This is a sponsored post. Discover Carmarthenshire commissioned me to write about Carmarthenshire's food and drink scene for their website, but I couldn't resist sharing my experience on the blog too.
Join me on a foodie trip with Discover Carmarthenshire and discover some of the best producers, restaurants and places to eat in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales.
From eating at a steakhouse with its own home-reared herd of pedigree cattle; to meeting the independent cheesemakers exporting their artisan organic cheese worldwide; and sipping fine wines at local, family-run vineyards, Carmarthenshire has much to offer the discerning culinary traveller.
Following one of Discover Carmarthenshire’s three new 100% Carmarthenshire Larder trails, I spent three days filling my larder with fine food and drink from the best independent farmers and producers in west Carmarthenshire, in addition to eating in some of the best cafes and restaurants the region has to offer.
You can find the Western Larder Trail, which I followed, over on the Discover Carmarthenshire website. Meanwhile, read on to discover a few personal highlights from my trip.
Contents
From farmers and producers, to restaurants and cafes: discover the places to eat in Carmarthenshire, Wales
Eating and exploring in Laugharne
Arriving in Carmarthenshire, we begin our journey on the south-west coast in the town of Laugharne, best known as the home of famous Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas, and for its iconic Norman castle.
Laugharne’s local landmarks
No trip to Laugharne is complete until you’ve been to the Dylan Thomas Boathouse. Located along the Dylan’s Walk coastal footpath, this popular attraction comprises both Dylan’s Writing Shed, and the Boathouse itself.
Although the Writing Shed is locked and you can’t go inside, a quick peep through the window reveals a writer’s desk cluttered with faded, yellowing letters and notes. Monochrome portrait photos of Dylan hang above the desk and a pair of old, brown curtains frame postcard-perfect views of the Taf Estuary, across to the Gower.
A little further down the footpath lies Dylan’s Boathouse, where he lived for the last four years of his life. Today, it houses a museum telling the story of Dylan’s life and death.
Laugharne Castle is another must-see sight. Built in 1116, this mighty medieval castle and Tudor mansion is surrounded by the Wales Coast Path and marks the starting point of one of the popular Dylan Thomas walking routes, Dylan’s Birthday Walk.
As impressive as Laugharne Castle and Dylan’s Boathouse are, however, there’s much more to Laugharne than its medieval background, or cultural history. In fact, this thriving little town is home to some of the best places to eat in Carmarthenshire, including restaurants, cafes and an independent delicatessen where you can stock up on local food and drink produce to enjoy once you get back home.
Lunch in Laugharne
Based on King Street, The Ferryman Delicatessen is a charming family-run deli stocking a broad selection of both locally sourced, and imported fine foods.
In addition, they offer a sumptuous lunch menu featuring freshly made sandwiches, toasted flatbreads and homemade stews, like this velvety chorizo number, served with hunks of pillowy bread, giant green olives, runny fried egg, tangy aioli and fresh lemon.
The Ferryman Delicatessen lies just a few doors down from where we’ll be staying tonight – Brown’s Hotel.
A stay at Brown’s Hotel
Established in 1752, Brown’s Hotel is said to have been one of Dylan Thomas’s favourite local pubs, as his father lived opposite.
Contemporary yet characterful, our double room is kitted out with a comfy kingsize bed topped with an organic Welsh wool mattress and cosy blanket, with a large, feathery lampshade looming overhead. Highlights include a free-standing Victoria Plum bath tub/shower, luxury toiletries; mini fridge with complimentary water; pod coffee machine; LCD TV; digital radio; and remote-controlled sky-light window.
Brown’s Hotel also has its own in-house restaurant, Dexter’s Restaurant. Dexter’s serves the restaurant’s own home-reared pedigree Dexter cattle. Although this small breed doesn’t produce as much meat as some of its heavier counterparts, Dexter cattle are renowned for their unique quality and flavour.
