The new look Fox and Hounds

Me and the wife have been something approaching regulars at the Fox and Hounds in Llancarfan for the last five years or so – but we had a shock on Saturday night.

As the car pulled up outside, I caught a glimpse through the window of the bar. “Oh, they’ve decorated,” I said to the missus on seeing the newly laid wooden floor.

But it was far more than that. On walking through the main door we were greeted by a complete refurb, with the old bar completely gone to make way for a rustic dining room.

The bar is now situated in the smaller adjacent room behind the old main room, with the cosy carpeted little annex that stood at the end of the building more or less preserved as a pre-meal drinks sitting room.

Thankfully, the whole development works well and takes nothing away from the cosiness and quality of the Fox and Hounds.

And it makes sense given that the place is now renowned as an eaterie rather than a drinking establishment.

The most important thing? The food is as superb as ever.

Want to book a table? Call: 01446 781287

Frank is clearly of an age where he deserves to put his feet up, but his reasons for going were nonetheless interesting.

The former merchant navy seaman claimed the smoking ban and cheap supermarket booze had made it too much of a stuggle to go on.

“I’m feeling the weight of it and working for nothing now that the trade has gone,” he said.

“Everything has changed…it’s dying out, there’s no doubt about that.”

Frank claimed the state of things were having a particularly adverse effect on the elderly who he says just aren’t bothering to go out to pubs anymore.

He added: “They used to come out and socialise, meet their friends and smoke their pipes. I miss all that.”

The Station Hotel apparently retains a small band of loyal customers, but I think this is just evidence that unless pubs innovate and offer something other than drinks and peanuts, there is increasingly no future for them.

The pub is to come under new management and I’d be amazed if they do not bring in fresh energy and new ideas.

If they don’t, then they are probably doomed.

But good luck to Frank in his retirement. The pub trade is clearly changing, but it’s not to everyone’s liking.

And at 87, I don’t blame him for not wanting to carry on swimming against the tide.

An excellent and lengthy article by feature writer Matt Thomas gave me the impression that pub owners have had to adopt something of the Blitz spirit in order to survive the triple-whammy of the recession, the smoking ban and the proliferation of cheap supermarket booze offers (he didn’t mention the effect of X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing in persuading millions of people to stay in on a Saturday night).

It was hearetening to read how Nick Otley, boss of the Otley Arms in Pontypridd has opened a deli in his pub and begun brewing his own beer.

The Otley Arms, Treforest

But on a more general theme, it was so encouraging to read about the hard work and innovation by so many landlords and landladies that has not only prevented even more pubs closing than the 52 a week that are already, but seen many of them become business success stories.

It seems it’s not all bad out there.

I was not surprised to see so many of them talking about the importance of offering something different because that is a theme I have encountered at all of the places I have visited in the Vale of Glamorgan while working on this website.

It is a concept that has the full backing of Matthew Eley, news editor of The Publican website.

“The pubs that are surviving, the ones that are flourishing, are those that can change with the times, diversify and bring in new sources of revenue,” said Eley.

Wise words.

One other element of Thomas’ piece that made my eyebrows rise was the tale of Elaina Pescud, landlady of the Engineer’s Arms in Newport – aged just 21.

The Engineer's Arms, Newport

According to the article, Ms Pescud’s mother Gillian was a barmaid at the place between 1986 and 1989, while her aunty Carol Leigh worked there from 1986 to 1991 alongside Elaina’s grandmother Glenys who could be found behind the bar between 1973 and 1981.

I guess her current role was always going to be Elaina’s calling in that case. And it seems she’s not making a bad fist of it despite her relatively tender years because “the Engine” seems to be roaring again after it’s very future was threatened following the departure of previous landlord David Richmond, who shut the place last year citing the effects of the credit crunch.

I say keep up the good work Elaina – and all those in Wales and the UK like her.

The first one I came across was the Beehive in Feltham, West London, which comprises a traditional British boozer with an adjacent Thai restaurant. I’ve been to several others since but in South Wales they are few and far between.

For me, the concept works. You can head out intending to eat a certain cuisine in the knowledge that you can also have time in the pub without having a walk or a car journey in between.

The Sully Inn, Sully

The Sully Inn, just around the corner from the church at the Barry end of Sully village offers such an experience with the Indian restaurant Elaichi above the pub.

