Tuck in to a taste of Eryri (Snowdonia)
Perhaps it’s the local seafood. Or the bountiful larder of farm-fresh ingredients. Or the passion and pride of chefs and cooks who call this place home. Whatever the reason, with a growing reputation for excellent eating, Eryri (Snowdonia) is one of the country’s top culinary destinations. From home-cooked comfort-food classics to intricately imagined gastronomic creations, it’s all on the menu here. Best of all, you can expect every dish to be packed with flavourful Welsh produce sourced direct from local suppliers.
To whet your appetite, we’ve picked out a few foodie destinations you won’t want to miss. We’ve also provided a few example dishes to give you an idea of the kind of menu on offer in each place (though please note that these exact options may not be available when you visit).
The Bank, Abermaw (Barmouth)
Fine dining that’s right on the money
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Food replaces finance at this former branch of NatWest in the lively seaside town of Abermaw, a building that’s found a new life as a stylish and welcoming restaurant. What was once a commercial space has been tastefully renovated to provide a chic and contemporary venue for excellent evening meals.
Constructed from fresh local ingredients – like lobster from Shell Island just along the coast – The Bank’s dishes are perfectly presented and bursting with ingenious tastes and textures (the amuse-bouche of crispy seaweed with aioli is a unique pre-dinner treat).
The Bank’s drinks menu is just as refreshing. As well as an extensive wine list, there’s a fabulous range of hand-made cocktails and a great selection of beers and ciders from local Welsh brewers.
What can I expect?
Go green with veggies dishes like asparagus, pea and ricotta lasagne, served with crispy courgette and peppery rocket salad. Or enjoy the earthy aroma of chicken breast with wild garlic gnocchi and mushroom sauce.
The Fanny Talbot, Abermaw
Fine dining with no fuss
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Located in the heart of Abermaw, The Fanny Talbot offers gourmet grub in an easy-going gastropub setting. Head chef Owen Vaughan has worked in some of the best kitchens in North Wales (and been a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals), while the restaurant has picked up two AA rosettes for its culinary excellence.
There’s an extensive à la carte menu loaded with delicious locally sourced dishes, plus a lunch menu for lighter daytime dining. For the most flavoursome experience, go for the tasting menu – a sumptuous seasonal spread showing off the best ingredients available at the moment.
What can I expect?
Terrific tastes of land and sea, like Welsh Black Beef sirloin served with Jerusalem artichoke, confit potato, kale, ox cheek and beef sauce, or halibut with roasted cauliflower, cannellini beans and coastal herbs.
The Jackdaw, Conwy
Innovative eating in Conwy’s city walls
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The brainchild of Llandudno-born chef Nick Rudge – who cut his teeth working at Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin-starred The Fat Duck – The Jackdaw is one of the most exciting recent editions to the Welsh food scene. No surprise then that it’s listed in both the Good Food Guide and Michelin Guide.
With The Jackdaw – a nickname for people born within Conwy’s medieval walls – Nick has brought skills built in one of the world’s most innovative kitchens back to his native North Wales. Taking inspiration from the region’s land, culture and history, The Jackdaw serves a spectacular nine-course tasting menu packed with wildly inventive culinary creations.
There’s a new menu for each season, allowing Nick and his team to work only with the freshest and tastiest local ingredients. It all adds up to an unforgettable dining experience in perfect harmony with the unique landscape that surrounds it.
What can I expect?
Food unlike anything you’ve seen before, from Heston-inspired creations like roast spring chicken jelly with cream of langoustine to hazelnut velouté with Menai mussel cream.
Penmaenuchaf Hall, Penmaenpool
Classy cuisine in a stunning setting
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Perched on a wooded hillside in the middle of a 21-acre/8.5ha estate, Penmaenuchaf Hall makes an immediate impression. The stately Victorian mansion cuts an impressive figure, while the glorious gardens (registered with Cadw for their historical significance) command stunning views over the mountains and lovely Mawddach Estuary.
Under the direction of head chef Tom Hine – a veteran of Michelin-starred kitchens across the country – Penmaenuchaf’s food is every bit as eye-catching. You’ll find big flavours in unusual, complementary combinations, all produced with ingredients sourced from the best local suppliers. Even closer to home, Penmaenuchaf’s growing kitchen gardens also provide produce – while Eryri’s wide-open spaces deliver freshly foraged ingredients like mushrooms and wild garlic.
Alongside the restaurant, there’s a relaxed lounge menu of light meals and sandwiches – plus delectable afternoon teas.
What can I expect?
Look out for striking concoctions like scallop mousse with crab, grapefruit and avruga caviar and local Coed y Brenin fallow deer with blackberry and red wine sauce.
Straight from the kitchen – Tom Hine, Penmaenuchaf Hall
Tom worked with big culinary names like Rick Stein, Paul Ainsworth and Michael Caines before becoming head chef at Penmaenuchaf Hall.
What’s the food ethos at Pemaenuchaf?
