Gassy Jacks

Nice student pub

Really nice place here and doesn’t feel too ‘studentey’ saying that the prices for alcohol, drink and food are great! The budget meals are all very tasty and are no compromise. Offers on the meals too make it even more value for money. I get a good vibe from this place and although it is not my closest public house, I do consider it as my local pub.

We went here for a working lunch on a Friday about 1pm but were told that we’d have a half hour wait because they were ‘busy’ (despite being the only customers there).
The chef wasnt happy that we’d asked for lunch either as he was putting an order away, the manager was off the premises and there was only one other staff member behind the bar.
Anyway, the lunch came an hour later. The bar maid was lovely but generally i’d say it was poor service, ‘OK’ food and the place needed a wipe down.
Plenty of other places to go for lunch.
Maybe it has a better reputation for evenings?

Gassy Jacks feels like it could be in the centre of town; it’s got all the aspects of a student-​centric bar and very little personality.
Many bars are going the way of Jacks, big open spaces up to the bar and relatively neat furnishings that wouldn’t look out of place in a new student flat. It reminds a little of a Wetherspoons or a Lloyds and, sure enough, serves pretty much the same food and drink you’ll find at those places.
Being in the student capital, Cathays, Jacks is in a good spot for those either drinking before going to town or those not wanting to trek the whole way. Beyond a few drinks and some cheap, unimpressive food, Jacks is bland and offers little more than a place to meet up.
The evening is what you make of it here, don’t expect it to come alive for any other reason.

The Mecca of Cathays, this is the Cardiff student’s best kept secret. I want arms long enough to give it a big hug.
In the day time, the atmosphere is really chilled and relaxed, there’s a huge selection of well– priced, tasty pub grub served all day into the early evening, whether you fancy a light bite or a full on hangover curing ‘Ultimate burger’ the choice is all there… a beer and a burger for £3.95 or two meals for £6, you can’t go wrong. Whilst it’s reasonably quiet during the day you’ll get the chance to chat to the really friendly (and attractive) welcoming bar staff, and if you become a regular, you’re treated as a gassy VIP.
The lay-​out is really spacious, both upstairs and down stairs. The bar is huge and you’re not kept waiting for a drink, and the selection is amazing… from the shots and cocktails to the premium lagers, there’s something for everyone. There’s also a pool table, cigarette machine, games machines, and a huge projector and several TVs (so perfect for any match days) and often live music and DJ sets.
Come the night, the party begins. Gassy Jacks is leaping with atmosphere and fun during student term time, with of course, bargain price lists with option for further student discount. There are countless special offers and happy hour action going on too… don’t miss out on Thursday nights when selected drinks are a pound a pop!
Gassy Jacks is my hero…

Gassy Jacks is the central of the student area in Cathays and for this reason, it can become rather busy. Catch at a quiet time in the middle of the day whilst the students are at lectures and there will be a more relaxed mood, that makes it a nice place to sit and have a bite to eat.
Food is pretty inexpensive if you opt for one of the deals. I had a piece of chocolate cake here once and have to say it was pretty addictive, you know you get that feeling you should stop half way through but you just can’t, it was delicious.
You will catch you student socials being held here on a weekday, which means lots of golfer outfits or people dressed in neon prancing about. There is something not so welcoming about this place in the evening, I personally prefer to make use of it’s daytime food, but for me there are better places to go for that also.

There’s no two ways about it, Gassy Jacks is a good looking pub on the inside… it’s just a shame that it was acquired by the people who create the Scream student pubs, and so during term time all the locals tend to avoid it like the plague. I don’t often like things that are formulaic and replicated repeatedly, and that’s what you get here… a formula that appeals to students, but not to the vast majority of the non-​student population… of which I am one! I’m quite happy to have a drink in here over the summer as I like the scale of the place. It’s got a mezzanine /​minstrels gallery split level thing going on, and so the ceilings are lovely and high, giving you a great sense of space. But when the place is rammed with students, all of whom don’t have a volume control, the effect is somewhat different.
They have a pool table and do basic food (of a pretty non-​nutritious variety), and the drinks are good and varied, with pretty average pricing. If you are not a student, I recommend the Vulcan around the corner!

