Aberystwyth Restaurant Guide

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.

2022 Review: “Excellent local produce” gets pride of place on the menu at this attractive little hotel on the Victorian promenade overlooking Cardigan Bay.

“Genuine Spanish food” and a “long list of great Spanish wines” are available at this restaurant/bar that developed out of a deli founded in 2001 by Paul Grimwood & Shumana Palit, moved into wholesaling, and during the pandemic found a new focus on wine. They have a second branch in Narberth, and two tapas bars in Cardiff (Curado and Vermut).

“Was it expensive, yes. Was it challenging, yes. Was it worth it, YES!” Gareth Ward’s famous matt-black painted mansion in the mists of mid-Wales isn’t one of the nation’s most expensive culinary pilgrimages for nothing, and fans of its maximalist style – complete with loud music and no end of restaurant ‘theatre’ – say that even if its 20-30 course menus are “a bit too protein-centric” (to be fair, the website does say they claim to be ‘protein-obsessed’) that “you can’t fault the cooking or the passion” that drives “an incredible all-round experience” hailed by some as “the best in the UK”. It still gets the thumbs up from a majority of reporters, but – as its prices have ballooned over its 10 years in operation – doubts have crept in and there’s a significant minority for whom it risks becoming “pretentious and overpriced”. (“It used to be exceptional, but IMHO has now jumped the shark with loud music, arrogant service, and stratospheric prices detracting greatly from its outstanding and interesting cooking…”; “It used to be a favourite of ours but is now more like a boot camp. Arrive when told, dine when told, leave when told… and all at a cost far greater than many Michelin star restaurants in Mayfair!”)

“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”.