Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

The WOW 24/7 website has put the spotlight on The Cricketers pub in Cathedral Road, Cardiff. The Cricketers is the flagship pub in the chain owned by the award-winning Evan-Evans Brewery. The pub was featured in the website's list of '10 of the best Proper pubs in Cardiff. The website said - A roaring open fire, a cosy chair, and a proper pint glass – no matter how deep our love for a trendy bar, there’s nothing quite like a good pint in a ‘proper’ pub. Local blogger Jane Cook shares her guide to the best traditional public houses in Cardiff. Among the pubs listed was The Cricketers - Set in a classic Victorian townhouse, just behind the SWALEC cricket stadium, The Cricketers offers a great range of Welsh ales from their sister brewery, Evan Evans in Llandeillo. Since opening in 2010, it has become a firm favourite for its location, but also the open fire during the winter and the sunny beer garden in summer. As for the food, this centres around a seasonally changing...

Chris Brown from The Cricketers in Cardiff has been featured on the Chef's Forum website. Chris is the chef at the award-winning Evan-Evans Brewery flagship pub in Cathedral Road, Cardiff. This is what Chefs' Forum had to say about Chris -  The root of Chris Brown’s culinary success goes right back to his first ever job in the industry at the Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff. Over a decade later, he still cites his head chef there as an important role model and major source of inspiration. This teacher instilled in his young protégé a winning work ethic, helping Chris to realise his potential early on. The firm but fruitful style of training he received, equipped Chris with the tools for gastronomic triumph – and indeed, his career has since gone from strength to strength. The first kitchen he ever headed gained an AA rosette under his lead; he achieved a double AA rosette award with his team at the prestigious Celtic Manor; and he has even worked in renowned Michelin-sta...

The Evan-Evans Brewery flagship pub at The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, has been shortlisted in the National Tourism Awards for Wales. The pub has been picked in the 'Best place to eat (pub)' category. A record number of Welsh tourism businesses have entered this year’s National Tourism Awards for Wales, with 59 now shortlisted for the prestigious awards. More than 420 applications were made for the 19 National Tourism Award categories that will name the Best Place to Eat, the Best Place to Stay, the Best Visitor Experience and the Regional Tourism Awards, among others. The awards are staged by Visit Wales, in partnership with the Wales Tourism Alliance and in commercial partnership with Quadrant Media and Communications, to recognise and reward the very best in Welsh tourism. In total, there are 15 businesses short-listed from the Capital Region, which covers South East Wales, 12 from mid Wales, 16 from North Wales and 16 from South West Wales. The short-listed bu...

It has been billed as the best job opportunity ever - Official Beer Taster! In December of last year, Evan-Evans started the search for a group of beer tasters to help the award-winning brewery with the development of its new beer range for the summer of 2012. The company received more than 250 applications for what was described as the best job in brewing. The first 25 successful tasters met last month for a training session headed by Evan-Evans brewery Chief Executive Simon Buckley and Ian Swanson of The Beer Academy. Now, tomorrow (June 9), a second batch of tasters are to be put through their paces on a specially-designed beer tasting course. The course, being held at The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, will cover a variety of topics and include the tasting of a series of beer styles and the skills required to become a professional beer taster. The course culminates in an exam and a final tasting session at the bar of The Cricketers, the top food pub in Wales. Mr Buckl...

It was billed as the best job opportunity ever - Official Beer Taster!  In December of last year, Evan-Evans started the search for a group of beer tasters to help the award-winning brewery with the development of its new beer range for the summer of 2012. The company received more than 250 applications for what was described as the best job in brewing. Now, the first 25 successful tasters have met for a training session headed by brewery Chief Executive Simon Buckley and Ian Swanson from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. The course covered a variety of topics and included the tasting of a series of beer styles and the skills required to become a professional beer taster. Tasters travelled to Cardiff from as far afield as Stoke and Essex. The course culminated in an exam and a final tasting session at the bar of the top food pub in Wales, The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff. Mr Buckley said: “We now have the first 25 official beer tasters. We have one more trainin...

Nice piece in the South Wales Echo about The Cricketers pub and restaurant in Cathedral Road, Cardiff. Website - http://www.cricketerscardiff.co.uk/

Mad whirl the last two days. Yesterday was Cardigan and Aberglasney. Today, quick chat with the Healing The Wounds charity crew and now on to The Cricketers in Cardiff for a beer launch.

Great to see World Cup winning Graham Henry and Dai Pickering of the WRU enjoying a pint of the famous Evan-Evans Cwrw at The Cricketers in Cardiff last night.

Splendid lunch and productive meetings at The Cricketers in Cardiff. Back at base camp and back on the diet!

Pictures from the Great British Pub Awards Night at The Hilton in Park Lane, London. The Cricketers in Cathedral Road in Cardiff was Welsh nomination for best pub food in the UK.

The Cricketers is featured in the Publican's Morning Advertiser today. The Evan-Evans pub is in the running for the UK best pub food award.

The award winning Evan-Evans brewery in West Wales has had one of its best weeks ever, with increasing sales across all its trading areas. The news comes despite the poor summer weather and a drop in tourist numbers in Wales. Bucking the trend of doom and gloom in the brewing industry, the company has seen significant growth in all the key areas of trade, increasing volumes, and distribution throughout Wales. Chief executive Simon Buckley said: “Evan-Evans has focussed over the last few years on producing high-quality cask-conditioned beer, with broad market appeal. Our beers have an increasing consumer following, and are priced to be extremely competitive. “We are now reaping the benefits of our hard work, and with the continued increase in demand for our products the brewery is running at near capacity levels. “Last week, the company’s pubs were extremely busy, which has continued the trend that started earlier in the year. The consumer is looking for high-quality environments...

