Port Talbot Restaurant Guide

“A gem of a restaurant in the docks” say fans of Jonathan Woolway’s yearling on the city’s developing waterfront which most reports say is “good value given the standard of cooking and very friendly waiting staff”. The menu is in a modern bistro mould and ranges from the meaty (a recent sample includes Barnsley Chop, Road Pork Collar and Steak Pie) to “really fresh fish, cooked simply but perfectly and accompanied by local ingredients like cockles and seaweed”. Ratings though are capped by those who are not fully bowled over (“I don’t know what restaurant Grace Dent ate in but it can’t have been this one!”)

Laidback Italian, a two-minute walk from Liberty Stadium (pardon, Swansea.com Stadium as it’s now known), which has a crowd-pleasing menu particularly strong on fish dishes and pizzas, though they also proffer fancier fare like 28-day mature British steaks. It secured very respectable marks in this year’s annual diner’s poll but very little in the way of actual commentary.

A polished Indian dining experience awaits at this stylish subcontinental, with bold wall fabrics, peacock feathers and exotic prints; the broad menu takes in mixed platters and tandoor grill items, with “very friendly and accommodating staff” a boon alongside the “reasonable prices”.

Promising feedback from the locals on this brightly decorated dining room, whose strong vegetarian selection of dishes is a feature on a menu they describe as ‘Classic French and Vegan cuisine made using traditional and original recipes’. In practice this means a melange of dishes from ‘Escargots de Bourgogne’ and ‘Poulet à la biscayenne’ to ‘Fricassée of Tempeh’ or ‘Buckwheat strudel’. Part of a hotel that’s not super-slick in its approach, feedback says its heart and value are in the right place.