CARDIFF

     Armless Dragon. Phone: 011 44 2920 382 357.

Warm, comfortable dining atmosphere. Quiet classical music in background allows for easy table conversations. The food shows off Modern Welsh style to the hilt. Chef & Owner Paul Lane uses only the best and freshest local ingredients in his preparations. The artistic presentation of his dishes is quite beholding.  Generally relying on a nightly Blackboard for menu selections, you’ll find wonderful meat dishes featuring lamb, beef, pork, chicken & venison. Excellent fish and seafood are always displayed. Photo: Assiette of Seafood.

The Baked Halibut Stuffed with Smoked Salmon ordered surpassed our expectations. Other entree specials available were Pembrokeshire Beef Fillet, Cannons of Brecon Lamb, Loin of Venison and John Dory (a mild fish and one of the most popular) with Almond Clams. Appetizers are imaginative and not to be missed. Desserts are to write home about. Sample the White Chocolate Mousse and you’ll want to come back. The Bread and Butter Pudding is the best you’ll ever taste. Good portions, moderate prices. Arm- less Dragon has a reputation for excellent Veggie Dishes. Rated outstanding value. Photo: Halibut Stuffed with Smoked Salmon.

           Le Gallois.  011 44 2920 341 264. www.legallois-ycymro.com

            Formal, smart, minimalistic dining room. French/Modern Welsh. Very imaginative and creative treatment of all food groups from appetizer through dessert. Presentations are very artistic. Very good wine list. Portions moderate, prices may be on the higher side. Certainly recommend a visit to this restaurant, which is perhaps a future Michelin Star in the making. Entrees offered on the day visited included Roast Squab, Cannon of Lamb, Pot Roasted Pig, Truffled Corn Fed Chicken, Roasted Sea Bass, Roasted Brill (fish) and Osso Bucco of Monk Fish. The restaurant also offers a Menu Gourmand. Served to the whole table it comprises a six-course meal with each dish paired with a wine. Owners: Padrig & Anne Jones. Chef Padrig Jones.

           Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans. 011 44 2920 573 500. www.nmgw.ac.uk

There are several food places to consider. The main entrance building has a cafeteria-style restaurant featuring cooked entrees and desserts. Most of the foods offered are Welsh traditional, a few examples: faggots & peas, gammon & pineapple, pork sausages, Glamorgan Sausages, steak & ale pie. Also offered are many favorite Welsh dessert breads and cakes. Photo: 1940's Style Kitchen -- often where most of the cooking was done! 

Stop by the Bake Shop early. They bake wonderful bread in an old traditional 100-year wood oven. Not surprisingly, it sells out quickly. Their Bara Brith is one of the best in Wales. Say Hi to Tina; she was baking the day I visited. Tina’s Mother, Christine Gough has baked here since the oven was rebuilt on the grounds. She is nationally known for her baking skills. Frankly, Tina also bakes beautifully. Photo: Baker Tina places freshly baked Bara Brith on cooling racks. 

Visit the Gwalia Teas Rooms for a great selection of traditional luncheon specialties including a very nice Welsh Rarebit. The Castle Tea Room may also be open depending on the time of year. There are several snack bars available. Try to visit this fabulous Museum, it will take a good part of the day but you will feel well rewarded and proud to be Welsh. Photo: Welsh Tea Items - clockwise from the top; Bara Brith (Currant/Raisin Bread), Pice ar y Maen (Welsh Cake), Teisen Lap (Moist Raisin Cake), Miogod Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire Bun), Sgon Gyren (Current Scone) and Teisen Sir Fôn (Anglesey Cake).

CAERPHILLY

Pub Grub.

            Caerphilly is the hometown of my cousins, Len & Nancy Thorne, and my base on trips to Wales. Consequently I have had my share of pub grub. I have eaten at almost all the pubs in Caerphilly and several more across Wales. My feeling, and I am supported on this by my cousins, is that for just a little extra money you receive better quality and consistency at many fine-dining establishments. Photo: Len & Nancy Thorne doing the Pub Scene.

