They have been tucking in to some of the best food Wales can serve up – and they’ve had plenty to say about it
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It's no secret that Wales has a variety of top-notch restaurants and cafes, whether that's in the cities, hidden away along the coastline or in the valleys and hills. Many food critics have visited these gems across Wales and have written glowing reviews.
From Chinese restaurants and local pubs, to fine dining and ice cream parlours, venues have been visited by some of the best critics in the industry.
Here, we've taken a look at some of the venues deemed the best by…. the best. To get the latest What's On newsletters from WalesOnline, click here.
The Telegraph's top restaurant reviewer, William Sitwell, sang the praises of flame-grilled meat specialists Asador 44 in Cardiff. Asador 44 is well-loved for its flame-grilled steaks, legs of lamb, fish and so much more. It is run by the Morgan brothers, Tom and Owen, who also head up Barr 44 and Parador 44 with their sister Natalie Isaac.
Describing the setting, he wrote: "The establishment is a mix of oak flooring, white tiles, whitewashed brickwork and steel joists. As you sink into comfortable leather seats and banquettes, your eyes are drawn to large fridges ageing huge cuts of meat, shelves of fat cookbooks, little rooms filled with wine and, behind glass, chefs tempering fire and smoke. The intent is clear. We will satisfy your inner cave-person."
Mr Sitwell had a selection of Cantabrian anchovies, salchichón – both of which were 'heavenly paired' with a glass of white vino – prawn croquetas, cochinillo (a whole shoulder of suckling pig), whole grilled squid with "poor man's potatoes in cider" and complimented by sides of broccoli and miso butter drizzled cabbage with morcilla. He said: "These are all magnificent bites, delivering what the walls of the place seem to offer: wholesome, satisfying, invigorating flavour." You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Top food critic Jay Rayner has written glowing reviews on many businesses across Wales. He recently praised Joe's ice cream parlour in Swansea, describing the iconic brand as "lovely" and "fresh, bright and creamy" in his article for The Observer.
Mr Rayner described the brand, which was started by Joe Cascarini in 1922, as "famous for offering any flavour you want, as long as it’s vanilla." You can read more here.
Mr Rayner also wrote a glittering review of a local Chinese restaurant in Swansea's Maritime Quarter. He said the menu reminded him of the places he'd go as a child and "loved".
Describing some of the food, he wrote: "We order the chicken wings in Coke and conclude from the eye-widening, tooth-juddering sweetness of the thickened sauce that it was indeed made with a lot of Coke." The barrel beef got his seal of approval too. "As the name suggests, is a barrel-shaped receptacle, lined with foil and filled with the kind of broth you could lose yourself in on a cold night or even a warm one, thick with ribbons of just-cooked beef and fresh green herbs, fresh and dried chillies." You can read more here.
The well-known Guardian and Observer food critic also visited Wales' first dedicated ramen restaurant. Jay Rayner described Matsudai Ramen, located in Clare Road in Grangetown, Cardiff, as "inventive, geeky, and superb."
Mr Rayner had a variety of dishes, noting how a Japanese cucumber salad (sunomono) had a "sweet-savoury sesame dressing with just the right hit of chilli" and how a fried chicken dish (karaage) was "impeccable." He also described the ramen as "having been plated by the man who knows what he is doing." Read more here.
The restaurant on the fifth floor of Cardiff and Vale College, which is a training ground for chefs and hospitality staff, was deemed "worth knowing about" by Mr Rayner. He credited the way it was teaching chefs on the job the pate for being smooth and rich, and said the coq au vin had been "assembled bloody well". You can read more here.
The Heathcock is one of Wales' best pubs and was also praised by the notoriously hard-to-please Mr Rayner. He visited the venue in 2022 and noted that he was "delighted" to return to the Welsh capital after a lunch like this.
The critic had a selection of small plates. He said: "Slices of cold roast beef, served soft and pink, come curled on a slab of duck fat toast, and topped with hefty fronds of peppery watercress with a big grating of fresh horseradish. More grated horseradish turns up with a silvery fillet of pickled mackerel, alongside a cucumber relish, that reminds me in a sweet, nostalgic way of the stuff in jars that I loved as a kid. Both elements rest on a lake of a sweet-sour blood orange dressing that is so good we ask for a spoon so it isn’t wasted." You can read his full review here.
William Sitwell, who regularly appears on MasterChef, made an appearance at Heaneys restaurant in Pontcanna, Cardiff. Mr Sitwell went for a short tasting menu, comprising six courses “ending with treats”.
He enjoyed the “glorious invention” of sourdough with soft Marmite butter, before moving on to a cottage pie, a trout tartare, and then pollock, which he described as “flaky and delicious under a crisp skin, charred to perfection, in a rich veloute, with a slightly pointless half-moon of squash (really, that vegetable needs banning along with Morris dancing)".
But the “greatest dish of the night” was a joint of lamb. He wrote: “Oh, dear sheep, your slaughter was worth it. It looked almost too rare, but I was wrong. Literally the greatest mouthful of lamb saddle I can remember tasting. Rich, earthy, melting and with crisp skin. Seriously, sheep farmers should stand outside Heaneys and applaud him for the honour he does to their produce.” Read more here.
Gareth Ward's two Michelin-starred restaurant, Ynyshir, was visited by renowned food critic Giles Coren. He found dishes "much more like actual food than meals I’ve had in other famous list-toppers like the Fat Duck or El Bulli or Noma, where it’s easy to feel as much like the victim of a laboratory experiment as a hungry man in need of dinner".
Mr Coren was fully in awe of the food which set him "properly on fire", the chef, the rooms, the restaurant and the location. Read more here.
Mr Coren also visited Pembrokeshire and found the "world's best sandwich." At Whitesands Beach House, in St Davids, Mr Coren loved the cafe's freshly-made sandwiches which he was pleased did not arrive on "stupid poncey E5 sourdough punishment loaves from Hackney".
In fact, he said he had found "the best egg sandwiches in the world": plump, airy and not at all soggy. He added: "There’s an old saw that the quality of food served in restaurants is in general inversely proportional to the quality of the view, but not here." You can read more about his time in Pembrokeshire here, and other venues he loved.
Sunday Times writer Marina O'Loughlin had a fantastic time while visiting Cardiff and ended up eating at three restaurants, one of which was Nook. She wrote that Nook was "a cute, wine bottle-lined corner spot in Canton, in a small parade of other indie food businesses."
Describing the food, she said: "Each dish is a small triumph. Particular love for purple sprouting broccoli, tempura-fried till crunchy, in a pool of satay-ish peanut sauce punctuated by blobs of fine chilli jam and topped with a fried egg — a rampage of flavours and textures."
Another place Marina O'Loughlin visited was café bar Bacareto, in Cardiff, which is inspired by the small bàcari of Venice and serves up mouth-watering, simple seasonal food. She said: "What a cool little joint this is, with its terrazzo flooring, mustard yellow booths and distressed plaster walls; its hidden, herb-lined terrace backing on to the walls of the market."
Bacareto has a variety of dishes too, from snackettes and small plates to a number of larger dishes which she deems as "perfect drinking food." You can find out more here and read our review of Bacareto here.
Places to eat near where you live: