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”.

“A lovely small restaurant” in a converted, ancient ecclesiastical building which bills itself as ‘Dining & Bottle Shop’, “where you can enjoy unusual flavours and be taken through the menu by the delightful staff”. All reports are enthusiastic about its approach, which includes sourcing from the venue’s own garden, delivering “amazing food” of diverse inspiration and “good value”. Foodwise, it was the highlight of the year for some reporters.

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 famous and “top-quality pub, serving excellent food with friendly and efficient service” may be “out in the sticks, but is well worth the journey” for anybody visiting Brecon Beacons National Park or Hay-on-Wye. A regular on lists of Welsh country boltholes for decades, it’s also “highly recommended” for its “excellent accommodation” – “I can’t fault my experience at this lovely place”.

In a “fine old building” close to the English border, this coaching inn (“cosy old bar” plus “sophisticated restaurant”) is “consistently good”, especially if you go for one of the “good- value” set menus (featuring “some unusual selections but all very well executed”). It’s part of the growing House of Caradog family, which now spans numerous local outposts: a sibling hotel, a bakery, an art shop and café, plus inn and restaurant The Walnut Tree, two miles off. Top Tip – “lovely and plentiful” afternoon tea – “everything is handmade and elegant” with a “superb tea choice and great array of savouries and cakes”.

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”.

A “brilliant little place” in three smartly converted town-centre sheds that’s “what a local restaurant is all about”, turning out “great, fresh seasonal food” from a concise but “interesting menu” of small plates (that are also “great value” too). It’s a particularly “good lunch spot” but also just a great “place for a natter and catch-up” (possibly in the courtyard if the weather is clement). Sadly owners Danielle Phillips and Dan Saunders, who launched this venue in 2019, shuttered its younger Bath spin-off in mid-2024, citing low foot traffic and high rental rates.