for you, because the food does smell divine, but it hardly makes you want to trade places with the claustrophobic diner.
But if you do find yourself lucky enough to claim a chair, I do recommend their bottled beers. Bar Cwtch are one of those precious few bars in Cardiff that stock beers from the fantastic Pontypridd-​based Otley Brewing Company. A bottle of their O8 and you’re all set for a quick pre-​theatre drink, or apéritif. Just make sure you emerge before the air runs out.
URBAN CHALLENGE: Hug a stranger

In the winter you can sit inside on the comfy sofas by a roaring fire, and in summer you can lounge in the sun out on a sizeable patio, so whatever the time of year Bar Cwtch is a brilliant little place to go if you fancy somewhere a bit different.
Named after a form of intimate cuddling, this bar is certainly an intimate one. The inside is long and thin and is a lovely place to go with a few friends, but probably not your best bet if you’re out for a Cardiff Bay pub crawl. The drinks on offer are good and include bottled ales and ciders as well as cocktails, and there’s also a very distinctive food menu with fresh, made-​to-​order stone-​baked pizzas and tasty antipasti.
But my favourite bits of Bar Cwtch are the funky extra touches that really make this place stand out. The décor I found really cool, especially all the rubber ducks around the bar that were there on my first visit, and the door coming in from the patio is the front of an old-​school police box complete with a blue light on top of it (great if you’re a Doctor Who fan like me). There’s also a visitors’ book in the bar that you can have a flick through (some of the comments were brilliant) and you can sign it yourself if you like. The vibe of the place is really chilled-​out and groovy, as if someone’s crossed a surfer’s hut with a Swiss chalet and loosened it all up with some cocktails, and it’s a really nice place to spend a few hours with some friends or with that special someone.

For all you non Welshies out there Cwtch means cuddle…
…And as a hot young Welsh lass there is nothing I like more than a good long Cwtch with my lover. So when I heard of bar Cwtch I had to give it a go.
Admittedly I was quite drunk when we arrived at the bar but from what I can remember it was all good. To enter you have to walk through a huge police box (which I found super funny at the time) and down some stairs.
It is quite a small but intimate bar and I imagine it would be a good place to go to on a first date. The drink selection is good as are the prices. I did see a food menu but haven’t tried it myself as yet.
The only negative is that I can remember struggling to find a seat so I was standing for most of the evening which made my little feet sore ;-(
I will go back… either earlier to get a seat or in flat shoes!

Cwtch is an odd bar it’s below street level for a start and the atmosphere is relaxed and interestingly decorated kind of an oddball of the bar scene you wouldn’t know it was there during the night as its not well advertised. They have a well stocked bar with a variety of alcoholic beverages, tea, coffee and a selection of pizzas if you fancy food. The place has character come out of every corner.

Bar Cwtch is an underground narrow little character filled bar that you could easily walk straight past unless you knew it was there.
The back entrance (or it maybe its the front entrance) is accessed by going through a Doctor Who style police box but unlike the tardis the inside seems smaller than the outside. You may have a problem getting a seat but if you don’t then pick the big red sofas.
I went there on a 1^st date with my partner and when we 1^st arrived we had to make do with the rickety chairs and table next to the entrance but as time went on and people left we slowly upgraded our seating by quickly acquiring the seats of people who had just left. By the time it was last orders we finally found ourselves ensconced if somewhat sozzled on the comfy furniture of choice, the red sofas, opposite the bar.
It’s a quaint cozy little place with friendly service — they does a nice pizza. I never understand why the beer garden doesn’t get busy though as its every bit as good as Eli Jenkins next door.

I love Cwtching, I do. That’s hugging to you none Welsh. As such I was already enamoured with the idea of Bar Cwtch, a bar that hugs you, much like a good Port or a Baileys. The downstairs lounge bar of Jolyon’s hotel in Cardiff Bay lives up to this pretty well, especially during winter with the fire burning, making it a lovely cosy place for a cwtch.
The fact they do lush lush pizzas in their wood stove oven is also a winner in my book at around the £8/​£9 mark. They are totally scrummy and made from scratch on the premises. The antipasti for two is also great (£11.95). This is a great place for a date, by name and by game. Good wine, good cocktails, good continental beers, good food and good location — you just need to provide the good conversation.. . never a problem for me!