In my opinion, any establishment that involves a building housing both a pub and a curry house has a certain genius behind it.

To get the bad bit out of the way, the pub is tatty. Nothing wrong with the standard of the drinks, but the decor needs an urgent facelift, the whole place looks tired, like it hasn’t received any tender loving care for many a year.

However, it’s still a perfectly serviceable environment in which to sit and whet the appetite – and they do serve a decent pint of Brains SA.

The Elaichi restaurant

The Indian however will lift your spirits.

With a modern decor it is a delightful little place to sit and have a meal, and the food is outstanding.

I went for the lamb bhuna and wasn’t disappointed, with the vegetable samosas I had to start also top notch.

The service was friendy and attentive and we left there glad to have discovered a such a good curry option so close to our house in Barry.

The sight of a load of teenage-looking geeks in the bar downstairs as we left further diminished our impressions of the pub though. It is not somewhere I would choose to go for just a drink.

But I would endorse the idea of heading there for a few liveners and then checking out the curry. You won’t be disappointed. 

Want to book a table? Call: 02920 530176

The Star, Dinas Powys

There are times when all you want from an evening out is a pleasant clean atmosphere and a good solid meal.

Well, you’ll get that at The Star which stands as one of three pubs on the village square in Dinas Powys, the Three Horseshoes and the Cross Keys being the other two.

A Brains establishment the Star was transformed around eight or nine years ago when it underwent a major refurbishment. It had become rather grotty.

Not so now though. A large open plan network of tables and a cosy fireside area perfect for a winter’s night make it a welcoming place.

A nice little touch of having the day’s papers on a table to read is always appreciated by me and the wife.

But the food will not disappoint you either. There’s all the usual pub classics on the menu as well as a specials board, and the quality and presentation is no-frills but always delivers.

A personal favourite of mine is the cajun chicken and chips, with the chicken breast done just how I like it, with a crispy outer casing and perfectly seasoned.

Accompanied by a nice pint of Stella, you simply can’t go wrong at The Star these days and two meals and drinks shouldn’t set you back much more than £20-odd.

Want to book a table? Call: 02920 514245

The Captain's Wife, Sully

Wow! This place is well and truly back – as me and the wife discovered on a quiet Sunday night just after new year.

When I was a kid the Captain’s Wife had a reputation as an upmarket fish restaurant and to be taken there by my parents was considered a real treat.

But it lapsed in subsequent years, becoming a haven for Chavvish young lager louts flaunting their Kevmobiles in the car park outside, which overlooks the sea and Sully Island.

It later became a non-descript Brewers Fayre chain pub and thus very unappealling.

Now though, as part of the Village Inns chain, it does have a gorgeous homely feel, and more importantly the food and drink stands up to scrutiny.

I loosened up with a few pints of the marvellous Czech brew Staropramen, which you don’t see in many places over here.

The incomparable Staropramen

We took our seats next to a roaring log fire which was attended to at regular intervals by the staff, and then settled down to a beautiful meal.

I went for Hunters Chicken and the wife had rump steak. We were both more than satisfied, particularly with the bowl of well cooked and tasty chips that came with the meals.

So I think it’s time to consign any old conceptions you may have had about the Captain’s Wife to history.

The place is well worth a visit if you want a warm relaxing atmosphere and good food and drink.

Not the first hostelry with a thatched roof to go up in flames, a drive past the cherished place had you wondering whether anyone would ever be able to duck under it’s low slung beams and wile away an evening there again.

Thankfully, the place lived to fight another day. Pop along there now and you wouldn’t know the blaze had ever occurred.

And landlord Jeremy Coleman is optimistic about the future.

“It was a traumatic time for us all,” said Mr Coleman, who has been involved with the running of the pub for decades.

“Initially we thought it was going to be a couple of months before it was sorted but we were out if action for 10 months in all.

“But we felt better once we knew the building and structure was essentially OK and that it was going to come back.

“It is good when people say that you wouldn’t know it had happened at all. That shows we got the renovations right.”

So what’s it like to work in such a unique place as the Blue Anchor.

I say unique, in that it truly is just that. The pub has been welcoming customers since 1380, longer than any other place in the Vale and stroll through its quintessential rooms and there will be moments when you feel you’ve been transported back to that period.