Our ribeye and flat iron steaks are cooked to our liking and teamed with homemade chips, watercress and a choice of sauce. We’re equally content with our starters of crispy tempura king prawns, elaborately presented on wooden stilts, paired with an Asian-inspired dipping sauce.
Dinner at Dexter’s will set you back a little more than your typical local restaurant or cafe so, if you’re on a tight budget, consider checking out nearby family-run Poon Street Food for home-cooked Thai cuisine, or pick up some fish and chips from Castle View Fish Bar on Grist Square.
The following morning, we fuel up on coffee and eggs royale at Brown’s Hotel before making a move for Whitland.
Welsh wine-tasting in Whitland
Around a 20-minute drive away from Laugharne, the small, unsuspecting town of Whitland lies beside the Pembrokeshire border and is known for its connections with Welsh king Hywel Dda, or Howell the Good.
Whitland is home to not one, but two independent vineyards, each producing their own artisan wines.
Tucked away down a narrow, winding road lies Hebron Vineyard, an organic, non-intervention vineyard founded by Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt. In 2010, they made the brave move from Andalucía, Spain to Wales to establish a vineyard in Whitland. Today, they produce three varieties of wine, including a popular sparkling PGI white wine, “Silver Lining”.
Besides winemaking, Hebron Vineyard also offer overnight accommodation and wine tasting experiences.
Just a short drive away, on Banc y Llain farm in Llanboidy, you’ll find Jabajak Vineyard. While I don’t have time to visit on this trip, I enjoyed a wonderful overnight stay at this beautiful vineyard and restaurant-with-rooms a few years ago.
Originally established in 2004, Jabajak Vineyard has connections to The White House, hence why its award-winning collection of wines is known as ‘White House’ wines. The range includes a still white, a still red, a sparkling blush and a highly acclaimed sparkling white. Under new management since 2021, Jabajak is owned and run by Steve and Jackie Moody. Stop by for a cellar door tasting, or book into one of their homely rooms for an overnight stay.
Vineyards aside, Whitland Produce Market is also worth a look if you’re around on the second Saturday of the month, with stalls selling everything from homemade produce, to handmade arts and crafts.
Shopping and scoffing in Newcastle Emlynn
After our vineyard tour and tasting at Hebron Vineyard, we head over to the picturesque town of Newcastle Emlyn. With a thriving high street lined with independent shops, cafes, tearooms and restaurants, this would be the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon browsing for local gifts and souvenirs (including the edible kind!).
Stop off for a spot of afternoon tea or lunch and, on Friday mornings from 9.30am until 12.30pm, fill your larder with local produce at Newcastle Emlyn Country Market at Newcastle Emlyn Football Club.
Today, we’re heading to The Riverside Cafe for a bite to eat.
Based within a 300-year-old former blacksmith’s building perched on the banks of the River Teifi, The Riverside Cafe serves an extensive selection of comforting vegetarian and vegan food, like this eye-popping falafel mezze and indulgent Stilton, mango chutney and garlic mushroom panini. This has to be one of the best places to eat in Carmarthenshire for vegans and vegetarians!
For dinner in Newcastle Emlyn, Petit Biarritz at the Emlyn Hotel certainly feels like the place to be. Visiting on the weekend, it’s bustling with glammed-up groups of families, friends and couples glugging wine and scoffing small plates.
The menu comprises a mix of Spanish-inspired tapas dishes like patatas bravas and ham and cheese croquetas, alongside pan-Asian and Middle Eastern small plates like Korean fried chicken and Welsh Lamb Moroccan meatball tagine. The vegetarian selection is pretty decent too, with the likes of deep-fried risotto balls, vegan bao buns and Korean fried cauliflower to choose from.
Cheesemaking and tasting in Cenarth
As a self-confessed cheese addict – especially when it comes to Welsh cheese, and especially when we’re talking about this particular Welsh cheesemaker – my overnight stay at Caws Cenarth Cheese was the pinnacle of this trip.
