Inn at the Sticks, Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire restaurant review

Tucked away on the Towy Estuary in Carmarthenshire, Llansteffan has been on our list of places to visit in Wales for a very long time.

But, there’s never really been a sense of great urgency. There’s always been other places to visit, with tempting restaurants to turn my head.

That was until we heard that Teej Sparks had taken over the Inn at Sticks, a pub with rooms in the middle of Llansteffan, which dates back to the 19th century. Teej was formerly the ops manager for Ultracomida and became a friendly face on our doorstep during the pandemic when we stocked up regularly on absurd quantities of their olives. As a consummate hospitality professional, anything Teej turns her hand to is clearly going to be worth checking out. 

Inn at the Sticks is a beautiful venue that’s been lovingly restored with cast iron beams, exposed brickwork and a sturdy wooden bar. There's also a delicatessen and wine tasting room in the offing, which will add another string to the business’s bow.

On the booze front, there's sherry and vermouth by the glass as well as an interesting selection of wines from vineyards such as Kosovo’s Stone Castle and Lebanon's Chateau Musar. As we were driving, we enjoyed halves of Estrella Dam before moving onto alcohol free Asahi.

The menu bills itself as Welsh tapas and is divided into sections such as “from the land”, “from the garden” and “from the sea”. In reality, influences come from across France, Italy and Spain too and it’s in the use of top-drawer Welsh suppliers, such as Trealy Farm, Atlantic Edge oysters, and Teifi Cheese, where the real Welshness can be found.

We were recommended between four and six dishes to share and plumped for five.

Soft crumbed granary bread was accompanied by a bottle of grassy olive oil and PX sherry vinegar. It's a fine example of the benefits of Teej's background in working with top drawer Spanish produce.

A basket of golden cockle popcorn (£9) was just as addictive as the buckets of popcorn you get at the cinema. I shoved fistfuls of the crisp sweet and salty bivalves into my gob alongside a delicately honking wild garlic mayonnaise and vinegar twanged with the heat of chilli.

A trio of gloriously tender mini faggots, made with minced pork belly and chicken livers, delivered only the merest hint of offal, making them as accessible as this dish gets. Served with crushed sweet peas and a thick meaty gravy, the only quibble was that I wanted more. At £12, for this dainty dish it perhaps wasn't an unreasonable expectation.

A symphony of beetroot (£12) most certainly lived up to its billing, delivering harmonious textures and flavours of the earthy root vegetable - roast yellow beetroot, sharp pickled beetroot, and sweet beetroot chutneys and gel. It was accompanied by the crunch of candied walnuts and the creamy, salty funk of whipped Perl Las blue cheese.

A potato terrine (£9) was every bit as decadent as it looked. Thin layers of buttery potato retained just a smidgen of bite and had crisp caramelised edges. The luxury levels were dialled up further with a dusting of savoury parmesan and a splodge of truffle mayonnaise. A minor quibble, but we both found the dish a tad salty. 

Finally, a nicely flaky and delicately sweet fillet of plaice (£15) and pieces of hispi cabbage were bathed in a corker of a rich and buttery sauce flecked with the savoury salinity of laverbread. It wouldn't have looked out of place in a far swankier restaurant.

For dessert, we passed over the rather awesome (and foreboding) sounding dark chocolate oblivion. A smooth and creamy panna cotta (£8) was spiced with tonka bean whilst soft macerated strawberries were cannily fragranced with orange peel and the sweetness of honey.

Clever and delicious cooking in a lovely setting make Inn at the Sticks a belting Welsh pub. If you find yourself in this part of west Wales, then I'd very much recommend a visit. And whilst you’re there I’d recommend a stroll along the beautiful Towy estuary and a yomp up to Llansteffan Castle to work up an appetite.

The Details:

Address - Inn at the Sticks, High Street, Llansteffan, Carmarthen SA33 5JG

Web - https://innatthesticks.com/

Telephone -  01267 612727

Y Polyn, Carmarthenshire restaurant review

Some restaurants more than others know what it takes to deliver great hospitality. 

They’re the kind of places which achieve substance over style, where the flavours are big and the portions fill you up nicely, where there’s no pandering to the latest gimmicks and fads, and where the atmosphere is relaxed but the service is slick.

Y Polyn, which is located in between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, is very much one of these kinds of places. Owned by husband and wife team Sue and Mark Manson, it’s been a Welsh institution for almost twenty years.

Since our last visit in 2012, the place has had a bit of rejig with the addition of an upstairs dining room. But, the venue has lost none of its charm with its mishmash of wooden furniture and walls adorned with vintage prints of curious cutlery.

