Burger King secret dining room: Inside the mahogany room with stained glass windows that's fit for royalty

Dec 17, 2014

The hidden chamber, which is not open to the public, lies just metres from the main restaurant area

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From the outside, it looks like any other fast food restaurant.

But just look at the spectacular secret room in this Burger King restaurant.

Chances are you’ve never seen the hidden mahogany room which lies just metres from the main restaurant area of the Burger King restaurant on St John Street in Cardiff city centre.

The Mahogany Room, which is not open to the public, was formerly known as the Mahogany Bar.

In its time it has been a temporary council chamber, housed business deals, and boasted the best Bass in town, reports Wales Online.

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Extraordinary: The secret mahogany room in Burger King, Cardiff
 

The dazzling decor of the room, with deep mahogany panels, intricate mosaics and stained glass windows, is suited more to kings than burgers.

These features make the building a Grade II listed building.

The bar was first established in 1905 by wine importers Fulton Dunlop Company Limited but it’s believed, a public house or inn had existed on the site since at least 1720.

When the bar opened in 1905 beer was just a penny a pint, and a half pint of whisky could be bough for 1s 3d.

The pub was rebuilt in 1792, structural alterations followed in 1825 and the current outer shell of the building was constructed in 1927.

Burger King
Splendid decor: The ornate secret mahogany room
 

But it’s the building’s history which make it as intriguing as its modern use.

The ancient hostelry was known as the Green Dragon, and a stained glass window showing the dragon which gave the pub the name is still visible today.

The drinkers at the Green Dragon, and later the Mahogany Room, were ship owners, stockbrokers and members of Cardiff Borough Council.

Their business deals, which were carried out in the bar, were overseen by the green dragon which glares down at them.

In 1905, it became the second home for council staff when the offices were being rebuilt in 1905.

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It meant the bar became temporary chambers for council committees.

A high green curtain sealed off the balcony where these decisions were taken.

Decisions said to have been made in the bar included the planned re-routing and electrification of the city’s tram service.

Its reputation for outstanding draught Bass beer saw people arrive in their droves.

Although the mahogany bar is no longer used by the public, what was the bar’s local competition still remains today.

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Spectacular: Burger King restaurant manager Barry Finch inside the eatery's secret mahogany room
 

The Rummer, just two doors down, provided stiff competition for the pub, boasting the best draught Guinness.

The building is now home to one of the city’s Burger King branches, and its only use is as an office, meetings or for the odd disciplinary meeting for Burger King staff.

But it’s not the only unusual thing to find itself listed.

On Chepstow Road in Newport there is the police box, affectionately known locally as the Tardis.

It is “extremely rare” according to Cadw and dates back to the 1930s when police forces used the telephone both for officers and for direct contact to police stations.

Burger King
Ornate: A stained glass window...in Burger King
 

And its not just buildings that can be “listed”.

There is a Grade II-listed lump of coal in Bedwellty Park, Tredegar.

The coal was cut in 1851 by expert collier John Jones for the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace.

It never made it to London but is still reputed to be the largest block of coal ever cut.

Gelert’s grave in Beddgelert in Gwynedd was listed in 1998 for its special interest within the history of Welsh tourism.

Built in 1802 by David Pritchard, the manager of a local hotel, it revived and partly reinvented a story of loyal hound, Gelert.

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