Restaurants in Mid Wales
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Blue Boar
This bar-cum-restaurant specialises in hearty, home-cooked fare and has an inventive range of dishes, from light bites, such as hummus and pitta bread to traditional Welsh stew.
reviewed
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Nantyffin Cider Mill
One of Mid-Wales' gastronomic pioneers, this 16th-century drovers' inn takes great pride in using local produce to create simple, unfussy dishes that allow the quality of the ingredients to shine through. The dining room is a stylish blend of bare stone, exposed roof beams, designer chairs and white table linen, set around the original 19th-century cider press. Nantyffin is a mile northwest of Crickhowell on the A40.
reviewed
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Foxhunter
An old Victorian pub with flagstone floors and wood-burning stoves that's been given an elegant contemporary makeover, the Foxhunter brings an adventurous approach to fresh, seasonal produce with dishes such as sautéed duck liver and foie gras on toasted brioche, brown trout with beurre blanc, sorrel and wild garlic, and (in season) deep-fried wild elvers (baby eels from the River Wye) with wild garlic mayonnaise.
reviewed
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White Swan
A traditional village inn that offers a candle-lit dining room with old wooden floors, a bar with comfortably worn leather sofas and armchairs, and a beautiful garden terrace. The White Swan is a great place to relax after a walk along the canal or a hike in the Brecon Beacons. The menu emphasises Welsh lamb, beef and venison, with daily fish and vegetarian specials. Llanfrynach is 3.5 miles southeast of Brecon off the B4558.
reviewed
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Bear Hotel
A fine old coaching inn with low-ceilinged rooms, stone fireplaces, blackened timber beams and antique furniture, the Bear serves top quality bar meals as well as having a more formal restaurant. The menu ranges from heart-warming home cooking (sausages and mash with onion gravy, faggots with peas and chips) to the finest black beef steaks and Welsh seafood. The Bear is in Crickhowell, 6.5 miles west of Abergavenny.
reviewed
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Usk Inn
This appealing, Victorian country inn, close to the Brecon Canal, serves hearty local fare such as twice-cooked lamb shank with minted rosemary jus; ricotta cheese and basil ravioli with creamy tomato and spinach sauce; and seafood dishes such as swordfish fillet with a sesame crust. There's also an excellent three-course Sunday lunch served noon to 15:00. The Usk Inn is 6 miles southeast of Brecon on the B4558.
reviewed
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Orangery
The smartest place in town brings a sense of contemporary style to the erstwhile Talbot Inn, an 1830 coaching house, dividing the space between the restaurant and a cocktail bar. The menu focuses on Welsh staples, especially lamb, with the odd pasta and risotto dish thrown into the mix.
reviewed
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Old Black Lion
As traditional and atmospheric as they come, this inn looks 17th-century but parts of it date from the 13th – expect low ceilings and uneven floors. The accumulated weight of centuries of hospitality is cheerfully carried by the current staff. The food is many leagues beyond pub grub: think stuffed Guinea fowl, or pork loin with black pudding (mains £12 to £18).
reviewed
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Hardwick
The Hardwick is a traditional pub-style restaurant with an old stone fireplace, low ceiling beams and terracotta floor tiles. Ex-Walnut Tree alumnus Stephen Terry has created a gloriously unpretentious menu that celebrates the best of country cooking; save room for the homemade ice cream. The Hardwick is 2 miles south of Abergavenny on the B4598.
reviewed
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Walnut Tree
Established in 1963, the legendary Walnut Tree remains one of Wales' finest restaurants despite a change of ownership, with a Michelin star to prove it. Fresh, local produce dominates, and with wood pigeon and hare on the menu last time we visited, we wouldn't be all that surprised if some of it was once scurrying around the backyard. The Walnut Tree is 3 miles northeast of Abergavenny on the B4521.