With a set menu offering three courses for £55, it’s fair to say that I’d have gladly ordered each and every dish on offer from a starter of tartiflette and main of crispy belly pork to a side dish of beef dripping chips and dessert of baked lemon cheesecake.

Included in the set menu price is sparkling or still water as well as two types of exemplary homemade bread; a super soft rosemary and sea salt loaf and another with a dark caramelised crust and hefty chew.

A bowl of beautifully made tagliatelle thrummed with crab, chilli and sweet peas whilst a good dusting of toasted breadcrumbs added addictive crunch.

Rust coloured fish soup, served in a steaming cauldron, delivered bags of intensity and compelling notes of aniseed and throat-tickling heat. The classic accompaniments of croutons, gruyere and pokey rouille completed the magic potion.

Mains took the heartiness up another belt notch.

Gloriously tender and pink Creedy Carver duck breast was bathed in a deeply meaty sauce and served alongside a cast iron pan filled with a duck shepherds pie made with slow cooked parts of the bird. Bringing balance to the richness was crisp lightly pickled cabbage and a sweet and tangy spiced plum sauce.

A meaty and flaky fillet of crisp-skinned skrei cod was bobbed in a dish of creamy and fragrant fennel and orange velouté that was punctuated by the zing and crunch of pickled fennel. A little bit of filth came in the form of a golden crumbed smoked haddock risotto cake which had more than a shade of kedgeree about it.

When you see something described on a menu as legendary, it's a) a must order and b) comes with a serious weight of expectation. Fortunately, Y Polyn's “legendary” dauphinoise potatoes delivered on its promise by the pan-full with the indulgently rich layers of buttery and creamy spuds surrounded by ruggedly golden edges.

Desserts were just as ribsticking as the preceding courses.

The sight of a knickerbocker glory on offer brought out my inner child. Thankfully, this was a very grown-up interpretation with scoops of soft vanilla ice cream layered with chocolate orange sauce, a chocolate crumb with a good coco bitterness, and cleansing orange segments.

A sizeable wedge of pear tart combined thin crisp pastry, a light frangipane (which probably could have taken a bigger hit of almond) and pieces of fruit with a bit of bite. The star of the show was an accompanying scoop of ice cream with a great wallop of stem ginger.

We had a corker of a meal at Y Polyn and it’s a fine example of what great hospitality is all about. I'm not really sure what I waited ten years to go back because it's the kind of place I could visit every week.

The Details:

Address - Y Polyn, Capel Dewi, Carmarthen SA32 7LH

Web - https://www.ypolyn.co.uk/

Telephone - 01267 290000

Wright's Food Emporium, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire review

Wright’s Food Emporium, in Llanarthne near the National Botanic Garden of Wales, is the brainchild of restaurateur, broadcaster and writer Simon Wright.

Much like its owner, the café-cum-restaurant-cum-delicatessen is a jack-of-all-trades and master of all.

Service is friendly & slick; the menu is packed with crowd pleasers that take in global influences from Italy to the USA; the décor is trendy yet not contrived; and the produce on offer is a showcase of Wales’ and Britain’s finest – Charcutier Ltd, Coaltown Coffee, Seren Brewing Co and Trealy Farm all appear.

We visited on a sunny Saturday lunchtime, the peak time for Wright’s. Despite arriving at midday to ensure we got a table (groups smaller than 6 can’t reserve at lunch), no one was turned away during our visit. 

With the prospect of an anniversary meal in the evening, we’d planned a light lunch. It didn’t work out that way…

Drinks comprised of a filter coffee and a root beer.

Seemingly every other order processing out of the kitchen was a pork belly cubano (£7.50); perhaps it’s the Chef effect or perhaps it’s because this sandwich's reputation has travelled far and wide.

A soft yet crusty home-baked ciabatta roll was stuffed with golden pork belly, thick cut ham, grated cheese, warming sriracha mayo and richness busting jalapenos and gherkins. Frigging lush. 

The other American-inspired sandwich was a Reuben (£8.50). Toasted white bread was crammed with tender salt beef, sharp sauerkraut, creamy Russian dressing and melted cheese. This was another great sandwich but it would have benefited from being grilled in a little bit less butter to dial the richness down a notch.

For dessert, poached pears and plums (£4.50) were pleasingly spiced and served with whipped cream and a meringue of perfectly poised crunch and chew. 

 
Meanwhile, a slab of baked sultana cheesecake (£4) was fluffy and well flavoured with nutmeg.

This was a lush lunch and I’d love to work my way through the rest of the menu at Wright’s. It’s just a shame it’s an hour and quarter’s drive from Cardiff.

The Details:

Address - Wright's Food Emporium, Golden Grove Arms, Llanarthne, SA32 8JU

Telephone - 01558 668929

Web - http://www.wrightsfood.co.uk/