The new wave of Welsh restaurants redefining our cuisine

Carwyn Graves

Victorian travel writer George Borrow wrote approvingly of his first taste of Welsh mutton, which the seasoned early globe-trotter noted “beats the leg of mutton of any other country…, rich but delicate, replete with juices derived from the aromatic herbs of the noble Berwyn, cooked to a turn”.

But despite longstanding praise for Welsh culinary produce, dishes from Wales have often been slow to receive recognition beyond the realms of hearth and home – even in their home country. A wave of new restaurants and eateries seems, however, set to turn that legacy around.

The New Welsh Restaurant

What we might call the ‘new’ Welsh restaurants span the country, in a trend picked up in this summer’s edition of the Good Food Guide. Though the establishments in question range enormously in style, size and setting, they are united by a desire to work closely with the huge range of local produce available in Wales – and in a determination to put distinctively Welsh dishes firmly on the menu.

As the Guide’s writers note: “We’re heartened to see more and more eateries in Wales asserting their gastronomic and cultural independence, plundering their native larder and creating dishes that are shot through with emphatic Welshness”

These young establishments – whether Mesen in Cardiff, The Shed in Swansea or Paternoster farm in rural Pembrokeshire – all feature seasonal menus with a consistent sprinkling of distinctively Welsh dishes. When coupled with other eateries winning acclaim over the past couple of years – top Michelin starred Annwn (with a Mabinogi-inspired name) or even expanding mini-chain The Welsh House – all doing the same thing, it seems safe to say that something new is afoot in little old Wales.

The dish itself

What does this “emphatic Welshness” with its “cultural independence” consist of when it’s on a plate in front of you? Among other things, it’s a willingness to use ingredients, dishes and even cooking techniques that arise from Welsh culinary tradition back on the menu – even when they in many cases may have fallen from wider cultural consciousness.

So Cardiff’s Mesen serves lamb’s heart and baked oysters; Gorse features oat crumpets and mackerel with lovage and buttermilk (as traditional a dish as they come) while The Shed serves leek and potato soup as a starter and Faggots and Split Peas as a main.

These are dishes that many in the postwar generation would have grown up with at home, in an era when restaurant menus featured faux French fare only; but they are now mostly outside the lived experience of younger generations coming through (though we mustn’t generalize). As these eateries demonstrate to great culinary satisfaction – that domestic prior life has no bearing whatsoever on the dishes’ potential. Great cuisine everywhere is rooted in peasant dishes; local, fresh ingredients and good pairings, prepared well.

Irony

In an era and a country where global cuisine and fusions foods have long since earned their place, there is surely something to celebrate here. After all – if you can’t eat Welsh dishes well in Wales, where on earth could you expect to do so?

Demand for Welsh produce is also high, as frequently reported on this site, with many consumers able and willing to pay more to support local even in this era of high inflation.

But there is an irony here. What was working class or peasant food has now become high-end. Whereas previously, locally sourced and seasonal food was simply the default, the very fact that it has become for many businesses a mark of marketing pride betrays the reality that too much of the time this sort of food is inaccessible for people at home.

Those are structural issues, that would require coordinated and careful work across sectors and government departments to tackle (as some are doing). In the meantime, and in a time where both food production and independent hospitality face huge challenges, let’s celebrate these entrepreneurs putting Welsh foods back on the menu.

This is part of a monthly column on Nation.Cymru on the diversity of Welsh food culture by food writer Carwyn Graves. Other installments can be found here.