Located around a 15-minute drive away from Newcastle Emlyn, just outside the dainty village of Cenarth (which lies on the border with Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion), this award-winning Welsh cheesemaker has just begun offering self-catering accommodation in its recently renovated apartment, just a stone’s throw away from the dairy itself.
All self-catering guests are treated to a welcome cheese selection in their fridge upon arrival, as well as an exclusive dairy tour and introduction to cheesemaking – an experience available exclusively to those who stay overnight.
From seeing Golden Cenarth washed by hand in Westons Cider, to marvelling at the different stages in the ageing process of Perl Wen and Perl Las, this was one of my most memorable experiences in 12 years of food blogging. Read more about my stay at Caws Cenarth Cheese on the blog soon. In the meantime, why not check out the autumn cheese board I rustled up last year using their cheeses?
Don’t even try to think about leaving Caws Cenarth empty-handed; the on-site cheese shop sells every single one of their cheeses – another great opportunity to fill that larder!
Craving something sweet? Take a short drive into the village of Cenarth and indulge in a traditional Welsh afternoon tea at Tŷ Te Cenarth, a vintage tearoom overlooking Cenarth Falls.
Comprising a cascade of small waterfalls, Cenarth Falls is a popular salmon leaping and fishing spot. Traditional Welsh coracles – early forms of boat or vessel – can occasionally still be seen in use by local fishermen on the river to this day; visit the neighbouring National Coracle Centre to find out more about these quirky contraptions.
Edible souvenirs from the best producers & places to eat in Carmarthenshire
So, which edible souvenirs did I stock up on while in Carmarthenshire, to fill my larder with when I got back home? Here’s what I brought back with me:
- 2019 Triskele ‘White’ still Solaris Wine – Hebron Vineyard
- A selection of organic Welsh cheeses – Caws Cenarth Cheee
- Lamb and mint pies – Deri Page Family Butcher, St Clear’s
- Locally grown Pembrokeshire potatoes – Newcastle Emlyn Country Market
Check out Discover Carmarthenshire’s 100% Carmarthenshire Larder Trails
Fancy following one of Discover Carmarthenshire’s 100% Carmarthenshire Larder Trails for yourself? Find the Western Larder trail which I followed, in addition to the Mid County Larder Trail and the Eastern Larder Trail, on the Discover Carmarthenshire website.
Where are your favourite places to eat in Carmarthenshire? Let me know in the comments.
Don’t forget to pin this post so you’ll be able to find it when you’re ready to plan your trip to Carmarthenshire!
This is a sponsored post. Discover Carmarthenshire commissioned me to write about Carmarthenshire's food and drink scene for their website, but I couldn't resist sharing my experience on the blog too.
I am here for those homemade pies and that En-suite bathroom at the Brown’s Hotel, absolutely stunning!
They were amazing – and we loved our room at Brown’s – the apartment at Caws Cenarth Cheese was gorgeous too.
I keep talking about visiting Wales and this post has given me the reason, I want to try the afterrnoon tea and love a pie
I love Wales. We have a lot to offer and it’s great to see our country growing more popular among tourists in recent years.
So much amazing food here! I would love to do this trail myself, and definitely have a stop at the vineyard. The Golden Cenarth cheese would also be high o my to-eat list.
I definitely had a good feed, haha! I loved Hebron Vineyard and Jabajak is so beautiful too. The cheese was the real highlight – of course! 😀
It sounds like there are some really great places to eat there. I would probably go for Dexter’s and Petit Biarritz I love the sound of their foods.
Dexter’s and Petit Biarritz were both really lovely. We loved the small plates at PB.
We visit Wales alot and food is always at the top of the list. Never been to Carmarthenshire though, so this is being saved so we know exactly where to eat when we visit x
I really enjoyed my stay in Carmarthenshire; I need to go back at some point as there are so many other local cafes and restaurants I’d like to visit.
Some great places to stop, explore and eat. The mezze you had sounds lovely, I’m a big fan of small picky dishes x
I really loved that mezze – I love meat but I honestly didn’t miss the meat one bit.