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When chefs tire of London, they could sure do worse than slipping away to rural Wales for a bigger kitchen and a slice of the good life. From Georgian coaching inns with boutique edge to bright-and-breezy coastal boltholes with dreamy sea views and former drovers’ cottages full of rustic charm in the Brecon Beacons, each of the country’s restaurants with rooms reveals its own distinctive character. Some impress with family-run bistros playing up garden-grown and foraged ingredients, others with fancier Michelin-starred menus, but nearly all take pride in local sourcing thanks to the bounty of excellent produce right on the doorstep. Here’s our pick of the best restaurants with rooms in Wales.
The Walnut Tree Inn
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
Down a rural lane, two miles east of Abergavenny, The Walnut Tree reclines at the foot of the Skirrid on the cusp of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons. It’s a peaceful spot for holing up in a cottage for a few days, clambering up the Skirrid, and savouring Michelin-starred meals. Hill has his own unique cooking style, which can’t be pinned to one country but relies on excellent ingredients, seasonality and culinary know-how. The passion of owner and head chef Shaun Hill filters through every level; he delivers food that tastes profoundly of what it ought to, with minimum frippery, and it’s reasonably priced, too.
From
£
100
per night
Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms
Powys, Wales
A fire pit smouldering by the entrance is a sign of things to come in this edgy, super-slick, Scandi-style take on a country house. There are a few nods to the past – a bay window here, Victorian tiles there – but overall the look is stripped-back. Everyone does their bit and knows their stuff – whether you want the lowdown on the outstanding wine list, or more info on the producers and foraged ingredients. Menus prize fatty meats, fermentation and gutsy flavours, and chef Gareth Ward’s surprise 19-course, four-hour-long tasting menu is an ode to Japanese-meets-Welsh flavours. Plump for one of the secluded garden rooms, with high ceilings, exposed beams, impressive slate fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling.
From
£
190
per night
Llys Meddyg
Pembrokeshire, Wales
This Georgian coaching house with boutique edge sits snugly in the pretty coastal town of Newport, just a couple of miles from a broad, dune-flanked beach. The look is part rural Wales, part urban sophisticate, with art hanging on walls, local slate, and lots of characterful reclaimed wood. There are plenty of cosy corners for digging into owner and chef Ed Sykes’ flavours that reveal careful local sourcing and a passion for foraging. The eight individually designed rooms manage the delicate act of preserving original character while keeping things freshly modern, but for an added dose of romance go for one of the upper-floor rooms set in the eaves.
From
£
133
per night
Rates provided by
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Jabajak
Carmarthenshire, Wales
Jabajak is a beautifully restored farmhouse among rows of neatly tended vines. Owner Amanda is the heart and soul of Jabajak and she aims to please with her brilliant cooking. The restaurant has scooped awards for its locally sourced, home-grown approach, and dishes are prepared with garden herbs, fruit, veg and edible flowers, ramped up flavour-wise by foraged ingredients such as nettles and wild garlic when in season. There are many nods to local produce at breakfast, too. Go for the Garden Suite overlooking the vineyard, with a telescope for stargazers who appreciate Pembrokeshire’s dark skies, or the Grain Store Suite up in the eaves, full of beamed romance, with a slipper tub for relaxing soaks.
From
£
130
per night
Rates provided by
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The Whitebrook
Whitebrook, Monmouthshire, Wales
Chef patron Chris Harrod and wife Kirsty have created a gorgeous haven in this characterful white former drover’s cottage that dates back to the 17th century. Chef patron Chris Harrod uses the best, freshest, seasonal ingredients, flavoured with newly foraged herbs and plants, so the food is sublime – dishes such as Huntsham Farm suckling pig with caramelised celeriac, pear and lamb’s sorrel make you purr with pleasure. The eight immaculately maintained rooms overlooking the brook, gardens or woods, with plans for four more. Expect king-sized beds, robes, double-ended bathtubs, walk-in showers and classy furniture, lamps and mirrors.