The Flagship Evan-Evans brewery pub, The Cricketers in Cardiff, has won a top food award. The Cricketers has been judged the Best Food Pub in Wales and is now in the running for the UK title. The award is given by the pub industry’s leading magazine and website, The Publican’s Morning Advertiser. “It’s a major ‘Howzat!’ moment for one of the newest pubs in Cardiff,” said owner Simon Buckley. “The pub is in a great location in Cathedral Road and is proving hugely popular with customers old and new. “We have strived to put the emphasis on quality in everything we do – from the food, to the service and the award-winning real ales we offer from our renowned Evan-Evans brewery in Llandeilo. “Excellence is the watchword at The Cricketers and the nomination for this national award reflects great credit on the team working under manager Michelle Francis.” The Cricketers beat off the challenge of numerous pubs across Wales to claim the Welsh title. The Publican’s Morning Advertiser awards are r...

There's a musical treat at The Cricketers pub in Cathedral Road, Cardiff on Sunday, May 22. Top Welsh acoustic duo Andy and Gos will be the featured Sunday evening band for a gig starting at 5pm. Admission is free. The next weekend music event at The Cricketers is the Evan-Evans Summer Music Weekend on Saturday and Sunday June 25 and 26, featuring top Steely Dan Tribute band Steely Scam. Other great acts will be appearing in August at the sister pub of The Cricketers, The George Hotel in Brecon. More information to follow.

The Cricketers pub in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, now has its very own cricket team. Called The Trotters, the team has been set up by pub regulars and is sponsored by The Cricketers. "We are delighted to back the team and hope they do very well this cricket season," said the general manager of The Cricketers, Michelle Francis. Set in a classic Victorian Town House, within a well hit 'six' of the Glamorgan county cricket ground at the Swalec Stadium, The Cricketers offers a great range of quality Welsh real ales, chilled continental lagers and a fine selection of wines, many available by the glass; drinks to suit every taste. The pub also has the sunniest Beer Garden in Cardiff! The food offering is by the star head chef, Dan Henry. Website - http://www.cricketerscardiff.co.uk/index.html

You can sample cocktail jazz at its very best at The Cricketers pub in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, later this month. Ruth Bowen and Mike Britton will be performing in the latest of the popular Sunday evening music sets at the pub. The show runs between 5-8.30pm on Sunday, March 27. The Cricketers offers great food and drink and is rapidly establishing itself as a new venue for regular live music in Cardiff - with free entry. Ruth Bowen (vocals and bass) is a leading jazz vocalist. Mike Britton (jazz guitar) has worked internationally in recording, broadcasting and performance with artists as varied as Tal Farlow and Jamie Cullum. Together, they create a sophisticated ambience with their distinctive interpretations, taken from a broad repertoire of the most memorable of popular songs from “The Great American Song Book”. Next month, pop vocal trio Front Cover will be at The Cricketers - Easter Sunday : April 24.

Rugby will be the name of the game at The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, during the Six Nations tournament. The pub boasts big screens, good food and the very best beers. There is also a massive beer garden - and the pub is within easy walking distance of the Millennium Stadium. Dates for your diary are as follows - • Feb 4th Wales V England (home) KO @ 7.45pm. • Sat 5th – Italy V Ireland @14.30, France V Scotland @ 17.00. • Feb 12th England V Italy (on Sky) Scotland V Wales (away) @ 17.00. • Sunday 13th Ireland V France @ 15.00 • Saturday 26th Wales V Italy (away) @ 14.30, Eng V France (Sky) Sunday 27th Scotland V Ireland @ 15.00 • Saturday 12th March Italy V France @ 14.30, Wales V Ireland @ 17.00 – The Big home game in Cardiff. • Sunday 13th Eng V Scotland (Sky) • Saturday 19th March, Scotland V Italy @ 14.30, Ireland V Eng @ 17.00, Wales V France @ 19.45 – a massive day of televised sports.

The BBC’s economics editor, Hugh Pym, picked a Cardiff pub to illustrate his story about the rise in VAT last night. Pym called in at The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, to discuss the impact of a VAT rise which has seen the average price of a pint rise by 6p nationwide. He interviewed Simon Buckley, chief executive of the West Wales Evan-Evans brewery and owner of The Cricketers and six other pubs and hotels in Wales. Mr Buckley said: “There will come a moment very shortly when the consumer will say we cannot afford to go to the pub. And when you combine VAT with the fuel cost and the cost of getting to rural pubs, I wonder whether the regional pub – the regional rural pub - has a future.” The interview was screened on the BBC’s Six and Ten o Clock news programmes. You can see the interview again on the BBC’s iPlayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00x83ww/BBC_News_at_Six_04_01_2011/ (About three minutes in . . .) Picture attached of Hugh Pym interviewing Simon Buckley....

Brewer Simon Buckley, left, talks to Hugh Pym about VAT on the BBC Six and 10pm News. See BBC iPlayer about 3 mins in - http://ning.it/htKUIE Pics of Hugh Pym's visit to The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff - http://picasaweb.google.com/robertapvincent/BBCNewsAtTheCricketers#

Off to lunch and a pow-wow at The Cricketers in Cathedral Road, Cardiff.