14 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.

Located right next to the beach, this unassuming restaurant is one of the best in south Wales. Local produce like Welsh Wagyu beef is turned into a work of art, served on the terrace in summer. The fish dishes are popular and the extensive wine list has a good selection of French vino. Lunch is a good value with three courses for £45.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.