Walkabout

We spent a decent amount of time in Walkabout during the quarter finals weekend. It was quite cool, most of the bar were either sporting Australian or New Zealand colours with a few other teams thrown in. The big screen was great for watching the game, the drinks were a bit awful but the atmosphere was awesome. As the night got on the place got really full, the line to get in was long and they started charging for entry which was a bit crap. It gets pretty messy inside too but overall it was decent.

This place has a fantastic location, well within walking distance of both the nearest station and the Millennium Stadium.
I love to go to this place to watch any of the big rugby matches (when not in the stadium of course!) as it has so many screens on which to see all the action on. When you do, be sure to expect a big crowd who really do get behind their sport!
You can also expect large and lively crowds on any big match days at the stadium. I must add that I have only ever known good humoured banter and never seen any trouble of any kind.
The drinks are about the same as anywhere else in the city in terms of price however they quite often have special offers in place so it’s worth keeping your eyes open — otherwise, just make sure you treat you self to some of the aussie beer to see what that’s like!

A huge venue, and vastly popular choice for many people on a Friday or Saturday night in particular, Walkabout is situated at the far end of Cardiff’s main strip, St. Mary’s Street. As you enter the ‘aussie-​themed’ bar come club, there’s a large seating area, bar and multiple screens (usually showing live rugby or cricket). Usually a very busy place during evenings, it’s often quite difficult to find a place to sit, although this isn’t usually of great concern to the masses of drunk groups of friends who’ve mainly headed in for the downstairs area.
As you walk down the large stair case, you’ll see hundreds of heads bopping up-​and-​down to fairly standard, pop music. There’s another large bar downstairs, as well as stage for those brave enough, or drunk enough, to flaunt their moves in front of everyone. The sheer size of this venue is probably it’s biggest selling point, with the lack of character, lack of good music and fairly expensive drinks not enough to put off those who flock here each weekend.

Urggggh, it’s Walkabout. I don’t like it. End of review. bye.
No, I shall carry on, then you make up your own minds. This club is targeted at the student population during the weekdays and you will find it pretty busy, I have especially found this on a thursday. Sometimes you can go here and if you don’t like touching people, then you’re just going to have to leave, you can’t walk around with out rubbing chests or bums with some other reveller. This is not my idea of a good time.
The drinks can be cheap when there are offers on if you can get to the bar and make sure you take your own loo paper and maybe a catheter as the queues can be immense.
The weekend gets very mainstream and yet again the place is filled. Being busy is a great thing for them and of course other people must like it. It’s just a bit dark and like a massive pit of writhing bodies.
On a good note, I like eating here in the day as the menu can be pretty good especially if you have a walkabout card.

I don’t normally like to write reviews on big, main stream type of pubs but I do feel Walkabout deserves a mention!
I love this pub… only on specific days mind, because its either full to the brim, literally, or its dead as a… well…dead as a pub with no customers.
International days see people queuing way down Saint Mary’s street to get in only to find far more queuing for way overpriced beer in horrible plastic glasses but hey its all worth it for the absolutely outstanding atmosphere inside.
I’d go as far as saying Walkabout changed my entire outlook on nights out. Its the only place where it seems to be acceptable to lose all your inhibitions. You don’t mind if someone throws beer over the crowd and your hairs soaking or t-​shirt drenched, its all part of the experience.
One problemo the pub seems to endure is the stickiness of the floor. I actually lost a boot to the crap on the lino type dance floor thing one day, which again just seemed to be part and parcel for the place. Another thing to tick off the list.
If you go when its quiet, the food in Walkabout is superb value for money and along with the run of the mill type of stuff you get some Aussie favourites to. Nice and different I’d say.
Walkabout is a bit like the heart and soul of the rugby scene for Cardiff. If your really lucky sometimes you get some of the Welsh squad turn up and there’s usually a team of some sort, downing pints like compete idiots, whether on tour or just on a night out. There’s always a lot of matching outfits. (can be a bit confusing for the likes of yours truly.)
In general I think Walkabouts worth a visit during a Friday or Saturday night, just to experience the Walkabout night.
P.s
They’re staff are usually like Adonis’s or Goddess’s from over the water. Bloody gorgeous!