It’s honest British cooking with great Welsh ingredients. It’s relatable stuff. We’re cooking for the guests rather than chasing accolades, so we try to put a twist on traditional and familiar dishes. As well as the à la carte and tasting menu, we have a bar menu with classic comfort food like bangers and mash.
How important is local produce to what you do?
We use local Welsh ingredients wherever we can. The lamb we use comes from Bala and it’s fantastic. The pastures and grass there are perfect for rearing sheep – it just tastes different to lamb from other places. We also use Welsh Black beef and pork from Corwen. Our venison we use comes from the woodlands just a few miles from the hotel. You can’t get much more local than that.
What are your favourite dishes on the current menu?
As a starter, the Snowdonia Black Bomber cheese custard, served with homegrown beetroot and linseed cracker. It’s been on the menu since day one and it’s a firm favourite with our regular guests. For the main course, the new season Welsh spring lamb. We serve that with courgette, broad beans and sheep’s curd. For dessert, I’d go with the board of artisan Welsh cheeses, with homemade apple chutney, brown butter crackers and quince jelly.
Plas Dinas Country House, near Caernarfon
Old-school elegance meets cutting-edge cuisine
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Given its deep Royal connections – former owner Antony Armstrong-Jones was married to HRH Princess Margaret – it’s no surprise that this 17th-century, Grade II listed country house produces food fit for a king (or queen).
Under the direction of award-winning head chef Daniel ap Geraint, the hotel’s Gunroom restaurant has secured a two-rosette ranking from the AA and a place in the Michelin Guide. The monthly menu changes with seasons, as Daniel and his team use the freshest local ingredients to create bold and inventive, classically inspired contemporary cuisine.
The Gunroom’s elegant country house setting is the final element, conjuring up an atmosphere that’s refined, relaxed and romantic.
What can I expect?
Take your pick from imaginative dishes like charred langoustine with shellfish risotto and squid ink, or herb-crusted lamb loin with smoked anchovy and samphire. Plas Dinas’s afternoon teas are well worth the trip too.
Porth Tocyn Hotel, near Abersoch
Delectable dishes with a side of stunning sea views
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Perched above the sea on the southern coast of the spectacular Llŷn Peninsula, this classy country hotel has been run by successive generations of the same family for over 70 years. It’s also got a long history of producing great food, with a restaurant that holds two AA rosettes and has been a fixture in the Good Food Guide since 1957.
The evening à la carte menu features meat, fish and vegetarian options for every course, all built around seasonal produce that’s been locally reared, caught and grown. Each dish is immaculately presented and loaded with imaginative touches. The restaurant’s backdrop of blue Cardigan Bay waters only adds to the experience. And if you want to walk off your meal (or build up an appetite), the Wales Coast Path is at the bottom of the garden.
As well as the evening menu, there’s a lighter lunch option for daytime dining (we recommend enjoying it al fresco on the terrace to really appreciate those sea views).
What can I expect?
Bold combinations including hot and cold goat’s cheese with textures of beetroot and charred pineapple, and sea-fresh flavours like grilled monkfish linguine with smoked haddock and mussel chowder.
Seabreeze, Aberdyfi
Coastal cuisine at its best
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The clue is in the name. Located in the fashionable coastal village of Aberdyfi, Seabreeze specialises in fish and seafood sourced from the blue waters on its doorstep (plus a great selection of meat and veggie options).
The menu flexes with the seasons, putting the best locally sourced produce at the heart of everything. The result is a tempting choice of striking, flavour-filled dishes that’s won Seabreeze a coveted spot in the Good Food Guide.
Seabreeze also serves as a fishmongers and deli during spring and summer, giving budding chefs a chance to get their hands on freshly caught seafood for their own kitchen.
What can I expect?
Try fishy dishes like chargrilled mackerel with fennel salad and wasabi cream or roasted sea bream with samphire and capers. Or stay on dry land with slow-cooked confit belly pork with caramelised apple or red pepper and cauliflower curry with crispy cauliflower florets.
Y Sgwâr, Tremadog
Inclusive eats for all tastes and preferences
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Tucked away behind the walls of a traditional stone-built building on Tremadog’s main square, Y Sgwâr is a chic and contemporary space. Run by husband-and-wife team David and Lorraine Lloyd-Roberts, it’s been named ‘Restaurant of the Year’ in the Welsh Hospitality Awards and won numerous Good Food Awards.
Alongside a tempting selection of meat and fish dishes is an extensive range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Ingredients are sourced locally and prepared by head chef David and his team, with the à la carte menu shifting to accommodate the best in-season produce. They also do great Sunday lunches featuring Welsh beef, lamb and pork – as well as fresh, locally caught fish.
What can I expect?
Flavour-packed veggie dishes like linguine with roasted vine tomatoes, spinach and pesto, or sweetcorn and leek arancini with tomato and basil sauce. Plus meatier fare like local Welsh lamb crusted with herbs and Dijon mustard.
