Zero Degrees, Cardiff

by Allan Taylor

Taking a jaunt to Cardiff yesterday, I was surprised to see a lot of bars trying to stamp their individual mark onto the scene. From the dubious 'Flares' to the slightly more stylish 10 Feet Tall, it is here that Zero Degrees have chosen to set up their new venue. Originally destined to be their second venture, due to unavailibility of space this recent addition has gone down a storm with the locals.

Zero Degrees veteran and manager Eleanor Bernardes says the bar has been massively popular and with their mango beer blend, they've already had to add another beer on tap. Eleanor says she spends a lot of time with the brewers selecting their special brews. "It's about striking a balance between what they want, which is usually to brew a beer from a 16th Century German recipe, and what the customers will like. But we've tried all sorts; elderflower, pomegranate... It depends on the brewer." The master brewer comes in early in the morning to start the brewing process, and everything is kept sterile until it reaches the glass.

A huge space, there is a big 'green' push and focus on recycling in this bar. The wall borders are made from various melted mobile phone fascias, and the toilet doors from wellington boots. The oven has now be converted from woodfire to gas, to save consumption of our forests and the production of ash and residue. This hasn't compromised the taste, though, as the pizzas are of a very high quality. Zero Degrees staple stylish combanation of beer and pizza has Cardiff diners branching out into becoming real ale drinkers.

Eleanor says, "We still get some people ordering wine, but many have started getting into drinking beer with their meals. We can recommend the beer that will compliment our dishes."

Their usual range include a pilsner (for the lager drinkers out there), pale ale (with a light, lemony and hoppy taste), black lager (with strong overtones of chocolate and starch), wheat ale (a perfumed sweet and savoury drink with orange and coriander) and usually a special, but Cardiff's branch will be including an amber ale (that I am assured will not be anything like Foster's) due to the popularity of their mango beer.

Emphasisng that it's better to do a few things really well than lots of things badly, Zero Degrees fourth opening is bound to be a success.