Restaurant Reviews
Gaerwen Arms, Gaerwen, Anglesey
It’s not often that you find a pub restaurant that ticks all of the boxes – but we think we found one that does just that whilst holidaying in Anglesey this summer. Nestled just off the North Wales Expressway, to the north west of Llanfairpwll, the Gaerwen Arms is a highly recommended place to stop. Great food, affordable, imaginative kids’ menu and doggy heaven
too with free doggy ice creams and lots of love from the staff. Locally sourced meat, dairy and veggies – with many via the local Chelsea Flower show winning greengrocer. Great non-meat options too and 2 AA rosettes - what’s not to like? The Nibbles menu itself really set the tone – with the Spiced welsh wagyu fat popcorn, juicy Gordal olives, and the moreish sweet and salty peanuts. But the standout was the amazing Stout and Onion sourdough with roast beef butter – OMG – the latter we guarantee you could eat until the cows come home. Moving on to the starters – the Anglesey onion soup with hazelnut, malt and ale loaf was a great ‘comfortfood’ combo. The beer braised crispy duck – carrot and vanilla, passionfruit, gingerbread was another inventive taste sensation. While the kids tucked into very accomplished pub staples, the grown-ups were able to delight in mains you’d expect of a 2 AA Rosette gastro pub. The substantial Gaerwen burger with local Gouda Mon rarebit, bacon jam and triple cooked chips was sublime. The Beer battered cod was melt in the mouth, perfectly cooked local fresh fish cocooned in delightfully light beer batter. The crispy marinated tofu curry, coconut sticky rice, garlic and coriander naan, onion bhaji and coriander yoghurt was mouth-wateringly flavoursome – not often you say that about tofu - and artfully presented on wooden servers and chic Welsh slatecoloured plates. The Wild Mushroom Wellington made with a king oyster ragu, savoy and preserved wild garlic was a rich, delicious and comforting main to warm the cockles of even the most dedicated meat-eater. The Pant Du cider pork belly didn’t disappoint either – a lovely crispy outer and sumptuous underneath – complemented perfectly with a charred broccoli, locally made Mon Las blue cheese side. Unusual to single out a side but the tangy blue cheese flavour mingled perfectly with the charred broccoli – with almonds adding delightful texture. Mon Las is a Royal Welsh Supreme Champion Cheese, hand made by Menai Jones using milk from pedigree Friesian cows and Halen Mon sea-salt. Locally sourced perfection – and just one example of the thought brought to dishes. As for the puds, though tempted by the locally renowned ‘Anglesey Chocolate Pebble’, a dish created during lockdown of white chocolate shell, dark chocolate mousse and a liquid, Halen Mon salted caramel on a bed of real pebbles and garnished with seasonal local fruit, the adults were already perfectly sated. But the kids wanted more and had fun with the huge, gooey toasted marshmallows and caramel sauce. Awarded 2 AA Rosettes in 2019 not long after Andy and Ollie took over the pub, we suspect it won’t be long before they get an outstanding 3rd. Paul Spencer
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www.taste-blas.co.uk
