Kitty Flynns

The main reason I visit so many pubs is that I'm always looking for somewhere to watch the footy, generally in peace or with a good crowd.

Much like mentioned, it can get real busy depending on what the sport/game is and is a horrible place to try and drink.

However I do love the crowd here and the place has a great atmosphere with plenty of banter rolling around without ever feeling malicious.

There are pubs and then there are PUBS. Pick any Wetherspoons or Scream pub and you're definitely at one of the former group. These are pubs in name only; high polished affairs with attractive barstaff, a wide range of drinks to cater for all customers, airy, pleasant toilet facilities and televisions showing a variety of distractions. On the other hand, members of the latter group are all about the spit and the sawdust; staffed by large, ugly men who serve you ale if you ask for milk and with toilets that make you pray for socially acceptable colostomy bags. Kitty Flynn's is certainly the latter.

The staff in Kitty Flynn's actually aren't that large and they aren't that ugly. They do serve a variety of drinks and generally, you get what you ask for. The toilets aren't even THAT bad. The atmosphere, though, is definitely that of an old school pub. Men go there to drink in an atmosphere they have grown up in and if you're a new guy, everyone glares at you with the thought of "OUTSIDER!" running through their minds on a very obvious marquee.

It does have a great atmosphere though; not every drinking establishment needs the shimmer and shine of a Wetherspoons. Sometimes, you don't want a cosmopolitan chain bar. Sometimes, you're looking for a pub that your dad would be proud to frequent, and that's Kitty Flynn's.

Originally built in 1830 and formerly The Cambrian, this street corner 'Irish' (note the inverted commas) pub is not its owners Brain's finest moment. The idea of a Welsh-owned Irish pub leaves a lot to be desired. On the corner with Caroline Street and St Mary's Street it has the regulation green facade and the inside is nothing special either.

There's the bare untreated Irish pub style wooden floor, green and dark pink walls and a wooden ceiling. If you want to stand up and sup ale you'll find lots of space - there's simply not enough people to fill the place. Elsewhere there's basic seating with a raised area at the front with room for a couple of tables and bucket armchairs.

As with most 'Irish' pubs the classic Toucan adverts for Ireland's most famous dark export make it look like a Guinness museum. Their bird-patterned stained glass windows are listed and the music is incidental rather than dominant.

Do I have to give this place a Star rating?

It used to be such a lovely place full of atmosphere and character. Sure you took your life in your hands going to the toilet but you didn't mind the ammonia and soiled floors because the pub above you was so good.

But now ... This is a soulless little place that has no atmosphere and from my two recent visits, not many customers. There were 4 old men sitting in silence yesterday. The draft beer is not great, presumably as they aren't selling much of it so it just sits there in the pipes. There are little black flies buzzing around the optics and pumps so the hygiene is up for question.

This place has a great location and great character in the fabric of the building and so should be one of the jewels in the Brains crown but the brewery need to sort the rest of it out ASAP as it is currently a bad advert for them.

As for the toilets, I didn't stay long enough this time to find out if they are still as described above but, based on what is set out, why wouldn't they be!!

Thankfully a proper, unpretentious Irish boozer and not your typical plastic paddy pub.


St Patrick's weekend, Wales v Ireland - this is where the craic is - packed to the rafters, live music, plenty of singing etc. Happy days - and fun times.

I would never have gone in here normally but I received a phone call from a friend waiting for me in the pub. It looks like a fairly normal Irish pub, but its actually owned by Brain's. Still they serve up a well poured Guiness so it gets marks there.

Its pretty small inside too with traditional wooden seating and tables. Yes there are a few old man types knocking about but the bar staff were chatty and I didn't feel out of place.

It gets massively busy if you happen to be in town for a Wales V Ireland match, so much so that you won't get anywhere near the bar unless you've been there since opening.

A really different vibe to most of the big, brash chain bars on the street and a good like hideaway for an afternoon drink.

Kitty Flynns is a pub. No more of less than that, really. It's got a relatively small bar and an open room with a dew tables and chairs dotted around. These chairs are near enough impossible to locate if the place is busy when the pub becomes somewhere to stand with a pint before heading on to somewhere else in town.

It claims to be an Irish pub, which I suppose it is in as much as they will probably have similar pubs in Ireland, but there's nothing overtly Irish about it other than some memorabilia on the wall. Perhaps this adds to its authenticity rather than going for broke and becoming gimmicky. The prices of pints are fairly standard since it is in the centre of Cardiff, £3.20 for a Heineken, for example.

Worth dropping in if you want yourself a no frills pub for a swift drink.

Located just outside the Wyndham Arcade I would consider Kitty Flynns to be in Cardiff's blind spot as can be quite easy to miss. If you do take a step back and look at the pub one is overwhelming struck by the look of Kitty Flynns and the fact it wouldn't look out of place in the middle of Dublin.

Inside Kitty Flynns oozes character and like any of these pubs there are always the regulars but I found them quite friendly and when I sat down with my pint I found some of the regulars were more than happy to take part in a bit of banter and share a joke or two. This pub appears to attract some of the older punters so I don't know quite how a group of students would find this pub on a night out that said you can also be sure that as this place has Sky Sports it will be crammed on match days.

This friendly, traditional pub shows off its Irish heritage with pride. Even the old building it's housed in seems to sit well with the Irish theme.

It's a fairly small and straightforward establishment with few of the bells and whistles you'll find at more trendy, contemporary bars, but it has far more charm and atmosphere than many of those more fashionable places.

If you like to drink somewhere atmospheric, with a few friendly regulars lining the bar and a more mixed (and slightly older) clientèle than you get at many city centre bars, Kitty Flynn's is a good choice. If you're over 25 you certainly won't feel geriatric in here like you might in some bars! Just watch out for match days when things can get a lot more rowdy.

My companions name is Katie Flynn. So we naturally had to stop for her to take a picture with the large green wooden pub sign spelling out the lovely Irish name bestowed upon her.