Ah summer. It's been a while. But you have well and truly made an entrance with a whopping great heatwave to make us feel like we're on the Costa del Sol as we sit and dine al fresco. There are food festivals aplenty - Cardiff's is on the first weekend of July while the Big Welsh Bite is coming this August - restaurant openings happening left, right and centre and dining outside is becoming more of an opportunity.
With that, we thought it'd be a great chance to round up some of our favourite spots up and down the country you must add to your foodie bucket list this summer.
Here in Wales, we don't just have great food but great produce too, and we're lucky to have access to some incredible local ingredients that many of our restaurants and chefs take full advantage of - from seaweed and oysters to leeks, lambs and strawberries; the flora of our lush country is bountiful.
Read more: Hench Burger in Cardiff reviewed: These oversized smash burgers aren’t just for looks
With fine dining options with a view to lobster rolls on the beach and ice creams on the shore, there's so much on offer. Here we've rounded up - in no particular order - some of the best (and our favourite) foodie hotspots around Wales to try in the coming months.
1. Ynyshir, Machynlleth
Gareth Ward's flagship 'fun dining' restaurant near Machynlleth has been voted for as the UK's best restaurant for second time this year at the Estrella Damm Restaurant Awards and there's a reason for that. It gives dinners not just great food whose small plates artistically curated by the northern chef boast bold flavours, but it also provides an incredible experience. From the open kitchen to the music and interior design. Read our review of it here.
2. Caban Mwnt, Cardigan
This beachside cabin is a dreamy stop off point that began as a a "little caravan just selling ice creams and things" some 40 years and has been passed down over generations. Selling mouthwatering toasties, baguettes, burgers, coffees (made with beans from Tan-y-Groes' Cardigan Bay Roasters) and legendary' Welsh cakes made by original owner Jenny Linfoot - read more about it here - Caban Mwnt is the perfect beachside foodie pitstop and offers stunning views of the Cardigan shoreline.
3. Touring Club, Penarth
Bryn Williams' latest venture opened just a few weeks ago and it hasn't stopped heaving with customers - and it's no wonder. Serving up small plates and cocktails in its open kitchen - viewers on the bar get a front row seat - the elegant and charming bar-cum-restaurant is a joint effort between Bryn and fellow founders Dylan Griffith, Rowan Hobbs and Grant Maunder. On the menu, you'll find dishes like Welsh rarebit, lamb cutlets, crab on toast and more. You can even get some of Brynn's condiment range like honey, raspberry and lime jam, lemon curd and sos coch. Cocktails include a Moscow Mule and Enzoni. Read our review of it here.
4. Celtic Cabin, Barmouth, Llyn Penninsula
Although closed for the rest of June, this food stall in north Wales took the title of Best Streetfood at the BBC Food and Farming Awards last year and it's clear to see why. Run by Suzy Simpson and Paul Thomson, the Celtic Cabin serves Mexican wraps, cakes, coffees and anything else Paul can put his mind to creating in their kitchen. Read more on the pair's journey to setting up the Celtic Cabin here. Keep an eye on its socials for when it's back open this summer.
5. Fablas, Porthcawl
As the summer months roll on and the sweltering heat persists, there's nothing better on a hot day than an ice cream - especially if it's from family-run business Fablas, which serves up award-winning creamy artisan ice cream from its four locations: Caerphilly, Porthcawl, Cowbridge and Penarth.
6. Bar 44, Cardiff/Penarth
If you're into tapas, then Bar44 needs to be on your radar as a place to visit this summer. One step into the restaurant adorned with Mediterranean-style mosaic tiles and you are transported to the tapaserias of Espana - with the help of stunning small plates and sides of padron peppers, pan con tomate and queen olives.
7. Hills Burger, Brecon
Come here if you want to try the 'best burgers in Wales' (according to one Tripadvisor reviewer). Run by husband and wife duo Owain and Emily Hill and their daughters Matilda and Tabitha, people from all over travel to Brecon to try these American-inspired whopping burgers - and while its meaty marvels are renowned and utterly sumptuous, it last year won the award for the vegan burger of the year at the National Burger Awards. Try its Chips & Gravy cheeseburger, Juan Hilario burger or Heinz firecracker. Read more about their story here.
8. Paternoster Farm, Pembrokeshire
This farm in Pembrokehisre produces some of the best food in Wales from the grounds of an old cow shed. Run by a former divorce lawyer, Michelle Evans, Paternoster Farm is off the beaten track and offers a "true field to fork" experience as its setting is equally as delicious as the food the restaurant produces. The old original cow stalls have been retained and transformed into private dining tables while the old milking parlour pipes have been imaginatively remodeled into a lighting feature.
The menu changes seasonally and offers local produce for the most part - from oysters to home-reared beef and pork belly - as well as sharing feasts.It was also named this year by Conde Nast Traveller as one of The 13 Best Places to Go in the UK in 2023. Read our review of it here.
