Llandudno:
The first visit didn’t impress; shouty people playing music on mobile phones inside and out, missing hand sanitizer, no cask.
The second visit fared better: no shouty people, sanitizer refilled, a more chilled atmosphere. Nothing to shout about, but pretty OK.
Llanddulas:
A positively lovely, traditional inn at the side of the A547. Multi-roomed, comfortable. Great beer and staff, sensible covid precautions with a one-way system. Very limited parking, though, given the location.
Kinmel Bay, Rhyl:
Nothing out of the ordinary, a family feedbag and keg beer (and Doom Bar, so lager it was) place on the edge of Rhyl, probably catering for the nearby caravan parks. Good covid precautions, decent outside space, but nothing to write home about.
Llandudno:
Got in at our second attempt! The problem with a micropub in a busy town and covid is getting in.
Great staff, great beer, great atmosphere. Simple, well-run track and trace. Sensible policy, adhered to by customers and owners. Only problem is sheer popularity!
Llandudno:
It’s technically a club, but seems to operate as a de facto pub; we were signed in as guests.
The RAOB is an odd thing; a philanthropic association that follows a freemason-like structure.
That didn’t concern us; we were just after a quiet drink in a crowded town, and this place delivered. “Foul or abusive language” is banned on site, but they let me in anyway. Cheap beer, great staff, nice atmosphere, with only one well-oiled customer spoiling it a little with lack of distancing and queuing for the bogs, at which I broke the language rule :-).
Llandudno:
We dropped in here on our way back to our holiday let. On the face it seemed to have sensible covid precautions: track & trace, sanitizer, distancing, table service but then when we sat down, the slightly-too-close fruit machine became an issue with the bloke playing it shouting over us and bringing his mates over. We moved table, and then observed other customers entering without track & trace, standing at the bar, shouting, while the staff did nothing.
Besides that, nothing special. Keg beer. Noisy TV.
Llandudno.
We really didn’t take to this last time, but we found it much, much better on this trip. We think a somewhat unwelcoming barman soured it last time.
Anyway, this was the nearest pub to our holiday flat for the week, so we parked the car and dropped in. Friendly, decent beer, excellent covid precautions, nice atmosphere, and, later in the week, excellent food. Goes to show that impressions can change drastically.