10 Best Restaurants in Wales

This excellent "restaurant with rooms" is renowned for its creative use of local products and the rustic-chic vibe. Fruit and vegetables come from the Griffin's own organic kitchen garden, while meat is sourced from surrounding estates such as the Welsh Venison Centre. If you'd like, stay over in one of eight cozy, vintage-style bedrooms, complete with Welsh blankets and fresh flowers; dinner packages are also available. The inn is in Felin Fach, 5 miles northeast of Brecon.

On the banks of the River Usk between Abergavenny and Raglan, this "restaurant with rooms" serves imaginative modern Welsh dishes in a relaxed setting. The menu makes great use of local ingredients, like in the mussels with cider or leek and laverbread rissoles. There's a less expensive tapas menu including fried cockles.

In a converted mill on the River Dee, this pub and restaurant has an old waterwheel that turns behind the bar. Dine on the open-air deck or in the cozy dining room, sampling stylishly updated pub fare, such as grilled sea bass with potato and shallot terrine. There are light bites, too, and dessert classics such as hot waffles with toffee sauce and bananas. Several of the ales are from Welsh microbreweries.

This trailer on the seafront in the attractive village of Mumbles, about 4 miles west of Swansea, serves up some of the best shellfish in the area. Order some crispy chili prawns or dressed crab and sit on a bench to take in the views of Swansea Bay. The only downside is that it's closed over the winter.

This fashionable, cozy café-bar with a social conscience has plenty of options for vegans and vegetarians. During the day, the menu features mainly soups, sandwiches, and salads while in the evening there are sourdough pizzas and sharing boards—all made with local produce where possible. A popular student hangout, Hoogah has a good range of local craft beers and some great cocktails. There's usually live music on Saturday night.

Up a small hill next to Ogmore Castle, The Pelican stands like a mirage. This friendly little pub is a welcome spot for lunch or a restorative pint after the long walk from Merthyr Mawr. Try the cow pie with rich gravy and seasonal vegetables.

A short drive from Nash Point is this historic pub, on the edge of the tiny clifftop village of Monknash. The food is delicious and unfussy; the menu changes regularly, but features tasty pub classics like burgers and fish-and-chips. Everything is served in a cozy dining room with a fireplace. There's a small but decent wine list, and an even better selection of real ales and ciders. It's popular with locals, so call ahead or be prepared to wait.

This 19th-century chapel has been successfully converted into a café with four on-site bedrooms, complete with original features. It's a good spot for breakfast, and at lunchtime, you'll find sandwiches and salads on the menu. Book ahead for a delicious Afternoon Tea. The owners roast their own coffee beans and use local produce where possible. The café is 3 miles east of Llangollen.

In a seafront building in picture-postcard Porthdinllaen, this pub has what is undoubtedly one of the best locations in Wales. The lunches are honest and unpretentious: pies, sandwiches, or perhaps a plate of local mussels in garlic butter. Everything is delicious and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is friendly and slightly bohemian; this is the kind of place where they're pleasantly surprised you've managed to find it.

This family-run ice-cream parlor, café, and restaurant sits right on the seafront. House-made pizza is a specialty, or you could just join the queue for the delicious fresh gelato. Every indoor and outdoor table has panoramic views of Swansea Bay. It's in Mumbles, a resort town southwest of Swansea.