The Andrew Buchan

Head down Albany Road towards Cathays and you'll find yourself in a proper neighbourhood boozer that actually feels like it belongs to the people drinking in it. The Andrew Buchan's the kind of place where regulars prop up the bar and the staff know what you're having before you ask—no craft cocktail menus or Instagram-bait here. You're looking at honest cask ales, decent pub food that doesn't pretend to be anything fancier than it is, and a room that smells like it's got proper stories embedded in the walls. It's exactly what Cardiff needs more of: a pub that's genuinely local rather than aggressively themed.