My experience indicates quality of pub food can vary from night to night significantly, as well as, even within a group of diners on the same night. I do have a favorite. It is historically interesting (Oliver Cromwell had trouble there) and has a panorama of views from its patio as well as acceptable food. A non-touristy pub – Maenllwydd Inn, Rudry, Caerphilly. 011 44 2920 882 372 or 885 505

            Photo - Len & Nancy Thorne check out a Caerphilly Pub 

            SWANSEA

            Chelsea Cafe. 011 44 1792 464 068

            Restaurant interior is a cosy contemporary design.  Food is some of the finest Modern/Traditional Welsh. Chef Nick Bevan, with co-owner wife Lisa, has served some of the UK’s most recognizable names. The menu offers truly outstanding dining experiences. Nick cooks using the freshest local sources. Welsh Black Beef, Welsh Lamb, Duck Breast, Guinea Fowl, Wild Boar, and Salmon were a few offerings on the menu the night visited. Vegetarians have their own menu and will be pleased with the available dishes. Photos: Appetizer of Oak Smoked Salmon Mousse. Terry & Marilyn Symons of Tonna enjoy meals of a Fillet of Welsh Black Beef & Sea Bass .with Lobster Sauce.

             Swansea Market. 011 44 1792 636 851

            A little time spent at this foremost of Welsh markets will create a lifelong memory. This bustling market is alive with shoppers. Many are to be found talking in Welsh, even today. It is where the discriminating shop for the freshest seafood, including laverbread and cockles. Many, including restaurant owners, will complete their purchases with homegrown fruits and vegetables. Don’t miss the selection of newly baked breads. Tired?  Have a cup of tea and a slice of Bara Brith in one of the homey little side cafes. Lunch? You’ll find an irresistible selection of home cooked items including faggots and (mushy) peas. Swansea Market Cockle Festival is held in October. Other markets to visit are Cardiff, Llanelli, and Carmarthen. Many towns have markets of varying degrees; I always visit Neath (my birthplace) for sentimental reasons although their butcher shops and side cafes are still very good. Photo: Len Thorne's Swansea Market Traditional Welsh Breakfast - clockwise from top: Pork Sausages, Laverbread (Boiled Edible Seaweed - a delicacy!), Cockles and Welsh Bacon.

            ST DAVIDS

           Morgan’s Brasserie. 011 44 1437 720 508. www.morgans-in-stdavids.co.uk.

            Located conveniently on a main street in St Davids, this is one place not to miss on a visit to the seat of so much Welsh tradition and folklore. Chef Ceri Morgan runs a superb kitchen while wife, Elaine has the front of the house responsibility. Fine dining are the key words here.

For appetizers, don’t miss the homemade items; Double Duck Rustic Style Terrine and the Home-Cured Gravad Lax (Gralax). At the time of this visit the soup was a fabulous Wild Mushroom.

 For entrées, Morgan’s is noted for the Slow Cooked Confit of Lamb, Welsh Black Beef Fillet, Roast Gressingham Duckling and the Pan Seared Sea Bass with Saffron Mussel Sauce.

For dessert, sample some of Chef’s specialties such as the Celtic Crunch Ice Cream or Hazelnut Pavlova. Also offered is a nice selection of Welsh cheeses.

Chef Morgan is doggedly stubborn about using only the freshest ingredients in his preparations. The Morgans, having lived in Canada for several years and dined there and in the States extensively, offer very good dining experiences to quests from both sides of the Atlantic. The restaurant atmosphere is intimate, comfortable and affords easy conversation. Photos: from top - Gravad Lax - Home-Cured Spiced Salmon, Roast Gressingham Duck and Slow Cooked Confit of Welsh Lamb.

            NEWPORT, PEMBS

           Cnapan Country House Hotel. 011 44 1239 820 575. www.online-holidays.net/cnapan.

            Cnapan (pronounced k nap an) is the rural forerunner game to rugby. Cnapan, originated in Tudor times some five hundred years ago, is played on Shrove Tuesday. It involves hundreds of participants and is played with intense rivalry between the men of neighboring villages of Newport and Nevern.

            Cnapan is a gem of small hotel. Run by Judi Cooper with assistance from Mum, Eluned Lloyd in the evenings and, Dad, John in the mornings. Mum and Dad founded the Inn. It continues to be a Welsh Mecca in the hands of Judi. She maintains the family traditions with assistance from her Hubby, Michael. Cnapan stories and recipes have been written about for years in magazines and books. At any given time about eighty five percent of the guests will be repeats.  You will really like Judi’s brand of hospitality, this combined with her superb food will be the magnet that will draw you back forever.

            For my dining experience I enjoyed an appetizer of Smoked Salmon Timbale with Prawns and Pesto Sauce. Dinner was local Lobster with a Laverbread and Fennel Sauce. Also sampled was Lamb Loin with a Pepper Sauce. Dessert – an Orange Crème Brûlée. All courses were faultless. Photos - from top: Smoked Salmon Timbale with Pan-Fried "Tiger Tails" and Watercress Salsa, Half Portion Serving of Fresh Pembrokeshire Lobster with Laverbread Fennel Sauce and Orange Creme Brûlée with Bitter Orange Slices.