22 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.

Well, this is unusual: a trendy restaurant in which all the food is prepared by prisoners. The idea behind the Clink (British slang for jail) is that those serving time for minor crimes are given the chance to turn their lives around by gaining experience as gourmet chefs. The restaurant (just outside the prison grounds) is a bright, modern space, and the Modern British food is genuinely delicious. You might try the breast of roast chicken with sage crust and onion rings, or spring lamb with fondant potatoes and garlic puree. The restaurant is open for lunch all week, plus a single dinner sitting on the last Wednesday of the month. Note: they don't accept credit cards.

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. 

On the banks of the River Usk between Abergavenny and Raglan, this "restaurant with rooms" serves imaginative modern Welsh dishes in a relaxed setting. The menu makes great use of local ingredients, like in the mussels with cider or leek and laverbread rissoles. There's a less expensive tapas menu including fried cockles.

This charming whitewashed inn serves elegant Welsh cuisine in a rustic dining room. Fish is a specialty, underlined with plenty of regional flavors like the salmon and leek fishcake, while the beef and lamb are locally sourced. The inn is about 1½ miles west of Raglan Castle. To get there from the castle, turn left out of the gates onto the one-way road, then backtrack towards Raglan, passing the castle again on your right. At the roundabout, take Clytha Road.

This trailer on the seafront in the attractive village of Mumbles, about 4 miles west of Swansea, serves up some of the best shellfish in the area. Order some crispy chili prawns or dressed crab and sit on a bench to take in the views of Swansea Bay. The only downside is that it's closed over the winter.

Beamed ceilings, log fires, and rambling rooms abound at this old inn dating back to the 15th century. The menu consists of pub classics done well—think fresh cod in an MPA beer batter, a choice of steaks, and the chef's special cheese pie. You can dine in the restaurant or at the more casual bar. Bedrooms are also available upstairs. The inn is 2 miles south of Conwy.

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.

In a converted mill on the River Dee, this pub and restaurant has an old waterwheel that turns behind the bar. Dine on the open-air deck or in the cozy dining room, sampling stylishly updated pub fare, such as grilled sea bass with potato and shallot terrine. There are light bites too, and dessert classics such as hot waffles with toffee sauce and bananas. Several of the ales are from Welsh microbreweries.

This pizzeria, a ten-minute drive west of the city center, serves arguably the best pies in town. The doughy delights, made with local produce, are cooked in a wood-fired oven; some have thin, crispy bases while others are deep-dish and filled with cheese.

Up a small hill next to Ogmore Castle, The Pelican stands like a mirage. This friendly little pub is a welcome spot for lunch or a restorative pint after the long walk from Merthyr Mawr. Try the Welsh Farmer's Cheeseboard. 

A short drive from Nash Point is this historic pub, on the edge of the tiny clifftop village of Monknash. The food is delicious and unfussy; the menu changes regularly, but features tasty pub classics like burgers and fish-and-chips. Everything is served in a cozy dining room with a fireplace. There's a small but decent wine list, and an even better selection of real ales and ciders. It's popular with locals, so call ahead or be prepared to wait.

In a seafront building in picture-postcard Porthdinllaen, this pub has what is undoubtedly one of the best locations in Wales. The lunches are honest and unpretentious: pies, sandwiches, or perhaps a plate of local mussels in garlic butter. Everything is delicious and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is friendly and slightly bohemian; this is the kind of place where they're pleasantly surprised you've managed to find it.

This coaching inn, built in 1636, is one of the best places to eat in Snowdonia. The food is traditional Welsh fare, beautifully prepared with local ingredients. Standouts include oven-baked Anglesey lobster with prawns and crayfish Thermidor, and Shepherd's Pie made with local organic lamb. Vegetarians are well cared for with such dishes as mushroom and pine nut Stroganoff. The inn also has simple, cozy bedrooms.

This lively, modern Spanish deli/vinoteca brings a splash of Mediterranean color to the Mid-Wales coastline. The menu is served tapas-style, with whatever is on offer from the deli that day, or you could just put together an upscale picnic basket. Whatever you decide, be sure to pull up a bar stool and savor some of the excellent Spanish wines. 

This family-run ice-cream parlor, café, and restaurant sits right on the seafront. Housemade pizza is a specialty, or you could just join the queue for the delicious fresh gelato. Every indoor and outdoor table has panoramic views of Swansea Bay. It's in Mumbles, a resort town southwest of Swansea.

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.