9. SY23 Restaurant, Aberystwyth
Run by Great British Menu finalist and a former sous chef at Ynyshir, Nathan Davies, SY23 serves locally sourced produce - some of which have been foraged, pickled and fermented - meat and fish cooked over charcoal.
While SY23 serves a 10-course tasting menu, its sister location SY23 Sgwar is a more relaxed outdoor space where small plates are served on tables with built-in fire pits. In February 2022, it became one of two new restaurants to be awarded with a Michelin star.
The renowned Michelin Guide suggests: "Start with a drink in the ground floor bar before heading upstairs to the moody, intimately lit dining room, where the atmosphere is lively, the colour scheme makes a statement, and the open kitchen takes centre stage."
10. Forage Farm, Cowbridge
Located on the Penllyn Estate, Forage Farm and Shop is an enterprise run by the Homfray family - which has farmed the grounds for over 100 years. Over the last few years, it has gone from a "bare field to Welsh Farm Shop of 2022" and regularly has bookings filling its restaurant for breakfast, brunch and Sunday lunch - have a read of our review of it here. It also serves up speciality coffees, cold drinks and cakes and bakes if you just want a light nibble or morning snack. Just paces away from the restaurant, lies its farm shop which has fresh, local produce like eggs, chicken and more - many of which originate from Penllyn Estate Farm. It's a lovely place to spend the morning - plus, in the holidays and at special times of year (like Christmas and Easter) they run family friendly events. Read the lovely story behind Forage Farm Shop and Kitchen here.
11. Ground Bakery, Pontcanna, Penarth and Cowbridge
If you're looking for a place in which to have your breakfast of dreams, look no further as Ground Bakery, run by Thomas SImmons and co-owned by George North. Serving brekkies and brunches that consist of items like overnight bacon (it is truly one of the most wonderful things I've tasted), perfectly poached eggs, homemade beans and various different swanky pastries, you will not leave feeling disappointed. Plus it does LUSH coffee. Believe us.
12. Swoon Gelato, Cardiff
This small chain run by the Forte family headed up by Bruno Forte opened its first Welsh branch earlier this year and serves up creamy award-winning gelato in all sorts of innovative flavours - including several vegan ones. It also serves up Italian coffee and speciality desserts.
13. Blwm, Cathays, Cardiff
This pretty coffee shop in Cathays - overlooking the historic cemetary - serves up stunning baked goods and aesthetically pleasing drinks. Their seasonal beverages are also stunning as well as delicious - give its lavender iced latte a whirl with a Kinder and Nutella blondie. Your four-legged friends are welcome too. The drinks are not the only aesthetically pleasing thing in the cafe as along one side of the cafe sits a bookshelf on which ceramics, books, candles and dried flowers sit. The cafe also has a sister floristry business called Brig.
14. Home at Penarth, Penarth
Exciting and delicious fine dining with an air of mystery is what Home is about. You won't know what's on the menu until you arrive at 'Home' thanks to its 'surprise tasting menu'. The food is based around the seasons so a meal here will be different with every visit.
Run by James Sommerin and his family - his daughter Georgia chefs in the kitchen and his wife Lou does admin. His sister-in-law Cath runs front of house alongside daughters Angharad and Elouan - the restaurant produces: "lovingly made food" served with a "glass of very special wine".
Only four months after opening in 2021, it was mentioned on the Michelin Guide list and was awarded with one star.
15. Top Joe's, Narberth
Fancy a pizza made by one of the best pizza chefs in the world? Well, pay Top Joe's in Pembrokeshire a visit. With shops in Tenby and Pembroke, as well as Narberth, the pizza joint is a hit with tourists and locals alike.
Using fresh pizza dough from scratch and local ingredients as much as possible, Top Joe's is worth a visit and the kids will love it.
Their Narberth chef, Giovanni Recchia, was named as one of the best in the world at the Pizza World Championships earlier this year, more on that here. Have a read of what we thought when we went to visit shortly after his big win here.
16. West Pizza, Cardiff
Run by the team behind Cardiff Indoor Market's ever popular Ffwrnes, the Pizza Boys - Ieuan Harry and Jez Phillips - recently opened the permanent home for their alternative pizza-based venture, West Pizza; a joint serving New York style pizza by the slice or whole - a whopping 18 inches. It began as a pop-up at games bar Kongs before opening its first full-scale restaurant in March in Canton's new Laundry Quarter. But pizza isn't all it sell - it also serves up fresh sandwiches made with facaccia bread, coffee and in-house baked goods - as well as local beers and wine.
17. Cafe Mor, Pembrokeshire
For seafood with a twist, this stall run by the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Co. serves up award-winning dishes that have had people returning for years and years - such as its iconic lobster rolls, served by the sea. It also offers seaweed based condiments like seaweed ketchup and Welshman's caviar. Having previously sold its good out of a shack on Freshwater West, it has now moved to the grounds of The Old Point House in Angle Pembrokeshire. Read more on the cafe here.
