As the Brains machine takes over ever more Cardiff pubs it's great news to see some serious competition, and in a top location too. Zero Degrees (which has 3 other outlets) has piled a big of chunk of cash into renovating the Art Deco Queen's Royal Garage on Westgate Street (more recently one of the UK's most over-appointed minicab joints) as a microbrewery-cum-restaurant, complete with mega stainless steel vats.

A microbrewery then. So what happened to all the beer? Hopefully this was a simple miscalculation of the drinking abilities of Welshmen (surely well known) as we turned up to find only 3 of the advertised lines available. Still, better than Brains Smooth on every tap, and they certainly weren't bad pints. The Pale was perfectly pleasant, although hardcore CAMRA members would find it damned cold, and the Dark had a lot going for it. Prices are reasonable too, well as reasonable as you'll find now HM Government has hiked up the pleasure taxes once again.

And if this were just a trendy modern bar then Zero Degrees would score highly. But it's also trying to be a restaurant, and a club - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they started taking the odd car in for an MOT round the back just like old times too. So you can count on getting pounding music and a sticky floor into the bargain, and there aren't many seats for those only wanting a drink. At weekends there's a heavy bouncer presence on the doors too.

The food is a tricky one. Portion sizes are the big plus, especially on the starters. The Crostini (3 slabs of toast with various toppings) are enough for two and everything comes with enough rocket to keep a moderately hungry rabbit going for about 6 months (was someone selling a job lot at the wholesalers?). The Beef Carpaccio isn't bad too. It even comes with a mountain of rocket just for a change.

As for mains, the various mussel pots are definitely the choice to go for. The sauces are a real treat, although they really could do with offering some bread for the mopping. We improvised with a straw (success being limited by its limited gauge and interference from chopped onions). Oh and the mayonnaise for the fries is piss poor. Just like the tasteless nonsense you get on a Chip Alley chip butty. Pizzas are disappointing too - the kind of food which seems to scream at you exactly how it was made (get circle of dough, smear on unpleasantly acidic pre-prepared tomato sauce, plonk on random objects as requested). Subtlety is not the order of the day here. Definitely pizza by numbers (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7pPajOvQGo).

But for all the faults, Zero Degrees is offering something really distinctive and full credit to them for that. Many will love it, and you might even get to try all the beers one day.