From
£
225
per night for two people
The Hardwick
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
The Hardwick is a large restaurant in a handsome white historic building, with eight smart rooms in an adjacent modern extension with eight luxurious beds and bathrooms. A striking lounge with high ceilings, massive mirrors, a dramatic chandelier and big comfy sofas offers an impressively wide variety of dishes, championing local produce with both the familiar and the exotic: Provençal-style fish soup and braised rabbit with deep-fried potato gnocchi and soffritto; delicious pan-fried mackerel with lentil salsa and Middle Eastern spiced chicken. Most dishes are thoughtfully offered in starter and main course sizes, too.
From
£
125
per night
Rates provided by
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The Newbridge on Usk
Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales
This characterful, 200-year-old building, part-gastropub, part restaurant-with-rooms, is full of olde worlde charm but with tasteful, top-quality, modern amenities and great service. The six rooms, in an adjacent outbuilding, are large and individually designed, with an upmarket country feel and top-quality bedlinens plus luxurious bathrooms. Head chef Adam Whittle offers a tempting, hearty à la carte menu using the best produce and fresh ingredients from the inn’s kitchen garden – the likes of roasted lamb rump with wild garlic, guinea fowl breast, pan-roasted turbot and steaks with twice-cooked chips.
From
£
91
per night
Rates provided by
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Rooms at James Sommerin
Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
James Sommerin works culinary magic at his Michelin-starred venture right on the seafront in Penarth, with broad views out across the Severn Estuary. Come for the sensational tasting menus, strolls along the Victorian pier and easy day trips into Cardiff, just a pebble throw away. The tasting menu is the way to go, with dish after intricately created dish revealing imagination and deep, integral flavours – be it butter poached lobster, meltingly tender Welsh lamb cooked three ways, root vegetable lasagne with aged parmesan or the lightest raspberry soufflé you will ever taste. Uplifting sea views give the rooms their wow factor.
From
£
145
per night
Rates provided by
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Tyddyn Llan
Denbighshire, Wales
A modest Georgian house just outside Llandrillo, with a complementary extension using local slate and stone. The house was once a shooting lodge belonging to the Dukes of Westminster, but now places food centre stage. The views are spectacular, with the Vale of Edeyrnion’s meadows and the slopes of the Berwyn Mountains beyond. The dining room is decorated in Wedgewood blue with tall windows on three sides. Bryan Webb is considered one of Wales’s foremost chefs, with a long-held Michelin star and a commitment to local produce, such as melting Welsh black beef, and quality seasonal ingredients. The menu changes daily.
From
£
195
per night
The Old Rectory on the Lake
Tal-y-llyn, Gwynedd, Wales
A sun-trap hideaway on the shores of a huge lake, and at the foot of the mountain, Cadair Idris. It’s elegant and relaxing with free-standing roll-top baths, an outdoor hot tub and locally sourced food perfectly cooked to order in the restaurant. The food, courtesy of the self-trained chef, Ricky, is outstanding. There may be freshly-caught trout, or local Bala lamb on the menu, along with perfectly-cooked vegetables and perhaps Dauphinois potatoes. The chocolate fondant is a signature pudding. The terrace is the perfect place to enjoy the sunset over the lake with a Welsh gin and tonic.
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Harbourmaster Hotel
Aberaeron, Cardigan Bay, Wales
Beach chic comes into its own at this forget-me-not-blue boutique hotel on Aberaeron’s harbour wall. And you won’t likely forget it with these killer sea views, glam rooms and imaginatively thought-out menus. The restaurant has a serious foodie bent in the evening – try to snag the cwtch (cubby hole) for intimate dining. Go for Carlingford oysters, a plump, sweet burst of the sea, and the perfect prelude for well-cooked Welsh fillet of steak, followed by an oozy chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice cream. For a buzzier vibe, head to the bar-lounge to nurse a Brecon gin or nibble bar snacks like crispy cockles with chilli vinegar.
From
£
140
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
This article was originally published by Telegraph.co.uk. Read the original article here.