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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.

Nant Restaurant,

Nantgarw, Cardiff

Hidden amongst an unsuspecting college building is one of my best found gems in South Wales. Just on the outskirts of Cardiff and the border to the valleys, this place is showcasing a lot of talent. A small entranceway leads you into the restaurant and immediately a friendly accommodating face meets you at the door. As we walked in, the room was full of life and brightness which echoed in the liveliness of the menu.

Firstly, I went for the stuffed ballontine of chicken served with a truffle & mushroom purée and a chive cream reduction as it really jumped out to me on the menu. The power of the earthy mushroom brought a contrast to the reduction and created a really complex taste against the tenderness of the chicken.

I then moved on to the roast goose breast which was served with red chard, celeriac and blue cheese purée, treacle roast parsnip and fondant. The intense flavour and richness of the goose could only be created by cooking it to perfection. The blue cheese purée was sharp and salty which then developed into a sweetness with the treacle parsnip. It really takes your taste buds on a journey.

To finish, I felt like I needed something sharp to cleanse my palette of the strong developing flavours. Perfect, I thought, looking at the passionfruit and dark chocolate tart which was made with passionfruit curd on top of chocolate soil and served with pistachio ice cream. The sharpness of the curd contrasted with the nuttiness of the ice cream, and the chocolate added a naughtiness to this dessert which changed the overall feeling of lightness to something more indulgent.

Nant runs it’s restaurants differently from most college based places, where professionals are usually assisted by students. In Nant’s case, the kitchen is run wholly by students with tutor supervision. We spoke to tutor Max who explained that they source all the meat and fish from the local butcher and fishmonger. They try to get ingredients sourced as close to the college as possible. He told us, to our surprise, that it was actually this years’ students first lunch service and we were shocked due to how hospitable and professional the waiters were for their first ever shift.

The menu changes every two weeks which makes Nant a unique culinary adventure each visit. The first menus are decided by a tutor and then the students are left to create their own visions. At only £14.95 for three courses, Nant will always be on my list for amazing quality and skillfully made courses for a reasonable price. It paves the way for new growing talent in South Wales, and I for one am lucky to have tasted this year’s students offerings.

Book on: 01443 663050 Website: https://www.cymoedd.ac.uk/restaurants