reviewed
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Consti Café
On Constitution Hill, the erstwhile Victorian tearooms have been rebuilt in line with environmental considerations and the resulting Consti Café is a café by day and licensed steakhouse three nights per week. It also features displays of the wildlife you can spot on a, ahem, constitutional around the hill.
reviewed
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Quarry Wholefood Café
Run by the same people that manage the CAT, this woody, gentle-paced place has delicious, wholesome vegetarian lunch specials, using mostly organic ingredients. It's also fantastically baby friendly with organic baby food on the menu, and changing facilities. The only downside to its popularity? Queuing for a table.
reviewed
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Olive Branch
A newcomer to the local dining scene, this Greek restaurant is open all day for fair-trade Arabic coffee, snack lunches and traditional Greek dinners with a mix of dips, spreads and hot and cold meze. If the fug gets too much downstairs, head up to the quieter, nonsmoking restaurant on the second floor.
reviewed
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Granary
This most popular café-style place in town is bustling and welcoming with streetside tables and a country-kitchen interior. It's child friendly and has an imaginative menu of daily snacks and light lunches, including lots of vegetarian choices: hard to beat for a meal that won't break the bank.
reviewed
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Bridge Café Bistro
A great little bistro with a rustic, farmhouse kitchen look, the Bridge serves simple, home-cooked dishes using fresh, seasonal, organic produce, from onion soup to lamb stew, falafel to mushroom stroganoff. It also serves organic beer, wine and cider, and Welsh-made Brecon gin and Penderyn whisky.
reviewed
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Old Ford Inn
The Old Ford is an old-fashioned country pub with weathered oak beams, stone fireplace and a range of well looked-after real ales. You can eat in the bar, or opt for a more formal meal in the farmhouse kitchen-style restaurant. Llanhamlach is on the A40, 4 miles southeast of Brecon
reviewed
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Trading Post
Housed in a 16th-century town house that was formerly the Cow Inn (check out the carved cow's heads on the outside), the Trading Post is a pleasantly old-fashioned café serving a wide range of teas and coffees as well as a bistro menu of light meals.
reviewed
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Pilgrims Tearooms
The café in the cathedral grounds is housed in a tithe barn-style building, with outdoor tables beside a herb garden. The menu includes home-baked bread, salads, jacket potatoes and daily specials, and a Sunday lunch of roast lamb, beef or chicken.
reviewed
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Little Italy
With red-and-white chequered tablecloths, this is the cosy, wine-bottle-in-baskets kind of Italian eatery. It's also popular, with a big menu of traditional Italian favourites including good vegetarian options. There's also a decent Sunday lunch.
reviewed
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Harry's
Candlelit, warm and friendly, this smart restaurant serves up an imaginative menu of tasty, well-presented meals in a bistro-style setting. Local fish is a house speciality and there's a stylish bar area for a pre-prandial snifter.
reviewed
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Bayleaf
Abergavenny's best curry house, the Bayleaf specialises in Northern Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, with dishes such as gustaba (a hot and sour lamb curry) and aam achari chicken (cooked in mango chutney).
reviewed
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Delicatessen Blasau
A superb little deli selling takeaway sandwiches, organic produce and fair-trade supplies. Specialising in local produce, it has a good selection of fruit wines, mead, liqueurs and chocolate – all of which would make excellent gifts for the cat-sitter back home.
reviewed
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Treehouse
Located upstairs from an inviting food shop in an attractive Victorian house, this excellent organic restaurant uses locally grown produce. A wide menu of organic fare makes this one of the best places for lunch in town.
reviewed
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Ultracomida
With its blend of Spanish, French and Welsh produce, this is a foodie's Nirvana: a delicatessen out front with a cheese counter to die for and communal tables out the back for tapas and wine. The deli platters are excellent, offering a choice of meat, fish or cheese (£8.95).
reviewed
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La Brasseria
This lively little bistro has a warm, sunny Mediterranean vibe, with a French-inspired menu that includes the likes of garlic mushrooms, roast duck (with chunky, home-made chips), and roast sea bream.
reviewed
