8 Best Restaurants in Wales

Wales has undergone something of a culinary renaissance in the last couple of decades and this fantastic center is a great place to explore why. Traditional cheeses, house-made ice creams, and other artisanal food products are for sale in the farm shop and deli; there's also a bakery, a butcher, a coffee bar, and a wineshop where you can pick up Welsh malt whisky. The Furnace restaurant serves breakfast and snacks including pizzas, while the Hayloft Bar & Grill has plenty of local meat dishes on the menu for lunch and dinner. Bodnant is on A470, 12 miles north of Conwy.

If you're vegan, it's beyond worth the ten-minute drive north of the city center to visit this award-winning vegan café. Run by a Hare Krishna monk, it's popular with the local student community for its good-value, creative dishes such as "bowls" made with a wide variety of ingredients including seitan, greens, and seeds. Be sure to try one of the house-made juices. 

Housed in a red-brick building near the Cardiff International Sports Stadium, this shabby-chic restaurant specializes in Spanish grills and wine. Try the Asturian cider-cured salmon to start, followed by sirloin from a Spanish dairy cow, and then round it off with a Catalan tart accompanied, of course, by some sherry. The group also owns a stylish boutique hotel, Parador 44, located above the restaurant as well as a tapas bar, Bar 44, around the corner on Westgate Street.

This fashionable, cozy café-bar with a social conscience has plenty of options for vegans and vegetarians. During the day, the menu features mainly soups, sandwiches, and salads while in the evening there are sourdough pizzas and sharing boards—all made with local produce where possible. A popular student hang-out, Hoogah has a good range of local craft beers and some great cocktails. There's usually live music on Saturday night.

This 19th-century chapel has been successfully converted into a café, complete with its original features. It's a good spot for breakfast, and at lunchtime, you'll find sandwiches and salads on the menu. Book ahead for a delicious Afternoon Tea. The owners use local produce where possible. The café is 3 miles east of Llangollen.

This idyllic English countryside café, 21 km (13 miles) north of Holyhead, serves probably the best fresh cream scones with strawberries in Wales. The meat, fish, and potato pies impress as well, especially when followed by apple pie with custard, all homemade with fresh ingredients. For the full measure of Welshness, pop in mid-afternoon for traditional tea with scones. The nearby coastal path provides excellent motivation to work off the calories.