Sheeps and Leeks, Caernarfon
A gourmet gem
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Seating just 20 people in its cosy dining room – a former shop close to Caernarfon’s medieval town walls – Sheeps and Leeks favours quality over quantity. It’s one of the reasons this little restaurant has found its way into the Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide – as well as winning numerous culinary awards.
The focus is seasonal and super local. You’ll find fruit and veg from Anglesey-based Hooton’s Home Grown, cheese made in Eryri’s foothills by Cosyn Cymru and free-range meat from Wavell’s Butchers in nearby Llanrug. There’s even locally made wine from the vines of Anglesey’s Gwynfyd Môn.
Sheeps and Leeks’ dazzling tasting menus are gastronomic journeys. Each course brings fresh surprises and thrilling, unexpected flavours. For the ultimate taste experience, there’s also the option of enjoying each dish with a carefully curated wine pairing.
What can I expect?
A kaleidoscopic selection of intricately prepared dishes including line-caught pollock with smoked salmon and asparagus, lamb with sheep’s yoghurt and harissa, and Jerusalem artichoke with bergamot and walnut.
Signatures Restaurant, Conwy
Cool, contemporary and coastal
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Signatures serves up contemporary Welsh cuisine in a stylish and relaxed dining room, close to Morfa Beach on the outskirts of Conwy. Under the guidance of executive chef Jimmy Williams, it’s built up a reputation as one of the top places to eat in the region (and twice been named Best Welsh Restaurant at the World Culinary Awards).
The vibe is understated elegance, with a cool monochrome colour scheme and sparkling modernist lighting. The open-plan kitchen allows you to see Jimmy and his team at work, adding an extra element of involvement to the dining experience. The menu is packed with local produce, offering inventive twists on familiar dishes and ingredients – each presented with an artist’s eye.
What can I expect?
Fresh interpretations of classic recipes like dynamite surf and turf (spicy king prawn and chicken thigh with masala mayo) and Wagyu beef Wellington with sautéed wild mushrooms and Périgueux sauce.
Tremfan Hall, Llanbedrog
Seriously stylish seaside dining
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Sat on the southern edge of the Llŷn Peninsula overlooking the blue waters of Cardigan Bay and skyscraping peaks of Eryri, this classy country-house restaurant serves up both spectacular vistas and fabulous food. Head chef Nigel Skinner and his team craft contemporary British dishes infused with inspirations from French and international cuisine.
The restaurant is located in the grand former home of John Gwenogfryn Evans, one of the founders of the National Library of Wales. The Victorian mansion has been sympathetically restored and decorated, incorporating stylish modern touches that mesh perfectly with original features like rich oak panelling and ornately-carved fireplaces.
The food lives up to the surroundings. Each dish is prepared with the finest available seasonal and local ingredients and comes bursting with bold colours and flavours. As well as the evening menu, there’s a selection of lunchtime dishes which can be enjoyed outside alongside the stunning sea views.
What can I expect?
Flavoursome fare like chargrilled Welsh venison with pressed dauphinoise potatoes, butternut squash and black truffle ravioli and spider crab bisque made with locally-caught seafood.
Ty'n Rhos Country House, near Caernarfon
Classy cuisine in the heart of the countryside
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Tŷ’n Rhos has a long-standing reputation for its food. The restaurant at this stylish country house (it’s difficult to believe it was once a dairy farmstead) overlooks glorious gardens and the Isle of Anglesey. A menu built around the freshest in local produce from land and sea offers refined choices for every palate (there’s even an individual wine pairing suggestion for each dish).
Watch out for daily specials during the summer months, which can include delicacies like fresh, locally caught lobster, spider crab and flavour-packed Menai mussels.
Ty’n Rhos is also well-known for its traditional afternoon teas, featuring dainty sandwiches and a tempting selection of loose-leaf brews. You can make things a little more indulgent with the addition of a bottle of prosecco, sparkling Gouguenheim Malbec rosé or Joseph Perrier champagne.
What can I expect?
Carnivores will love the crisp pork belly with radish, rainbow carrot and cardamom purée, while pan-roasted sea bass with prawn tortellini and wild mushrooms gives a fresh taste of the sea.
Y Bistro Yn Yr Hebog
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Sat just across the road from the rushing River Colwyn in the pretty Victorian village of Beddgelert, Bistro Yn Yr Hebog combines a cosy setting with imaginative, contemporary cuisine. The restaurant’s wood panelled dining room is a warm and welcoming backdrop for mouthwatering meals – all made with seasonal produce sourced from local suppliers. 
Alongside a lunch menu of lighter daytime options, you’ll find an extensive evening dinner selection with tempting choices for meat lovers, fish fans and vegetarians. Every starter and main even comes with its own carefully selected wine pairing, taking the stress out of picking the perfect tipple to complement your dish. Hebog’s indulgent afternoon teas – featuring handmade scones, cakes and bara brith – are also worth visiting for.
What can I expect?
Try fresh seafood dishes like plaice, pan-seared scallops and prawns with thyme and parsley potato gnocchi, or meatier fare like rich duet of duck with celeriac puree and shimeji mushrooms.