With so many unique bars and clubs in Cardiff, it is surprising that one of the most lively places to go on the weekend is a club you can find in most major cities in the UK. Nevertheless, Walkabout on St Mary’s Street is undoubtedly one of those places.
With two floors of space to play with, including a VIP section, lounge area, a stage and a huge open area as a dance floor on the lower level, there are plenty of features to this club that make it a fantastic venue on any given night.
Offering food in the day and a host of regular drinks promotions in the night, Walkabout regularly attracts hundreds of customers to join the party atmosphere, although this can make the club very humid at times and queuing for the bar can be a prolonged task if the club is overly crowded.
This is also a great location if you are attending in fancy dress. While many clubs often look down their nose at those who are dressed in less conventional clubbing attire (even going as far as to deny entry), this club embraces them and you will frequently find more than a few people tearing up the dance floor in weird and wonderful costumes.
With such a laid back atmosphere, Walkabout really is a great environment to be in on a weekend.

This is probably the best pub in town for students and sport lovers but not for anybody else!
Drinks are cheap… atmosphere is lively… and the floor is sticky! Everything thing you imagine it would be to attract students and anybody else under the age of 21!
On a Friday and Saturday night this pub seems to be bursting at the seems and on a match day people queue around the block wanting to enter!
Me on the otherhand wouldn’t bother. I like a quiet bar, serving good wine to sophisticated people!
I have peered through the some what dirty windows once or twice and seen a huge dance floor with every Tom, Dick and Harry attempting to grinde up and down anything with a pulse! Ewww!
Although a pub like this doesn’t float MY boat I know alot of people who really enjoy it here!
Give it ago and see for yourself!

If you haven’t got tickets for a Welsh International Rugby game happening around the corner at the stadium but still want the amongst thousands of people, shouting, pushing (including when you go to the toilets) and cheering till you lose your voice then this is probably the best place in town.
But be prepared to get there early as the queue for Walkabout rivals that of the queue going into the Millennium Stadium itself. And once you’re in, depending on your personality it will be either heaven or hell. It is the closest you will get to a human version of a livestock market on auction day (with big screen entertainment thrown in).
I once went on an international day and wore the same jeans to go for Sunday lunch the next day. I wondered why I could smell a faint whiff of urine coming from under my table. It became evident that flooded floor I was wading through at the Walkabout wasn’t just cider, lager and beer. Nice!

Out of all the clubs in Cardiff, and all the student nights they offer, I much prefer Bounce on a Thursday night in Walkabout.
The music is a pretty well-​balanced mix of styles to suit most tastes and the dancefloor is huge. Since the dancefloor covers the entire lower ground floor, and there is a bar either side. The downside to this is that there are no rules about drinks on the dancefloor, so expect sticky shoes and the occasional spill. There’s a good size stage for the more confident (or more drunk) dancers, and there are a couple of photographers around giving out free lollypops when you’ve had your photo taken. And who doesn’t love a free lollypop?
This club doesn’t cater much to its smoking patrons, offering a tiny boxed-​in area by the exit that isn’t a pleasant experience for non-​smoking friends who go along with the smokers for fear of getting lost. However, that’s where the upstairs seating area comes in handy, as it provides a good place to wait for your smoker so you don’t end up losing each other, as it’s so easy to do in Walkabout.
The only thing that does bother me is the stairs. If you’re going to Walkabout and you want to get drunk and dance, you can’t not avoid the stairs down to the dancefloor, and I’ve seen many a young lady tumble from her stilettos on these often slippery steps. Of course, if you’re drunk, it’s not going to hurt as much (at the time anyway), you’ll probably find it hilariously funny and you may not even remember doing it. But we saw. And we remember. So careful on the stairs because you never know who’s watching. And we have cameras, too.

I’ve been in here a few times both mid-​week and on a couple of Saturday nights. They are really good for sport and it’s where I go to watch the rugby and football. There’s a huge projector screen used for big matches and they are also expermenting with 3D sport now aswell. They also hold poker nights mid-​week with free drinks for hitting certain poker hands (such as a full house) and cash prizes.
It can get pretty raucous in here on a weekend, and there does seem to be a disproportionate amount of trouble outside the Walkabout compared to other places in town. I’m not a big fan and will only tend to go in if forced by group consensus. It gets packed with a lot of «chavvy» types who, in my opinion aren’t the best of people to drink with. It really is grubby and sticky inside too, so any clean-​freaks should steer clear! Drinks here are well priced though and there’s a good variety of interesting shots on offer.
The food is pretty average and low-​priced. I have only eaten here once about a year ago. To be fair although I can’t specifically remember anything bad about it, I’m sure there’s a reason I’ve not eaten there again!
I’d say to sum up — it provides a great atmosphere for big football and rugby games, and they put on a good poker game if that’s your bag but if your looking for a place with any kind of class on a Saturday night then this ain’t it…