18. Mamgu Welsh cakes, Solva
Started by two friends who loved these traditional cakes, Mamgu Welshcakes is a staple treat whenever you pass through the harbour village of Solva during the summer. Get a packet to go and enjoy on the beach, or sit in and have a hearty breakfast with savoury Welsh cakes in tow. These delicious little round pockets of joy come in all sorts of flavours such as honey and lavender and biscoff and white chocolate. With each visit, you'll be met with a number of signature flavours as well as a selection of newbies.
19. Let Them See Cake, Canton, Cardiff
Possibly one of the most Instagrammable looking bakeries in the city, the specialty of Let Them See Cake, located on the outskirts of Victoria Park, is perfectly piped cupcakes, cookies, hand-crafted stylish buttercream cakes for any occasion, fresh macarons and other sweet treats. It was also the star of a BBC3 series too, called Hot Cakes - if that's not enough to entice you to try it, we don't know what is.
20. Pettigrew Bakery, Canton, Cardiff
Fresh bread, Danish pastries, cookies, cakes, French patisseries, eclaires and sarnies and more is what you'll be getting at this bakery - you can find it next door to Let Them See Cake and opposite Victoria Park. Perfect pick me up after a morning at the Splash pad!
21. Brød - The Danish Bakery, Penarth
We are on a bit of a bakery theme, we know, but this bakery and cafe needs to be on your list. Its bread is award-winning, its coffee and Danish goods are to die for. Just trust us on this one and go.
22. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
At 75 years of age, Shaun Hill is one of the most experienced and legendary names in British cooking. He’s held a Michelin star at the Walnut Tree since 2010 for his unfussy yet skillful food. If you’re looking for fine dining without the formality but with all the taste and elegant simplicity - in presentation, not flavour - then this is the place to come. Read our own review of it here.
23. Temple Bar, Newport, Pembrokeshire
Temple Bar, on the outskirts of Newport in Pembrokeshire, is a total hidden gem. A café that was transformed from an old stone barn with a corrugated tin roof on the side of the A487, it runs off a one-dish menu (that changes weekly) and offers cakes and pastries that our reporter Laura Clements couldn't stop dreaming of after her first visit. Read more on the cafe here.
24. Crwst, Cardigan
Having been named as one of the best places to have breakfast in Wales recently, we felt this foodie spot deserved to be included on this list. With a delicious brunch menu (think items like harissa halloumi burger, brekkie pancakes and turkish eggs) alongside bread, cakes, bakes and, of course, coffee, it also has its own products: Crwst Jars and kits - from its award-winning Pembrokeshire Sea Salted Caramel to Crunchy Granola.
25. Annwn, Narberth
With a space on last year's Good Food Guide, this small fine-dining multi-course restaurant - which has just relocated to Narberth from a luxury glamping site in Lawrenny - serves up high quality meals made with seasonal, local and sustainable ingredients and foraged plants and fungi cooked by chef and owner Matt Powell. Named as one of the best in Britain, have a read of what we thought of it when we visited last year.
26. Catch Cymru, Carmarthen
This fish bar is wowing everyone who stumbles upon it. The brainchild of Josh Gray and Rhianwen Lane, Catch Cymru is located down a small alley off Guildhall Square and if you're not careful, you could miss it. However, word of mouth keeps people returning time and again. Items on the menu include: cod, homemade fishcakes, haddock, buttermilk prawns, prawn-loaded fries, calamari-loaded fries, and you can even pre-order your own mackerel, oysters, cockles, mussels and salmon to take home with you. Read all about it here.
27. Fish Kitchen 1854, Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly
If you want good fish and chips - award-winning fish and chips - then you need to pay this cafe in Caerphilly a visit. Found a stone's throw away from the famous local viaduct from which the town and the shop (the 1854 reference) gets its name, Fish Kitchen 1854 is run by Lee Humphreys and wife Samatha. Speaking to us last year, Lee said it was "more than a bog-standard chippy" - alongside your classic mushy peas with chips and battered freshly caught cod or hake, you can find items like Lewis corned beef pasties, brie wedges, salt and pepper squid on the menu. During rugby season (six nations more specifically), they serve up specials like Frogs legs and Scottish mackerel. Read our review of it here.
28. Nook by the River, Cardiff
There's a reason this pop up is constantly selling out: its food and atmosphere is delicious. Run by Deb and Phill Lewis, its permanent restaurant, Nook - located in Canton - specialises in small plates, local produce and natural wines. This pop up embodies that - just in a different setting and one which is pretty dreamy. Found at Llandaff Rowing Club, hungry punters can enjoy the goods of Nook while dining semi al- fresco (under a stretch tent) and enjoying the views of the river that runs alongside it. Tables for this pop up can be booked from Wednesday, July 12 to Sunday, August 6.
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