“You do get attached to the place,” Jeremy added.

“It is a lovely place to come and work. I live just a short drive away in the village which is good because it gives me some detachment while at the same time I an never far away.

“And the convenient thing is that with the ceilings being thin it’s not difficult hearing people call out for you!”

Like so many country pubs nowadays, Jeremy stressed the Blue Anchor has become reliant on its reputation for food.

With drink-driving more of an issue now than it was in the old days we rely on food for about 60 per cent of what we take in,” he added.

“It used to be 70 per cent drik and 30 per cent food, but times have changed so much in this business.

“Money is tight at the moment and it is not easy dragging people out to places like ours.

“But we are in a stronger position than most because we have a good reputation as a destination pub.”

Want to book a table? Call: 01446 750329

But people have been drinking and eating there for well over a century now, and the pub has successfully changed down the decades to adapt to an ever-evolving market.

Jon Beynton currently runs the place with his wife Alison and he’s had experience working in London nightclubs as well as various roles in the retail world.

He’s been in situe for four and a half years now, and he has no plans to go anywhere.

Jon’s insight into running the pub known locally as “the Jockey” was fascinating.

“It’s not like on TV with the Woolpack or the Queen Vic, where you have a cooked breakfast every morning and the place is magically ready to just open,” he said.

“No, it’s hard work. There is so much prearation to be done, so much organisation and balancing of the books as well.

“I find I’m not in bed until 1.30am most evenings and it can get very hectic.

“But it is not a job it is a way of life and so you just get on and enjoy it.

“Fortunately I do. I’ve worked in a number of different environments but I’ve always wanted to run my own pub. I get a kick out of it.”

Along with so many others in the trade, getting through the economic challenges of the present time has not been easy for Jon and Alison.

And the seclusion of the Horse and Jockey’s location has only added to those challenges.

But he believes they are through the worst of it now.

“For a place like ours food is essential, you have to give families a reason to come out to you,” Jon added.

“But that is what we have done with offers like two-for-one on main courses on a Monday night.

“It’s gone fairly well. I think the places that have struggled in this recession are the pure drinkers pubs, places which rely on blokes having a few pints on the way home from work.

“You have to be about more than that to survive nowadays.”

As well as a burgeoning reputation for food, Jon takes pride in the drinks side of the business too.

He continued: “We started what we called HAJRAS or the Horse and Jockey Real Ale Society.

“Customers would be able to try guest ales every week and vote for them and we would keep a score behind the bar.

“We pride ourselves on having quality ales and it adds to what we offer here.”

Want to book a table? Call: 02920 670410

To my delight there was the usual wide range of real ales on offer, with one barrel of mild called On The Rails actually on the bar, where the staff were tapping it direct.

But one innovation I hadn’t seen there before was the chance to try any of the ales you liked before making a selection on a pint.

We gladly took up this chance, knocking back several shot glasses of different brands before settling on one.

I went for an Ascot-based brew called Top Dog which was 4.2 abv and I can thoroughly recommend it.

It certainly beat the usual John Smiths, Worthingtons options.

But as I have said in other posts, that’s the beauty of Wetherspoon’s pubs. While being a throwback to what these places used to be, they also lead the way in innovation and they cannot be beaten on value.

That can’t be a bad combination in anyone’s book.

I’m 36-years-old and live in Barry with my wife Stacy. My local pub has always been the Wenvoe Arms, but I’m a keen pub-goer full stop, and have a good working knowledge of many of the best ones in the Vale.

I’ve put this site together as part of my course module in Online Journalism. As well as giving people an idea about the what the best pubs in the Vale of Glamorgan have to offer, I hope I’ve also given an insight into what it takes to run them. There’s some pub attitude on my blog too as well as some reviews which I hope you’ll find helpful.

Good old Eric!

A white horse walks into a pub and the landlord shouts out: “Hey, we’ve got a whisky here named after you!”

The horse replies: “What, Eric?”

One and a half years spent doing this?

The revelation this week that British males spend a year and a half of their lives in pubs got me pausing for reflection.

We had UK TV channel Blighty to thank for the information, and I couldn’t help but wonder just what time amount I am currently at.

