Out On e Trail

Destination Dining

Carmarthenshire, Wales

Wales’s southwestern county of Carmarthenshire is known as ‘The Garden of Wales’, with sweeping valleys, the River Towy, and some of the darkest skies in the UK. It’s also known for being the home of Wales’s beloved poet, Dylan Thomas.

Horticulture and sustainability should be added to its long list of triumphs. The county’s burgeoning food scene is making strides, with eco-friendly eateries and foodie experiences based on the area’s strong farming and foraging traditions.

Here, coastal foraging turns Carmarthenshire’s beaches into dining rooms, locally grown grapes are the backdrop to Welsh vineyards, and farm shops are championing “natural wines” and traditionally baked breads. Feasts of lava seaweed and local cockles cooked over a biodegradable fire, low-carbon beef, and homemade bara brith are just a few recipes from Carmarthenshire’s diverse cookbook waiting for you.

Wright’s Food Emporium

Perched on the edge of a B road running through the quiet village of Llanarthne is a 19th-century coaching inn, now known as the family-run, award-winning Wright’s Food Emporium.

Inside, you’ll find rustic décor, and a relaxed atmosphere that’s formulated around an informal layout and crackling fires. Their shop has baskets of locally produced fruits and vegetables, along with shelves of natural wines, homemade breads, cakes, and unique condiments like tomato catsup.

Owners Simon and Maryann Wright champion seasonality and locality, which is reflected in the revolving menu and the meats sold at the deli. The popular pork belly Cubano is served with local Myrddin Heritage ham and Hafod cheddar, while the meat plate contains charcuterie native-breed sausages. Both of these wash down nicely with a Bluestone Preseli Pils lager or local Jin Talog gin.

Vegan options include the likes of Crown Prince Squash ginger and coconut soup, while vegetarian dishes feature the Blaencamel Farm cherry tomato, pesto and pickled ewes’ cheese salad.

The Warren

Low-carbon, local beef burgers topped with organic cheddar, fresh tomato, pickled red onions, and streaky bacon are waiting for you at The Warren. It’s a multiaward winning, crowd-funded café-restaurant in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire’s ancient capital.

The eatery is aptly named considering its higgledypiggledy floorplan, and this unpretentiousness is carried through their sustainably driven menu which gets its supplies from local producers – or directly, in the cases of the salads and herbs that they grow. The lentil moussaka with seasonal greens, or the organic Hazelwell Farm beef goulash, epitomise the area’s best produce.

Brown’s Hotel

In the estuary village of Laugharne – dubbed by Dylan Thomas as the “strangest town in Wales” – is Brown’s Hotel. While the poet lived here, Brown’s was his favourite watering hole, and the establishment clings to this heritage by displaying photographs of Dylan.

Moryd, Mansion House Jabajak Vineyard

Destination Dining

Dexters, is closed until late November, guests can dine in the bar. The pub, with its cosy nooks has works by local artists, and is beloved by locals, Dylan fanatics and coastline hikers.

The temporary evening menu includes the likes of parmesan and herb crusted salmon with tartare sauce and local delicacies like Welsh Rarebit which comes with a cauliflower steak and caper and raisin dressing.

Moryd, Mansion House Llansteffan

Moryd, a two-AA-Rosette restaurant, sits within a Georgian manor house overlooking the Towy Estuary and Carmarthen Bay. Its premier location captured the hearts of Wendy and David Beaney, who lovingly revamped the hotel and named the restaurant Moryd – Welsh for estuary – after its local surroundings.

The award-winning head chef, Paul Owen, is likewise inspired by the region, crafting Market and à la carte menus brimming with local ingredients. Scrumptious dishes such as the house beef burger champion Welsh produce and highlight how the Welsh PGI-status beef comes from a family-run butchers in St Clears. Their seafood hails from Milford Haven, their fresh eggs from Llanybri, and their ales are brewed in Carmarthenshire!

Cwmcerrig Farm Shop

Cwmcerrig Farm Shop is owned by the Watkins family, who have been farming the land since the 1950s. The award-winning store sells homemade sausages, and Texel lamb and Hereford beef that are reared and cut on-site to ensure quality. The deli is stocked with local cheeses and cooked meats, homemade pies, and Welsh favourites like rissoles.

The restaurant serves home-cooked meals, and the scrumptious Sunday lunch offers a choice of four meats, along with a generous helping of vegetables, stuffing, and homemade Yorkshire puddings and gravy.

Coastal Foraging with Craig Evans

Cwmcerrig Farm Shop

Jabajak Vineyard

As our host proudly declared, the ethos of Jabajak Vineyard and Restaurant is to ‘enter as strangers, leave as friends’; and the intimate space and relaxed décor lends itself to this. Guests can’t help but bond over their shared love of the wine that lines the walls.

The Landsker Bar greets guests, upon arrival, with an extensive selection of Jabajak’s White House wines, along with lager, spirits, ales and soft drinks sourced from Wales. The vineyard tours go in-depth into the special kind of cool-climate grapes that grow in this part of Wales, along with a lesson on the establishment’s connection with President John Adams and THE White House.

The Smithy Restaurant likewise focuses on fresh and locally sourced or foraged ingredients, with a menu catering to all dietary needs. For example, the lamb hails from the Preseli Hills, while many of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, leaves, and edible flowers are plucked from their own kitchen garden. The pea and asparagus risotto served with fried kale is the epitome of homegrown deliciousness!

Meet Craig Evans, a forager with a passion for sea life and marine conservation, and his canine companion Llew, at Carmarthen Bay (or in Pembrokeshire) for a day of coastal foraging. From a young age, Craig has been sourcing wild foods such as tickle trout, wimberries, and mushrooms.

As you explore the beach, Craig teaches how to find sustainable ingredients, from crabs and cockles to razor clams and lava seaweed – an essential ingredient for making Welsh lava bread. The day ends with cooking your finds over a handmade solva stove (Swedish candle), where Craig adds flourishes like rose petals to your coastal supper. Coastal Foraging

To advertise in taste.blas magazine call Paul on 029 2019 0224.

The magazine that celebrates food and drink in Wales