Small City, Big Flavours - Why St Davids needs to be your next dining destination
Considering that St Davids is Britain’s smallest city, it has a surprising amount of dining and foodie options within the city and the surrounding Pembrokeshire area. Portia Jones takes us on a foodie highlights tour of the area.
Pembrokeshire is enjoying a growing reputation for fresh produce and coastal cuisine supplied by an emerging wave of independent producers and dining establishments. It’s worth looking out for the ‘Pembrokeshire Produce Mark’, when buying locally as it indicates that what you are buying has been made in Pembrokeshire.
Take a slow journey around this magnificent stretch of coastline to discover wildlife, watersports and an array of local flavours and superb produce.
Feast on locally sourced lobster, hand foraged seaweed, craft gin, crab sandwiches and locally reared beef with our dining guide to St Davids and beyond.
Start your culinary journey by exploring the dining scene at St Davids. The small city is home to the iconic, 12th century cathedral of the same name and offers an excellent selection of home-cooked and locally sourced food served at independent venues.
Blas, Twr Y Felin Hotel
Meaning ‘Taste’ in Welsh, Blas is the upmarket and award-winning restaurant offering from contemporary art hotel, Twr Y Felin.
Dine in the stylish surroundings of a former windmill with a menu that’s influenced by season and local surroundings.
Expect beautifully plated and locally sourced lobster, crab, mussels and clams, as well as Welsh beef, duck and fowl. Chef ’s coastal foraging exploits may also add the likes of samphire and monk’s beard to the menu if you’re lucky.
Typical dishes include pan-fried halibut with salt[1]baked celeriac and cockle sauce and Perl Wen cheesecake.
Blas Restaurant, Twr y Felin Hotel, St Davids Pembrokeshire, SA62 6QT
tel: 01437 725 555
Beyond the city, Pembrokeshire’s coastline offers a rich bounty of seafood and edible sea vegetables. Go straight to the source and forage for your own fish supper amidst the foamy tidal pools and barnacle covered rocks, on a coastal foraging experience.
Pembrokeshire Coastal Foraging Experience
Coastal Foraging Founder Craig Evans and his canine companion Llew will expertly guide you around rocky, Pembrokeshire shorelines to seek out, and even cook, your very own coastal haul on this immersive foraging experience.
There’s a range of foraging courses that take place across the Pembrokeshire coast where you can discover an impressive abundance of culinary, coastal pickings from mussels, crabs, clams and cockles, to oysters and sea vegetables.
On Craig’s classic course, you can strap on your sturdy shoes and hunt for edible seafood and plants on a rockpool safari where you’ll gather various shellfish, sea vegetables and crustaceans.
Tidal bounties are often paired with rich Carmarthenshire butter, wild garlic and rock samphire, before being cooked al fresco on a Swedish style fire log.
Email info@coastalforaging.co.uk for Pembrokeshire locations and booking.
Pembrokeshire has a growing number of local producers who are forging the way in home-grown excellence. Whilst you can shop online for your foodie treats and larder hauls, you can learn more about the growing process and actually taste test products when you pay a visit to producers.
Do Ewe Want a Slice?
Melin Tregwynt is a picture-postcard, whitewashed woollen mill found in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. Owned by the same family since 1912 the Mill now employs over 30 people and makes things that are useful, beautiful to look at and just a little bit special. They’ve recently opened a restaurant and coffee shop using only local suppliers to provide you with the best quality. Grab one of their mouth-watering toasties or a slice of bara brith while you contemplate which of their extraordinary blankets to buy.
Melin Tregwynt, Castlemorris, Haverfordwest SA62 5UX
Lobster and MôR
Lobster and MôR in the small village of Little Haven is a chic, takeaway café that’s renowned for its quality coffee, flavourful crab sandwiches and deli offerings.
Well-informed staff are happy to converse about the catch of the day and to advise on local produce and pairings. There’s a tangible ethos on sustainability and responsible fishing at Lobster and MôR, with all lobster pot caught on the ‘Martha Rose’ and swiftly sold to hungry customers.
Freshly caught seafood can also be purchased alongside Caws Cenarth cheese and their locally distilled Tir and Môr gin.
LOBSTER AND MôR, Grove Place, Little Haven, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire SA62 3UG tel: 01437 781 959
Locally owned restaurants in Pembrokeshire have the advantage of key relationships with farmers and suppliers, so you can experience farm to fork dishes. Feast on pub classics, or modern British dishes at a number of country pubs and swish venues in St Davids and nearby towns and villages.
St Davids Gin & Kitchen
Locally grown food from St Davids Peninsula features heavily on the menu at St Davids Gin & Kitchen. This ethically minded establishment is run by a family of farmers who expertly deliver their produce from farm to folk.
Expect the finest Welsh Black Beef, Ramsey Island Venison, Solva Crab and Lobster in their innovative dishes.
As well as serving their produce, St Davids Gin & Kitchen champion a range of local farmers and fishermen and also create their bespoke gins using local botanicals including seaweed that’s hand foraged from St Justinians. For the very best that Wales has to offer, try their ultimate Surf & Turf from the dinner menu. Feast on beautifully cooked St Davids Welsh Beef Steak served with half a Solva Lobster and a side of truffle fries.
16 Nun St, St Davids, Haverfordwest SA62 6NS tel: 01437 720404
With sandy covers, harbours, and high cliffs, Pembrokeshire has a number of scenic picnic spots that are ideal stops on a foodie journey.
You’ll find a range of deli items, local drinks and even seafood platters from the most unlikely of takeaways if you know where to look.
Mrs Will the Fish (Seafood Takeaway)
Mrs Will the Fish is a takeaway with a twist in Upper Solva. Jan carefully prepares and dresses locally caught lobsters, crabs and spider crabs and sells them directly from her bungalow in Parc Benny.
This small and simple enterprise was predominantly only known to locals who would call ahead and collect the fresh catch. It’s since grown to providing gourmet seafood platters for discerning tourists, looking for a photogenic feast by the sea.
For a seafood dinner with a view in Pembrokeshire, find yourself a harbourside picnic bench in Lower Solva and set up an alfresco picnic. Pair your platter with a bottle of St Davids Seaweed & Ramsey Island Gin for a coastal taste experience with a boozy kick.
Parc Benny, Solva, Haverfordwest SA62 6TN tel: 01437 721571
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