Photographer to the stars gave it all up to run a South Wales pub

You wouldn't believe some of the big-name celebrities Nick Otley used to mix with prior to becoming an award-winning pub landlord, writes Kathryn Williams

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Nick in the brewery at the Bunch of Grapes in Pontypridd

(Rob Browne)

IT REALLY shouldn't work - all things go against it. There's no passing trade, it's a destination venue even for the locals.

Pub landlord Nick Otley is 25 years into his stewardship of the multi-award-winning Bunch of Grapes and he's right too. The Pontypridd pub is a hidden gem tucked away behind the town's massive B&Q, on a narrow back street which is blocked off smack-bang in the middle.

It's a weird old street, away now from the hubbub of the town's centre and Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, and yet the 175-year-old Bunch of Grapes, home to its own microbrewery and gastropub, still pulls in punters who appreciate what it has to offer as much as those who flocked there back in the 1850s did.

Back then the Bunch (I live locally so I am allowed to call it that without sounding cloying) was a focal point for the local chainworks where chains for the Titanic were forged, and there’s a rumour Isambard Kingdom Brunel called in for a pint or two.

Set above the then thoroughfare of the Glamorganshire Canal, which you can still see out back, it was a respite for the thirsty workers.

Now it’s a pub where locals and visitors come for its impressive ale and beer lineup, amazing food menu and cosy bar.

The traditional-looking bar, complete with fireplace and low ceiling striped with beams, sits side-by-side with the more modern restaurant.

The Bunch of Grapes is a healthy marriage between traditional and forward-looking a blend of wood-burners, exposed stone and rediscovered street signs and pump badges versus a sleek dining room, perfected Sunday roasts and left-field plates of brisket lollipops, kimchi fritters and pulled lamb sandwiches.

Nick's back story is equally pick-and-mix as the pub's current offering and duality of atmosphere.