Glassworks
Pub
Upbeat pub offering comfort food & drinks in a contemporary space with TVs for sporting events.
4 Wharton St, Cardiff CF10 1AG, UK
Live on the Realtime map
Where to go out in Cardiff
Cardiff packs a full night out into a walkable square mile. St Mary Street and Caroline Street — Chippy Lane to everyone who lives here — sit at the centre of it, with the Castle Quarter arcades, Womanby Street's live music strip and Mill Lane's terraces all within a few minutes' walk of each other.
The hard part was never finding somewhere. It was knowing which places are actually going off tonight. Realtime shows you live activity from venues across the city, so you can see where people are before you commit to a queue.
118venues on the map
Within 3km of Cardiff
Worth a look
Places to try in Cardiff
A selection of venues on the Realtime map. Open the app to see which are busy tonight.
The Great Western - Wetherspoon
Pub
Simple food, real ales and TVs in a grand 1879 railway inn converted into a no-nonsense boozer.
64-74 Saint Mary Street, Cardiff, CF10 1FA, United Kingdom
The Cricketers
Pub
This traditional-decor townhouse pub with beer garden, serves local real ale and upscale Welsh food.
66 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9LL, United Kingdom
The Piano Works - Cardiff
Bar
The Piano Works is an incredible high energy live music venue where the artists play your requests all night long. Serving up delicious food, mind-bending musical talent, great drinks, brunches and a killer Sunday roast
Imperial Gate, St Mary St, Cardiff CF10 1FA, UK
The main strips
St Mary Street is the spine of a Cardiff night out — big bars, late licences and the overspill from every match day at the Principality Stadium. It gets loud and it gets busy, and on an international weekend it's the busiest street in Wales.
Womanby Street is the opposite end of the scale: independent venues, live music and a crowd that turns up for the lineup rather than the address. Mill Lane and the Hayes lean more towards food, cocktails and outside tables when the weather allows it.
Cardiff Bay is its own night out. Mermaid Quay's waterfront bars and restaurants run at a slower pace than town, and it's the obvious call for an early evening that doesn't need to end at 3am.
Timing your night
Match days rewrite the rules. On a Six Nations Saturday the city centre fills from late morning and stays full, so if you want a table anywhere near St Mary Street you're going in early or not at all.
Outside of that, town builds from around 9pm and peaks between 11pm and 1am. Thursdays run harder than most cities thanks to the student population, and Sunday afternoons in the Bay and around Pontcanna are quietly one of the best-kept parts of the Cardiff week.
Beyond the centre
Pontcanna and Canton do the neighbourhood thing properly — proper pubs, small plates, wine bars and a crowd that mostly walked there. Roath and Albany Road serve the student end of the city with cheaper rounds and later kitchens.
All of it shows up on the Realtime map, so you can check what's busy in Canton before you decide whether it's worth heading into town at all.
More in Cardiff
Other places on the map
Coffi Lab
Cafe
Pontcanna, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
The Kings
Bar
10 Churchill Way, Cardiff CF10 2DX, UK
Flute & Tankard
Pub
4 Windsor Pl, Cardiff CF10 3BX, UK
Peppermint Bar & Kitchen
Bar
63 St Mary St, Cardiff CF10 1FE, UK
Kiwi's
Bar
55 St Mary St, Cardiff CF10 1FE, UK
City Arms
Pub
Quay Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EA, United Kingdom
Heaneys Restaurant
Restaurant
6-10 Romilly Cres, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9NR, UK
DA
Davey's Pub (Test Venue)
Pub
28 Egerton Street, Cardiff, CF5 1RG, United Kingdom
Slug & Lettuce The Friary
Bar
The Friary, Centre, Cardiff CF10 3FA, UK
Crafty Devil's Cellar
Brewery
16 Llandaff Road, Cardiff, CF11 9NJ, United Kingdom
Coyote Ugly Saloon Cardiff
Night Club
78 St Mary St, Cardiff CF10 1FA, UK
Lowkey
Cocktail Bar
7 Duke Street Arcade, Cardiff, CF10 1AY, United Kingdom
Going out in Cardiff — the basics
Where is the main night out in Cardiff?
St Mary Street and the surrounding lanes — Caroline Street, Womanby Street and Mill Lane — are the centre of a Cardiff night out. Cardiff Bay offers a more relaxed waterfront alternative a short walk or taxi from town.
How do I find out which Cardiff bars are busy tonight?
Realtime shows live activity from venues across Cardiff on a map, so you can see where people are heading before you leave the house. It's free on iOS and Android.
Are there offers at Cardiff bars and pubs?
Venues on Realtime post their own offers and weekly specials, and you claim them in the app. What is available changes week to week, so check the map for the current list.
