Chapter - the new one
(6/10) 
First thoughts on the new Chapter - full review to come
Reviewing Chapter's ever relocating bar and cafe is becoming a full-time job. But this, they hope, , we hope, will be its form for some years to come.
So, have the millions spent on the redesign been worth it? In many ways, yes; there's bags more space than we've ever had before, dedicated computer benches have been installed and there's a sizable outdoor area for smokers. There's also been attempt to solve the perennial problem of queuing during theatre breaks with what must be a tripling in bar length.
But that whopper of a bar is just one of the many elements that haven't worked, at least so far. All the pumping action seems to focus on just a few metres of the ale real estate - stand anywhere else and your hair will grow to the floor before you get served. You might even miss the odd beer which is only available around the corner. Having said that, the range of beers is still formidable, although do watch the prices on those tempting imports from the fridge.
In the event that you do manage to get a beer in your hands we have to recommend that, for now, you retire gracefully to your seat and leave it at that. Food in the new place has so far been pretty close to a disaster. The menu is largely unchanged but the quality has plummeted, despite the luxury of a much larger kitchen. We can just about forgive the use of paper plates during the opening weekend when a music festival stretched the service beyond its capabilities, but the cold, colourless, tasteless, unseasoned prison gruel served under the title of soup was shocking. Even on quieter nights the mushroom ravioli, which was the highlight of ye olde Chapter, or at least 'middle' Chapter, now seems to have become nothing but a bowl of cream and stodge. Sadly you really will regret eating it in the current incarnation.
What we must hope is that these are teething problems, and they may well be. Chapter still excels as a place to bump into friends, make yourself ill on weird beer and pretend that you're a lot cleverer than you really are. Fix the food and it may return to being the big force in Cardiff that it deserves to be.
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Comments
O dear. Dissatisfaction is setting in amongst Chapter regulars. Menu hardly changes, service is often shambolic, food getting a bit erratic (steaks are giant one week, miniature the next week). Grim Reaper hanging over at least one Jammy Dodger......
Exciting news: Sunday roast has started from 12 until 3pm. Reactions generally good. Pork, beef and nut roast on offer today, with far from the massacre of most pub lunches, and some impressive roast potatoes and Yorkshires. It's a bit of a plug-and-play approach though - veg is exactly the same for everything (down to the Yorkshires) and there's no redcurrant for pork, horseradish for beef etc. Also, they ran out of food with an hour still to go today. But we'll forgive that on the first week. Service had some comedic chaos as well with cafe staff drawing pints like they were pumping Mr Whippys and confusion over who ordered what.
Ok, you do realise that with Chapter the beers are always going to be a bit more expensive than your average bar and this is mainly to do with the vast range. But a recent visit saw me paying £3.95 for a pint of wheat beer! £3.95!! I could feed a family of four for seven weeks on that. Or nearly.
And all this from a publicly funded arts centre. Not good.
Came here for lunch - excellent brie & bacon sandwich. The beer wasn't of the standard of Grolsch though - I guess that English people think this is a good thing...
The new Chapter has disappointed me, food wise, twice now since they reopened. But they told us yesterday the steaks & other specials will be back in 2 weeks. Will wait and see if they're as good as they have been...