Craswall Restaurant Guide

“What a pub dining experience should be like” – this “lovely old drovers’ pub at the foot of Black Hill” may be remote (the Welsh border isn’t far off) but “if you can find it, you will not be disappointed”; after long lying idle, it was reinvented by John Stead of Longtown’s Wild By Nature group, and its ingredient-led gastropub menu is winning highly positive reports. Watch out for rooms coming soon.

2022 Review: This “busy” seventeenth-century inn is appreciated for its “simple, tasty, well-executed dishes” of “good honest food”.

“Highly recommend if you are around Hay on Wye” – a “small but perfectly formed restaurant” which puts its emphasis on “very locally sourced dishes that are well prepared” from a “carefully-put-together tasting menu” (five courses for £60 per person) “with unexpected but lovely flavour combinations”.

2023 Review: This “fab former stately home” set in “beautiful grounds” in the Welsh countryside was restored by Laura Ashley co-founder Sir Bernard Ashley. Known for its “exceptional food”, it has lost two highly regarded head chefs in recent years, Nick Brodie and Sam Bowser, but still achieves strong ratings across the board.

This “top-of-the-range gastropub” on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park has long been one of the most famous in Wales for good reason and is “always busy” as a result. “If only there were a lot more rural pubs working so hard on all aspects of the dining experience” – from “impeccable and considerate service” that creates “a lovely, welcoming, characterful ambience” to “flawless meals with an excellent selection of brilliant-value wines”. The menu changes daily with seven starters and seven mains showcasing meat from the lowland hills, vegetables from nearby Penpont and fish delivered fresh from Cornwall.

This classy coaching inn not far from the English border is a real all-rounder: whether you want “great cocktails” in the bar, an “amazing” afternoon tea, or a prix-fixe meal, the “interesting and ever-changing menu” is “always cooked with skill”. There are two local siblings: the mostly vegetarian The Chapel, a five-minute walk away, and acclaimed restaurant The Walnut Tree, ten minutes away by car.

2022 Review: A steak-led “relative newcomer” – named for the former use of these premises – where the main event graces a “short, meat-focused menu” that “clearly concentrates on what they are skilled at” (though there’s also praise for the “second-to-none” coffee and cakes). “Fantastic staff” and a “great ambience” round out its charms…“if you take clients they never fail to be impressed”.

2023 Review: The first bricks-and-mortar venture from Hereford’s 10 year-old ‘A Rule of Tum’ hospitality group, this local hit serves “top burgers in a great atmosphere”, with a focus on locally produced beef and other produce. A branch in Worcester has followed.

“A lovely setting – tucked away in a quiet-but-central location” beside the remains of Hereford’s castle moat adds to the joys of the Watkins family’s Grade II-listed Georgian hotel. Reports are limited, but all approve the cooking from Hungarian-born chef Gabor Katona (with much produce from the owners’ farm at Ballingham Hall, nearby).

This “stylish café” – directly inspired by the coffee culture experienced by founder Jess Fletcher in New Zealand – is a “lovely spot for brunch and always the best coffee”. There’s a short menu of plant-based goodies, and on Friday and Saturday evenings wine and cocktails are served.

“Locally sourced fresh produce is teased into interesting dishes” at this indie arts-centre café, with a menu of inexpensive bistro fare, alongside coffee and bakes.

2022 Review: A newly refurbished hotel dining room offering pub lunch favourites by day and – courtesy of seasoned head chef Krishna Bhandari – by night a “very quirky” menu of “refined Nepalese cuisine” of “consistently excellent quality”.

The success of its younger Bath sibling is helping to bring more attention to this bright, high-roofed space converted from three sheds and sitting in a courtyard in the town centre. Owners Danielle Phillips and Dan Saunders were previously front of house and head chef at The Walnut Tree and their “tapas-style” small plates are “unfailingly brilliant – food that smacks you in the face and service that makes you feel like you’re royalty”.