You know when people bang on about how a city is ‘up-and-coming’? Well, let’s face it, it’s usually estate agent speak when they’re trying to flog you a crack-den built over a mine shaft with expansive views of the local prison. But, in Cardiff’s case, it isn’t just property ladder hyperbole: it’s actually true.

You only have to look at the city’s skyline to realise real changes are afoot as it rises and falls like a mountain range, alternating between mounds of rubble from the demolition of all the eyesore Eighties architecture to the columns of brand spanking new buildings reaching for the stars S Club-style.

But, with all this botoxing, is its gay scene keeping up with the Joneses? Icon, the new(ish) bar on the block, is a stab at branching out into the green, green grass of pastures fresh.

Where is it?
Situated slap bang in the city centre on Cardiff’s very own baby Canal Street, Charles Street, it’s two doors down from the perma-popular bar / club hybrid Exit (48 Charles Street; www.exitcardiff.com) and across the road from the full-on Club X (35-39 Charles Street; www.club-x-cardiff.co.uk) as well as within convenient stumbling distance of the local saucily sexed-up sauna, The Locker Room (50 Charles Street; www.lockerroomcardiff.co.uk). So it’s right in the hub of things, making it a good starting- or ending- point of a night on the tiles.

Address: 60 Charles Street, Cardiff CF10 2GF, 029 2066 6505

Has it entered the multimedia age?
Well, there’s a website that gives more than the bare bones of info and there’s some good images of the place - as well as some of the staff - plus the low-down on the booze and food on offer. The bar hasn’t entered the world of Wi-Fi yet, but it could be on the cards for the future.

Check it out at: www.iconcardiff.com

What can people expect?
The flagship of the city’s new queer wave, its Harvey Nicks, Knightsbridge, its DKNY, Fifth Avenue, its… erm… Debenhams, Cardiff. This is a funked-up café-bar geared towards the style-conscious crowd that has a city-slicker feel. This is a kind of multi-tasker venue that teleports punters from day to night to early hours, running the coffee / chow / Chardonnay gamut.

On the ground floor, the atmosphere is busy and buzzy while the upper level is more chilled-out and Zen, plus there’s a nice outside table space where you can watch the people traffic waft by or indulge in that (now illegal indoors) nicotine habit.

With its loungy sofas, bank of banquettes and line of hooker-at-a-hotel stools at the bar, it’s the perfect place for a quick latte, first date or weekend pick-up - depending on what tickles your pickle.

What about the deco?
Icon’s homepage trumpets that it’s “often referred to as ‘the swishest gay bar outside London’”, but that’s stretching it a tad. In fact, even if you stretch a stretchy thing to its absolute stretchiest limit, it’s not an accurate description. That’s not to say it’s not a good-looking bar, but it’s like Victoria Beckham: not as good-looking as it thinks it is.

Between the stripped-back wooden floors, muted olive green walls and tastefully subtle artwork, the whole décor looks like someone has vomited up the Nineties. Which isn’t so bad really; it’s just that it’s a bit old-hat, which will explain why I like it there. Also, old-hat can sometimes be good - the Art Deco-inspired bar is a real centrepiece of the place and adds some classic old-world charm.

What are the punters like?
Because Cardiff’s scene is still on the petite side, everybody tends to go to all the venues rather than one bar for the young ‘uns and another for the crowd of a certain age. (Put it this way: I’m 35, like dog years practically pensionable in the gay world, and this is the city’s only gay bar I go to on a regular basis.) Here, though, the clientele tends to be time-dependent; at lunchtime it’s the nine-to-fivers sneaking a cheeky pint, in the early evening it’s people like me having a swift couple before heading home for the Horlicks and The Bill, but by eight a more youthful crowd takes over to keep the partying torch burning into the night.

What about the talent?
I’m happily paired-up, so I wouldn’t know. Yeah, right! Again, it’s a mixed bag of beauties and, like Quality Street, there’s something for every taste, from fresh-faced newbies to the slightly-less-fresh-of-face seasoned faggerati. What has happened, though, since Cardiff’s grown, is the influx of a Magmix of nationalities on the scene and who can resist a hot foreigner with a sexy accent? (I recently got chatted-up by a very nice South African, but don’t tell The Boyfriend.)

The more cosmopolitan feel is also bringing in the bridge-and-tunellers from the Valleys, Swansea, Bristol and even further afield up and down the UK. You might even pull yourself a sci-fi geek as the bar has been used as a location on Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood so is a pit-stop on any fan’s city tour. Now, you can’t say there’s no diversity.

What should I wear?
As a fashion dyslexic, I’m probably the wrong person to ask, but I dress like a past-it skateboarder manqué and I’ve never had any problem getting in so I guess the door policy is what you can call ‘relaxed.’ That said, you’re not discouraged from making an effort - the usual roll call of trend-aware designer devotees are present and correct - but they also allow people like me who don’t give a monkeys to darken their door.

What about the booze?
Expect all the usual hangover culprits, but the USP here are the overdraft-friendly prices. A pint will set you back a mere £2.50 and a bottle of house wine just £8.25, plus there’s also promotions everyday between midday and 9pm when you can get any double spirit and mixer for £3. There’s also a good range of flavoured vodkas, too, as well as a nifty line in mean cocktails. Just make sure you’ve stocked up on aspirin for the inevitable head-throbbing the morning after.

Any hidden extras?
You can hire the upstairs area for those big-noise events like birthdays, civil partnerships, divorces, which they’re willing to organise the nosh for. There’s also the odd special DJ set and usual calendar markers, like Valentine’s and Mardi Gras (1 September 2007).

There’s also a pretty extensive food menu available during the daytime (midday-6pm) covering the currently ubiquitous British Modern classics of bangers’n’mash and fish’n’chips, plus an all-the-trimmings roast on Sundays. It’s reasonably priced and perfectly passable grub, but for me personally I’m still mourning the loss of the food of its previous (queer-friendly) café-bar incarnation, which was top-notch.

Luckily, though, the chef has now relocated his exceptional talents to Mimosa Kitchen & Bar (www.mimosakitchen.co.uk), a great brasserie down Cardiff Bay part-owned by prime Welsh totty Ioan Gruffudd, doncha know?

Icon
60 Charles Street, Cardiff CF10 2DF, 029 2066 6505, www.iconcardiff.com

Sun-Thurs midday-midnight, Fri and Sat midday-1am, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Can’t get to Icon? Then stay in and mix your own drink with The Cocktail Bible: Over 600 Cocktails Shaken, Stirred and on the Rocks, edited by Sarah Ford. Buy online and save money.