Ewwww. I really loathe this place. I’ve only been once, and I will never step foot in here again.
It’s dirty, sticky, ugly, plays pants music, and seemed to be full of people on stag and hen dos when I was there.
During some weekday nights they target students — but at weekends it seems to attract a very different, more lairy crowd.
I’ve also heard about (but to be fair have not witnessed myself) some alcohol-​fuelled fights breaking out outside Walkabout on a Saturday night.
Perhaps it’s improved since I was there, but with so many decent places to eat and drink in Cardiff, I wouldn’t bother going back to find out.

Walkabout. Dear me. I’m really not sure what’s supposed to be Australian about this franchise. I feel like they’re giving the poor blighters a bad name. The only reason people enjoy this place is because they’re so drunk when they arrive, that they’ve lost many of their mental faculties on the street outside.
In my experience, Walkabout is the place where I’ve seen the most fights, the most drinks spilt over poor, unsuspecting girls in white dresses (suspicious) and the most pools of vomit. However, I will confess that it is also a place where I see efficient crowd control from the staff and exceptionally hardworking bar staff.
The staff deal with the problem of this place well, maybe. But the fact remains that the problem is created in the first place. If you have any say in the choice of evening destination, perhaps give Walkabout a miss.
This branch in particular, is one of the grimmest bars that I’ve ever been in. This is certainly one to avoid on a night out, there are far better places not too far down the street.
Walk out of Walkabout.

I have never been to Walkabout student nights but am quite familiar with the place on a Saturday night.
I have experienced a fair amount of horrible incidents in this place, for example being sprayed with alcohol from the upstairs balcony after Wales won the grand slam, having my bum grabbed by a man dressed as a monkey, getting my arm stuck to the bar because it was so sticky and witnessing what I thought was someone fall to their death from the stairs but luckily turned out to be a broken arm!
Despite everything bad about this place, I kinda like it! The atmosphere just seems more relaxed and up for having a good time and of course the music is ultimate cheese which is guaranteed to get you dancing. On a saturday you’ll be surrounded by people in all sorts of fancy dress outfits on hen/​stag parties and it’s always busy. But its not too expensive to get in and if your bored of dancing you can grab a seat upstairs and just have a drink.
I wouldn’t want to go every week, but now and again its the perfect guilty pleasure. Just don’t be tempted to take your shoes off on the dance floor, its gross!

Whilst I do understand everything that Jamie has said here, I feel that I should provide the point of view of someone still at university and say that, it isn’t the nicest club, but it is fun, especially Bounce (which is on Thursday now). It’s the kind of place that you wouldn’t want to go to every week probably, though, actually, I know people who are quite dedicated to it! The drinks — well, the cheapness of the drinks — is the main reason to go I feel but the staff are always really friendly, more than happy to join in with the fun. They put up with an awful lot from drunk patrons, but always just laugh it off. I have subtracted one star because the loos are often broken (as in, the locks, not the loos themselves) but otherwise — go for a night out with friends, but don’t expect something beautiful.

Maybe the reason behind visiting Walkabout so much when I first moved was due to the cheap student nights. The bright lights of the town were blinding and a familiar chain felt comforting. Bounce on a wednesday is very cheap to get in and have lots of deals on drinks. I think for £2 you can get your a red bull and vodka etc.
Dress code is casual during the week and a little stricter at weekends. However what is not mentioned is that really, you need a wetsuit. Easily ‘Most grubbiest’ would be awarded to this place. The amount of times I’ve slipped on my rump here is embarrassing, especially near the toilets, there is at least a foot of filth on the floor at all times.
Can’t say I care much for the crowd here, I’ll keep it diplomatic and just leave it at that.
Those days of visiting this club time after time has long gone. I would seriously not go out if my friends were set on going here, it really is that awful once you leave your teens.
I would give it one star, but I did see two women kiss once and that pleased me. An extra star for that…

Walkabout Inn — Australian themed pub and where you can dance. I spent Millenium Eve here a bit.
They have big screens which is great.
At the moment they show the EURO 2008 here on BIG screens. Sunday night should be a great atmosphere there!