A restaurant and gastropub in Llysworney village near Cowbridge has made it into the prestigious Good Food Guide just seven months after opening its doors. Hiraeth Kitchen welcomed customers into the renovated stone-built village pub - previously known as the Carne Arms - in November 2022 and has gone from strength to strength since.
In May this year the pub, run by Andy Aston and Lewis Dwyer, was awarded with two AA Rosettes for culinary excellence. The establishment is split in two - a restaurant and a gastropub - and you can take a look at our 'first look' of the restaurant here.
While the restaurant offers an 'ever-changing taster menu' as well as a classic Sunday lunch, the dog friendly bar has lush small plates - a sample menu has items like smoked duck with pecorino, asparagus and mustard leaf and grilled courgette with salsa verde and toasted almonds.
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At the weekend, the pub's grub and service was recognised by the Good Food Guide, which is the "the longest-standing and best selling guide to dining out" and has previously celebrated the likes of Annwn in Narberth, Bacareto in Cardiff, Home at Penarth, Kindle, Paternoster Farm in Pembrokeshire and many more.
After receiving the amazing nod for the gastropub and restaurant, Andy said: "Our small team has been working tirelessly to establish Hiraeth and build something special, but a nod from The Good Food Guide is more than we could have imagined this early on - and is a real testament to their hard work.
"The news of our inclusion has topped off a great couple of weeks for us; there is lots more work to do and goals to achieve but it certainly feels like we are on the right path!"
Here's what the Good Food Guide had to say about Hiraeth: "Andy Aston and Lewis Dwyer have transformed what was Llysworney's stone-built village pub (the Carne Arms) into a dining destination, while keeping its role as a local alive. Both the bar and the dining area are relaxed, rustic and stylishly rough-edged, with lots of stonework, bare wood and a smattering of banquette seating.
"The cooking is ambitious and creative, with a strong focus on savvy sourcing: Isle of Wight tomatoes, for example, shine atop lemony goat’s curd with a flourish of cool cucumber slivers, spiky pickled shallot, pesto granita and a zingy tomato consommé. Brixham scallops – served caramelised, with confit celeriac and puréed apple – are elevated with shavings of porky lomo.
"Technical skills shine in a main course of tender, chargrilled Orchard Farm pork with apple sauce (made in the fireplace), a crunchy sliver of crackling, seasonal asparagus and pommes Anna (fried to make chunky chips). Despite the occasional misfire (charred flavours overpowering a dish of confit lamb with mussels, porcini jus and grilled lettuce, for example), high points obliterate any minor grumbles, and the nine-course taster menu offers good value for ingredients and cooking of this standard."
It added: "Desserts singled out for praise include a fluffy burnt-honey parfait with toasted sesame, and a ‘delectable’ peanut butter and jelly macaron. The food is complemented by a compact, reasonably priced wine list with everything available by the glass. On Sundays, a traditional roast lunch is served in the bar."
This news for Hiraeth comes just months after another restaurant in the area earnt a spot on the prestigious guide: Rocket and Rye. Read more on that here. For more restaurants included in the Good Food Guide in Wales, see their website.
