TheLime Kiln

It’s all change at The Lime Kiln, a 150-year-old country inn in the beautiful Tanat Valley. New owners, new team, new website – and an exciting mission to combine traditional country dishes with international street food.

So what brought Chris, new manager of The Lime Kiln, to this wonderful spot?

“I used to travel down this road often, past the inn,” he explains. “A long while back I lived in Hale and I used to reguarly drive this way cross-country to our caravan in Saundersfoot. I saw the place advertised after the lockdown, and thought I’d quite like to take it over.We’ve redecorated throughout and taken on all new staff. We’re totally reinventing The Lime Kiln.

“In my 20s my passion was surfing and I worked my way around Cornwall, Jersey and France as a chef – all the surf hotspots. I got to work in different kitchens with different styles of food, and that’s my passion now. For us, it’s all about the freshness of the food. We try to keep our prices reasonable in response to the cost of living, we’re making The Lime Kiln a sociable place for everybody – families, walkers, everyone.

“We offer a grazing menu, which means we get to try out different dishes all the time. Vegan food and people becoming more allergy aware is very much what’s going on now, so we’re keen to offer this at The Lime Kiln.

“The menu is constantly evolving,” adds Chris. “To keep our prices down, we don’t throw food away, instead we work hard to utilise all the ingredients. The menu we print is only for the week ahead, and if someone comes in wanting something we’ve offered before, we’ll do it. Our biggest day is Sunday, we’re always packed for Sunday roasts – Welsh beef and lamb, local pork, our meat is all from a local supplier and the quality is second to none. ”

“Food is an evolving game. It’s good that we’re introducing things from other cultures like tapas-style dishes. Actually, they’re more like ‘raciones’, as they’re called in Spain – slightly bigger portions than tapas. That’s the great thing about the grazing menu, it doesn’t have to be Spanish tapas, we can bring in other cultural influences. And being a pub, of course we still offer steaks, burgers, soups.

“The smash burgers – ultra-thin patties cooked fast with melted cheese in between – seem very popular. We’re getting good feedback.” And right on cue, a departing customer comes over to Chris to express their thanks: “That was the best burger I’ve ever had in my life!”

Chris says: “We really are passionate about food. If you come here to eat it’s great value for money and definitely not boring. We’re very keen to offer vegan and allergy free, it’s a big thing for us.

“It’s a pub as well as a restaurant. We’ve gone out of our way to introduce bench seating, which is more sociable. We’re dog-friendly – we’ll soon have a three-course Sunday lunch for dogs! We’ll be introducing live music too – monthly live jazz, Northern Soul nights – and we’ll be offering a guide to a brilliant local walk that starts from the pub, though some beautiful woods to the site of the original lime kilns.”

Menu

Seared shell-on prawns in a garlic and chilli butter, with toasted dipping bread £7.95

Lime Kiln smash burger with melted cheese, salad and wasabi mayo, served with garlic & salt fries £11.95

Lime Kiln ratatouille special with steak topper £8.95

Welsh rarebit with Cheddar and Shropshire blue cheese and a splash of Penderyn Welsh whiskey £4.50

Caribbean rice pudding with mango, steeped in rum syrup