Tregaron Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: Tucked away at the top of the Teifi Valley, a mile outside the uni town of Lampeter, this “very friendly” manor house and wedding venue wins praise for its “good honest cooking”, making the most of local produce from Ceredigion and surrounding counties, as well as its “terrific view”.

“Situated at the end of the quay in Aberaeron, this well commented-on converted harbourmaster’s house is now solely dedicated to hotel and restaurant service, dispensing with the bar area which drew many people to it” before its takeover by the Cardigan-based FlatRock hospitality group. While that might seem like a worrying development (one which has “somewhat reduced the atmosphere”), for “excellent-quality fresh fish and seafood it is still worth the visit”.

2023 Review: Set to open early 2023 on Deansgate, the second offshoot of a US-based hotel chain aiming to make a splash in the city-centre with this 216-bedroom launch: we are promised “a breath of fresh air for a thriving global city in its ascent… designed to appeal to the youthful spirit in all of us and inspired by life’s joys”. Foodwise, this will include collaborations with chefs and restaurateurs Mary-Ellen McTague, Sam Grainger and Luke Cowdrey and there will be a ground-floor restaurant, 14th-floor bar and restaurant and ‘crowning rooftop’ bar and terrace, with views for miles.

A pioneer of Spanish food and wine in Wales since 2001, Paul Grimwood & Shumana Palit’s flagship restaurant has been replaced by a 14-seat bar serving deli-style plates to make way for a ‘vinoteca’, Not all regulars are wild about the change (“the reduction in size has not improved it at all” for diners), but in fairness there is now the “opportunity to roam around the big store of Spanish wines”. The couple have a second branch in Narberth and the Curado tapas bar in Cardiff.