Situated in the middle of Cathays it’s definitely a student favourite, but this doesn’t mean it’s all about the discounts and getting beer-​goggled every night. Gassy’s is an attractive little place with excellent food, good bar service and a price list that’s easy on anyone’s wallet.
The atmosphere on most nights is friendly enough and there’s almost always somewhere to sit, be it downstairs or upstairs. The drinks selection is impressive too — there’s plenty of draught beers and ales, bountiful spirits and a whole fridge dedicated to bottled ciders. There’s even an impressive cocktail menu if you’re feeling fruity.
If it’s a match day and you’re not a match day person you’re maybe better off avoiding Gassy’s, particularly during the Six Nations. It can pull quite a crowd thanks to its several TV sets and its projector. However if you are partial to a bit of bar-​stool spectating then the crowd in Gassy’s is normally a fairly good one and from what I’ve seen the bar staff tend to cope pretty well with the half-​time drinks orders. Not that that’s very pressing when you can see the big screen from the bar, but it’s nice of them to put the effort in nonetheless.
To top it all off Gassy’s has several electronic quiz machines and a pool table — welcome additions in any watering hole — and the décor is funky enough and the chairs comfy enough to keep you hanging around until last orders. There’s even a taxi rank right outside the door, a cashpoint across the road and a reputable kebab house just round the corner. What better way to end a night?

Apparently, I love Gassy Jacks!
The reason I say «apparently» is because I seem to have been there a lot more often than I remember being there. On one night out, we started out there for a little change of pace, thinking the George was going to be absolutely packed by the time we’d managed to leave the house. I’d never been there before, so I thought it’d be at least a new experience.
Piling into the bar, we quickly found a booth underneath a framed collage of pictures from various nights. Everyone else had nipped to the loos or to get in the drinks, so I sat their on my todd, idly running my eyes over the photos until I saw something that caught my eye. Me. Me and my friend, Paul. Sat in Gassy Jacks. My head resting against the wall, Paul’s head on my shoulder, both of us very much asleep. I… I don’t remember this. At all. I asked all my gathered friends, and they had no idea. Paul thought he remembered the night it could’ve been, but had no recollection of actually coming to Gassy Jacks.
That night was a good night. Drinks were cheap and the crowd was that happy student crowd where everyone talks to everyone and the entire bar is friends with each other. However, even if I hated that night, I still couldn’t give Gassy Jacks a bad review, because I’m not sure how many other great nights I’ve had in there.

Gassy Jacks is predominantly a student pub, housed in what was originally a warehouse, with one of the highest ceilings of any pubs in Cardiff.
Modern, spacious, and brightly lit, it’s located right in Cardiff’s student heartland and is decked out to appeal to a younger crowd. Downstairs there are tables with benches or cushioned chairs, while there’s also an upstairs balcony seating area which overlooks the downstairs.
The bar offers NUS discounts, has a pool table, plays pretty loud music, and has a big screen to show sports. They also serve fairly reasonably priced pub food from 12−9pm from Monday-​Thursday and on Sundays, and from 12−8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Gassy’s is a big hit with many students, but it doesn’t seem to be hugely popular with many other types.

I love Gassy Jacks. This has alot to do with the night I had there for my friends birthday. It has been my only time there but was impressed by it’s outlay.
It’s fairly open downstairs and has a balcony over looking the bar on top. Despite being quite busy, the service was great and fairly quick.
Otherwise things were fairly hazy, but I do remember this. Playing the ‘God save the Queen’ game where if you have a penny thrown into your drink you have to down it in one. Saying how awesome I was and not getting down as a penny was thrown into my pint and my drunker then drunk friend trying to get up from his seat only to be pushed constantly back down. Not as funny as I describe, but hilarious watching a confused drunken man falling about.

What a fantastic bar!
It’s a great place to go for a quiet drink, if you go early in the evening. It’s a great place to go for a massive party, if you go later on. The upstairs seating area offers a slightly calmer spot to sit and chat as your nurse a drink. The downstairs area has a good balance between seating and standing areas, which is a good thing because during the recent 6 Nations games it was RAMMED!
The costs of the drinks varies. If you want something simple it’s good and cheap but if you’re looking for a more upmarket cocktail, you will have to pay a little extra for the privilege.
The décor of it is lovely — quite understated but still gives of an aura of gentle elegance. It would be intimidating but the underlying smell of alcohol that pervades the whole place greets students like an old friend.