As if I had some sort of meter, I’d love to know whether I’ve crossed the nine month threshold by now. It’s a fair bet given that I’ve been through my mis-spent youth which contained my late-teens and early 20s when the village pub more or less doubled as the living room of my home.

But hey-ho, better to have been in a nice warm pub supping beer than doing drugs in some back alley, at least that’s how I console myself.

My alloted hours in the pub are drastically reduced these days.

As I’ve hit my mid-thirties I have found that I simply cannot mix drinking with getting up and going to work the morning after, even if we’re talking only three or four pints.

You see, as I’ve advanced in years – though there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet – I’ve found alcohol disrupts my sleep more and more.

In my salad days I’d go out, have a good session, fall into bed and wake blisfully at a suitably late hour the following morning.

Now though, while I may go off quicker having had a few, I almost always wake in the small hours when I find it difficult to get back to sleep.

The effect alcohol has on my sinuses isn’t great either.

So one thing is certain, less hours in the pub has equated to more hours of quality sleep, such a vital component to mental wellbeing.

One other thing. The same survey also found that on average we spend £65,000 in a lifetime on eating and drinking in pubs.

Do I wish I’d saved that money up to now instead? Do I hell.

The BrewDog motif

You have to wonder about the wisdom of any brewer bringing out a beer of 32% abv, but that’s precisely what BrewDog of Fraserburgh have done with their Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

It’s knocking on for being as strong as whisky and BrewDog emphasise that it is supposed to be enjoyed in spirit-sized measures.

But come on, that’s not what having a beer is all about is it?

Alcohol watchdogs have branded the product a cynical marketing ploy and I have to say I know where they are coming from.

I certainly wouldn’t entertain drinking it, if I want something that strong I’ll have a whisky – though thankfully I have yet to experience the feeling of ever actually “wanting” a whisky.

Personally I’m not interested in any beer stronger than about 5% i.e your Stellas, Peronis, Grolsh etc. Anything more is like drinking syrup.

A mate of mine said he had a pint of Belgian brew Leffe at 8% in one country pub the other day and was feeling the effects pretty quickly.

So I’ll be giving Tactical Nucleur Penguin a tactical swerve if ever I cross its path. Even more so given that BrewDog plan to sell it for £30 a bottle.

At that price it sounds as if the old Penguin concoction is going to be more of a collectors item to be stowed away in some dark cupboard and brought out to show relatives years later.

Goodness knows how strong it would be then!

The former assistant manager of the Old Arcade in central Cardiff has made a big impact with regulars since taking charge at the village pub six weeks ago.

And O’Donoghue is so determined to settle into the semi-rural way of life in Wenvoe and breath some much-needed life into what used to be a jewel of the Vale network, that he is thinking of making an offer to Brains.

“It is whether Brains can give me the tools to make a go of it, but I am thinking about it for the future,” he said.

“It would mean I could take over the complete running of the pub and that appeals to me.

“I came to the Wenvoe because I want to buy into the way of life here and give this place back to the customers.”

Were O’Donoghue to take over the lease he would have to lock the Wenvoe into a contract to buy Brains products that would not come cheap.

But the 33-year-old from Swansea appears to believe that the pub needs a leaseholder in charge following years of short-lived managers being in situe.

“There have been a succession of relief managers and I don’t think some of them have really wanted to be here,” added O’Donoghue.

“But I see the potential of this place.”

The Wenvoe Arms

Half and hour in the company of Dan O’Donoghue will leave you wondering whether he is lucky to have the Wenvoe Arms, or the Wenvoe Arms is lucky to have him.

As the latest “holding manager” to be placed at the village pub on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the easy assumption to make is that under his command little will change at a pub which has suffered from a painful turnover of bosses for the best part of two decades.

But there’s something about the 33-year-old from the Waun Wen district of Swansea that offers hope to regulars who have been taken for granted for too long.

As pub ‘guvners’ go, O’Donoghue is relatively young, but he’s earned his stripes in the trade the hard way through spells at the Model Inn and the famous Old Arcade in Cardiff city centre.

Now though, O’Donoghue, who graduated from Cardiff University with a Sociology degree in the mid-nineties, wants a more tranquil base.

The father of one seems determined to tap the potential of what used to be a magnet for pub goers across South Wales.