I really do love this cute little bar, but sometimes it’s just a little too quiet to feel comfortable in, especially during the week.

Bar Cwtch has a very central Cardiff Bay location on Bute Crescent, and has made the most of it by creating a very cosy, relaxing place to drink — even on the windiest winter nights in the Bay.
There are comfortable sofas that give it a lounge-​like feel, and a trendy little garden to sit outside in on those rare warm afternoons and evenings you get from time to time down at the Bay!
It’s a favourite of Bay residents, and many others who’ve been lucky enough to discover it, and the bar owner seems to have got his formula just right. You can order after-​work tapas and mezze, plus pizzas made fresh with Cwtch’s own hand-​made dough and baked in a traditional wood-​fire oven. Then there are the cocktails — I’ve only tried the Margaritas, which have quite a kick, but they have plenty of others to choose from, plus a good range of beers (and tea or coffee if you prefer). Highly recommended for any evening spent drinking in Cardiff Bay.

Below Jolyon’s boutique hotel is Bar Cwtch, the perfect place to escape the crowds for a relaxing drink or two down the Bay, and an ideal place for a date (apparently). It’s a small underground bar with comfy lounges to sink into and a funky garden complete with dodgem’s to chill out in during the summer. The bar door is even made out to look like Dr. Who’s Tardis which makes for a perfect photo opportunity, personally I think I looked the part!
They also have some great snacks in the evening made using the best Welsh ingredients and apparently they serve up a pretty good breakfast too, but its asking a lot for me to get up that early.
The occasional celebrity has been spotted here; Catherine Tate was a visitor while she was in town filming. The appeal is that only locals seem to know this place exists and the relaxed atmosphere makes everyone feel at home.

In Welsh «Cwtch» translates to «a safe place» and this lovely little bar under Jolyons hotel certainly feels like a sanctuary. It’s warm, cosy, inviting, underground (always a really big hit with me!) and almost feels undiscovered. It is really very small but I like that, can be a bit of a problem finding a seat when it’s busy though. There are comfy leather sofas and copies of the guardian scattered around so really it just feels like a home from home. They’ve got a good selection of beers as well as cocktails and teas so there’s something for absolutely everyone.
I’ve recently sampled the outdoor seating which will be fabulous in the summer, but for now I’m happy in the warm buzzy basement sipping my Duval, flicking through the observer and ignoring the world.

A bar with a little bit of originality, just round the corner from all the chain bars in the Bay. Set in the basement under Jolyon’s Hotel, it serves a small but interesting range of beers, including some very nice (though expensive) Belgian beers. The food menu consists solely of a choice of pizzas, most of them vegetarian, which get cooked in their pizza oven right in front of you when they’re ordered. The pizzas are absolutely huge, and the ingredients very fresh, so the resulting pizza is very tasty, though I felt it could’ve been a bit more imaginative.
This place isn’t cheap, by any means, but it seems to attract a decent bunch of people (quite a few of them seem to be media-​types) and it’s pretty friendly.
Bear in mind if you’re heading to Bar Cwtch that sometimes it gets booked out for private parties, wedding receptions, etc., so sometimes you just won’t get in.

Cwtch was a non-​smoking bar waaaaaaaaaaaaay before the smoking ban came into place and has always done its own thing. Situated in Cardiff Bay, next door the the Ely Jenkins pub, you can get into Cwtch via the standard front entrance or you can go to the back door and enter via the Tardis! The seating area out the back is lovely too.
Cwtch is cosy (a little too cosy when it gets really busy) and friendly and has its own Pizza oven (the pizzas are something else in here). The owner loves music of all kinds and will often play requests. His iPod playlists are fab and you never quite know what’s coming next.
Probably one of Cardiff’s very few truly original bars and well worth a visit.

This bar is full of big sofas, new and interesting beers and lively music. It’s the perfect place to chill out and have a good time. It’s a tiny cellar which never seems to get too crowded, probably because no one can find it and no one ever talk about it, which in my opinion is a good thing, the atmosphere is lively and cheerful and it has a much nicer feel than any of the bars on St. Marys street which tend to me crowded and full of angry drunken people, but down in the depths under Jolyon’s boutique hotel everyone is smiling in bar cwtch!