Powys Restaurant Guide

“Right on the seashore, but raised above it”, this “small, unique” converted Art Deco toilet has distinct California vibes; sit on the terrace eating “SUPER FRESH fish”.

This well-known tapas and Spanish wine merchant is a “real find”, despite the “cramped” back-of-deli seating (on stools or at a shared table); the owners, who also run a Narberth sibling, launched tapas joint ‘Curado Bar’, in a former Burger King on Cardiff’s Westgate, in 2016.

“A good buzz and an excellent outdoor terrace” – “made more special when you’re able to enjoy sunshine and drinks watching the movements along the promenade” – help win praise for the restaurant of this posh, contemporary hotel on the seafront. The cooking? “not bad…”, “solidly reliably good, if a little unambitious”.

Though “quiet and quite slow” – well, it does sit in Britain’s smallest town – this relaxed restaurant-with-rooms of some renown still turns out “excellent cooking” that’s “worth supporting”; even a regular who felt it “lacks the creative inspiration of old” said “the food is still perfectly cooked”.

After eighteen years, the Shropshire and Mid-Wales region has lost its last star – or handed it back, after Checkers chef Stéphane Borie opted to focus on private clients. Under the aegis of his wife Sarah Francis and her co-owner sister Kathryn, a more casual breakfast and lunch spot, Checkers Pantry, was due to open in November 2018; it was too early for a rating as we went to press.