And he insists he’s got his sights set on staying the course, putting down some roots in a semi-rural community and re-establishing the Wenvoe as a place to make villagers proud once again.

But you suspect he needs the pub less than the pub needs him.

“I see this trade as more of a hobby really, that is to say I enjoy it, and if you don’t enjoy it you need to get out of it,” O’Donoghue said, as we chatted over a coffee in the bar of the Wenvoe.

“The Model and the Old Arcade could be rough, and they were different environments to this.

“In a city centre pub you never know who is going to walk through the door and start playing up – and that usually happened just as I sat down for a cup of tea upstairs!

“In the end there were just too many angry young men in the centre of Cardiff and so when the Wenvoe came up I was immediately interested.”

Dan O'Donoghue, landlord of the Wenvoe

O’Donoghue arrived at his new place of work with an idea of just what needed to be done.

In the first two months of his tenure at the Wenvoe he set about ensuring the standards of the food and drink were high and he even began sprucing up the décor with the addition of some of his own personal pictures and mirrors.

“To me the Wenvoe has suffered down the years because too many people have come and gone,” he stressed.

“It needs someone to stay here and really start to get behind it.

“The customers have put up with enough, they’ve been taken for granted really because there is nowhere else to drink in the village.

“For me the key is going to be to raise standards and give people real reasons to come back here.

“But I want the pub to be at the heart of the community. I came here because I wanted a new way of life.”

O’Donoghue began his working life as a carer for children with behavioural problems when living in Nottingham.

He also spent a year in college in the United States, when he lived with his father just outside Chicago.

But he seems to have found the place he wants to settle for the foreseeable future.

“I know there is potential here and it is about tapping into that,” he added.

If the increased vibrancy of the Wenvoe is anything to go by, or indeed the increasing amount of positive comments circulating about it, then O’Donoghue is already on the way to doing just that.

Want to book a table? Call: 02920 591129

The Horse and Jockey, Twyn-yr-Odyn

What a hidden gem of a place this is.

Tucked on top of the hill overlooking the ITV Wales studios at Culverhouse Cross, the Horse and Jockey has a homely feel that some pubs can only aspire to.

And the food was top class when me, the wife and two friends went there last Saturday night.

I went for the 10oz rump steak which was served on one of those sizzle dishes and perfectly cooked.

The wife plumped for the beef curry – and she’s still raving about it now.

My mate is a big ribs man and wasn’t disappointed with this version off the specials board, and I suppose the proof of the evening’s success was the four cleared plates at the end.

The beer selection took me pleasantly by surprise too. As a guest ale the incomparable Wadworth 6X was in attendance and strong lager drinkers were well catered for with both San Miguel and Grolsch on offer.

The Horse and Jockey doesn’t have the reputation yet of some of the more established Vale gastro pubs, but on this evidence it won’t be long.

Well worth a visit.

Want to book a table? Call: 02920 670410

Good old Wetherspoon's!

I’ve always had time for Wetherspoon’s pubs, ever since one of them was built opposite the Gwent Gazette – where I trained as a journalist – in Ebbw Vale town centre around a decade ago.
They are different to other chains, and their low pricing has shaken up the entire industry in the last 10 years.
There’s a no-music policy across the board in all of them as far as I’m aware, but there are certain elements about them that make them a triumph.
The prices are one, but there’s also the wide range of beer choice and the flexibility around the food operation in all of them.
The one I frequent most these days is on Feltham high street, west London, near to where my brother-in-law and his family live.
It’s called the Moon on the Square, and it’s a well nigh perfect little place.
There is always a huge selection of real ales as well as lagers, stouts etc and foreign bottled lagers that you don’t see many other places.
What’s more, you can get served food there up to a really late hour – I’m talking gone 10 o’clock – with no fuss or objection whatsoever.
My brother-in-law Mark, the deputy leader of the local authority, likes nothing better than a well earned burger and chips after a busy day of work and council meetings.
The cusine isn’t exactly a la carte, but it’s good honest grub and like the drinks, it’s value for money.
The other factor is the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, who are always helpful, welcoming and quick to pounce on any misbehaviour.
Overall, you just can’t go wrong at a Wetherspoon’s in my opinion.
And judging by the increasing presence of them up and down the country, there are plenty who agree with me.