Best restaurants in Wales

Erring on the side of trendy, The Jackdaw has a very distinct look. Crisp table settings, fleece strewn chairs and a pleasing mix of white walls and dark wood accents. At the weekend it’s a la carte only territory, while during the week there’s a fantastically priced tasting menu that comes in at £79 for eight courses. Each round a homage to Wales’ culinary narrative. Think an inventive take on the classic leek and potato combination and an updated lamb cawl.

Culinary heavyweight Tom Simmons’ story takes him from working for big name hospitality players – like Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s – through to owning his own restaurants and bakeries. He even competed on MasterChef. Having settled back in Wales now, Thomas by Tom Simmons is the chef’s piece de resistance and seamlessly melds local produce with French technique.

With quite possibly the best situation of any restaurant in Wales, Beach House’s view right onto Oxwich Waters are second to none. Alongside your views of sand dunes and and the breezy bay, head chef Hywel Griffith’s food is packed with flavour. Ingredients are carefully handled and beautifully presented, but there’s no pretention here – just good, honest cooking in a cracking setting.

This diminutive wine bar in Machynlleth hides something special through a back curtain - an intimate chef's table run by former Ynyshir head chef Corrin Harrison. With just eight seats going for dinner each night, a spot at the table is pretty exclusive but the rewards are great as Harrison dishes up 10 spectacular courses right in front of your eyes. 

Paying homage to the landscapes of Wales, Annwn's ten-course tasting menu changes along with the seasons, offering delicately plated cuisine from chef patron Matt Powell. As well as top class dining, guests can also delve into the surrounding nature and take part in an unforgettable day of foraging.

No two days at Sosban and the Old Butchers are ever the same, with the team constantly changing the menu in line with the best finds from their honed list of suppliers. Every tiny aspect of the experience here has been thought through to give diners delight in the details. Think specially created ceramics and tableware, and theatrical food that’s served from the open kitchen in waves of delicious bites.

Burgers, when done well, can be a pretty blinding culinary experiences. Hills joins the ranks of those done well with legendary patties and buns flying out the kitchens in all kinds of iterations. Think a cheeseburger stuffed with fries and gravy, or the Juan Hilario which combines sobrosado, confit onions, and pimiento ketchup. There are also gluten-free and veggie/vegan options. 

Clean, produce-led plates are the order of the day at The Black Bear Inn, one of Wales’ best gastropubs. The cosy, unfussy dining room lets the food do all the talking which it does with aplomb. Think gorgeous, gutsy things like roasted cod with crab broth, new potatoes and kalettes or rhubarb, vanilla and almond mess. Plating is chic in its simplicity, and the wonderfully well-humoured team are on hand to make everyone feel right at home.

One of the capital’s best restaurants, Heathcock serves up a few things and does those things in an unshowy but absolutely brilliant way. Think duck leg pappardelle, rare roast hanger steak with confit potatoes and bearnaise or oysters with apple and tarragon.

The Felin Fach Griffin is a proper countryside pub; cosy and filled with hearty grub plus staff eager to give a warm welcome. Set menus are priced really affordably, with you able to eat extremely well here for under £40 per head, and there’s just a handful of well-executed choices that are dictated by what the day brings from the inn’s various suppliers.

With a real fire at one end and stripped back wooden floors, Hare and Hounds has spadefuls of charm. Nothing here stays the same for too long, with menus changing twice a day in line with produce availability. One thing that’s a constant though; crowd-pleasing, loudly flavoured plates served by staff with real heart.

A Michelin starred restaurant with rooms, The Whitebrook provides the perfect excuse for a suitably suave staycation. Rooms are comfortable, but it’s the food you’re coming for. Chris Harrod reverently handles his ingredients and seamlessly fuses locally sourced ingredients in flawless plates. BBQ monkfish with crown prince pumpkin, elderberries, and hazel miso is an example of a dish that sounds a lot on paper but that sings harmoniously and in unity from the plate.

With its simple, pared-back dining room and countryside vibe, Y Polyn is exactly the type of places many foodies love. It’s staunchly unpretentious with dressed-down staff and bare wooden tables, but the menu is an explosive hot bed of produce-led plates like crispy ham hock has with gribiche or a duck shepherd’s pie followed by rhubarb parfait with custard.

Thanks to its large swathe of countryside, Wales is home to many a restaurant with rooms. The Walnut Tree joins the ranks as one of the best. Here you can bed down for the night after a meal of sharp, classic cooking that manages to appear simple despite complex, technical skills on show in each plate. Unusually, this is a la carte Michelin starred dining, which offers more personalisation for guests than typical tasting menus.

When a restaurant entitles themselves as fat-fuelled and protein obsessed, we sit up and take notice. We’re not the only ones, Ynyshir repeatedly tops the charts when it comes to restaurant guide recommendations. In fact, it is the most highly awarded restaurant in the whole of Wales thanks to chef Gareth Ward’s completely unique style and a dining room that combines a live DJ with a theatrical open, live-fire kitchen.

Relax into the comfortable, chic surrounds of this beachside bistro and enjoy views of boats bobbing in the bay through the floor to ceiling windows. It’s a combination that keeps the restaurant packed all year round, with diners coming to try everything from breakfast through to dinner, with dishes made using the best of Wales’ larder. Think a daily catch made into fish fingers or crab linguine, or steak with charred broccoli and fries.

Run by James Sommerin and his family, Home at Penarth is a powerful expression of teamwork. The menus are stunning creations made from the best local produce, and the fun bit is that you never know what you’re going to get. The whole thing is a surprise, where guests put their meal in the hands of the chefs to serve them up a blind tasting menu from beginning to end. Please note that most dietary requirements can be catered for.

Country house hotels aren’t always the most exciting culinary destinations, but Llangoed Hall’s bucks the trend with a menu rooted in classical techniques that is so perfectly executed it keeps itself at the forefront of the Welsh foodie agenda. Expect a set menu with a few seasonal choices per course, with a distinct French thread running throughout.