Powys Restaurant Guide

In Spring 2022, Andrew Birch (erstwhile head chef of London’s Savoy Grill) and his wife Rachel relaunched this well-known coaching inn, part of a small scenic town in rural Powys. The main option is a seven-course tasting menu (with a vegetarian alternative), but there’s also a simpler lunch. No feedback as yet in our annual diners’ poll.

“Consistently good unpretentious food” has long been the hallmark of this country inn on an old drivers’ route. Steve & Nicola Reynolds retired last year after more than two decades and it’s now “settling down under the new ownership” of London-born hospitality veteran Muralidhar Shanmugam, known as ‘Shan’ – and “the food is still first class”. Top Menu Tip – “unbeatable bread and butter pudding”.

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.

“Beautiful food is produced by a small team showcasing local produce” at this small venture, known for its thoughtful, sustainable ethos (for which it won one of Michelin’s green gongs) and which is entering its fifth year of operation. The atmosphere is relaxed and it’s not a super-pricey experience: chef Mark McHugo provides five courses for £52 per person.

“Absolutely lovely surroundings, worth a 6/5 for ambience!” – this medieval-to-Georgian country house with its own cider press, just outside Ludlow, is a “glorious” setting for newly installed chef Nick Bennett’s “tip-top”, “creative, inventive and delicious” cooking; and his “set menus offer just enough choice over a 3-night stay”. Pippa & Willem Vlok are “such friendly owners”.

Long-established gastropub (one of the first to be so-named) in a former cider mill on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park that’s renowned as a “reliable” bet for good food, and is currently on top form with “absolutely delicious” cooking from chef Nick Evans (ex-Northcote and Tom Kerridge’s Bull & Bear). His menu of seven starters and seven mains changes almost every day; ingredients are mostly local and the fish, from Cornwall, “is always perfectly cooked”.