FINE DINING

Five Welsh restaurants hold a Michelin star. And they’ve transformed locally sourced ingredients into menus of dazzling ingenuity

THE WHITEBROOK, MONMOUTH, MONMOUTHSHIRE

The Wye Valley is stamped all over the menu here. Chef-patron Chris Harrod and wife Kirsty preside over this laid-back venue, where the overall experience is simple and the dining ultra-local (there are even Welsh wines). This applies to the more unusual wild flavours, flowers and foraged herbs that inform Chris’s cooking, such as pennywort, three-cornered garlic, bittercress and wild onion. Expect dishes such as

Wye Valley asparagus served with maritime pine, hogweed, hedgerow pickings and Tintern mead sauce. thewhitebrook.co.uk

BEACH HOUSE, OXWICH BAY, GOWER

While head chef Hywel Griffith draws heavily on the Welsh natural larder, his love of sushi and Asian flavours is woven throug the menu at Beach House — whether he’s transforming a cut of salt marsh lamb or serving Oxwich Bay lobster with braised onion, lotus root, spinach and lime leaf curry. beachhouseoxwich.co.uk

YNYSHIR, MACHYNLLETH, POWYS

‘Ingredient led. Flavour driven. Fat fuelled. Meat obsessed.’ This is the philosophy of Gareth Ward.

At his restaurant, Ynsyshir, guests are expected to take dishes as they come — no alterations are offered, and potential allergens are used throughout. But those with no dietary requirements — particularly those with a love of protein, Asian influences and Scandinavian-esque fermentations — can expect one hell of a culinary ride. Dishes include Welsh lamb saddle with kombucha, and cawl with fermented mussels and dashi. ynyshir.co.uk

THE WALNUT TREE INN, LLANDDEWI SKIRRID, MONMOUTHSHIRE

Expect a daily-changing menu dotted with dishes

— such as fillet of beef with ox tongue in onion batter — that celebrate a single, usually local, ingredient.

The presentation may be simple — minimal even — but the depth of flavours and the way the ‘hero’ ingredient is allowed to shine owe much to chef Shaun Hill’s technical skills and nearly 50 years’ experience as a chef. thewalnuttreeinn.com

SOSBAN & THE OLD BUTCHERS, MENAI BRIDGE, ANGLESEY This restaurant celebrates local produce almost religiously. Located in a former butcher’s shop, it has a compact dining room with room for just 16. Husbandand-wife team Stephen and Bethan Stevens create changing daily menus using the best locally sourced ingredients available each day. Dishes have included cod crackling with banana, sea blight and peanuts. sosbanandtheoldbutchers.com Wagyu at Ynyshir From left: lamb at Beach House; asparagus

at The Whitebrook