I totally understand why someone should wish to open their own restaurant. Creativity, control, pride, satisfaction. Yet, it's a difficult market and recent history teaches us that success is by no means easy or guaranteed. The Nant y Felin at Pentre Llanrhaeadr is a case in point. After decades in a time bubble, it passed to the late Revd Wayne Roberts but support for the modernised establishment swiftly dropped.
It reopened in March 2017 but that also failed, lasting about one year. It's hard work during the day and the evening and the rewards are limited, to be honest. People seem to prefer a Pot Noodle in from of Facebook to a pot roast face-to-face.
Now, though, since August 1st, the Nant y Felin is open again, under new proprietors Robert and Vicky (Dowell) Brown. Vicky's a well known Ruthinian, of course.
It's taken us a while to get along and we did so last night.
My significant other felt that the food and experience was the best in a long time. That's saying something. Vicky was welcoming and the young waitress professional beyond her youthful years. I enjoyed the meal as a welcome change to On the Hill but was less sure personally about stating that it was the "best in a long time".
That hinged around the vegan cauliflower steak topped with vegan cheese and sitting on a Tuscan bean stew. It was nice but it wasn't an Angus.
Chosen because of the negative publicity surrounding a London restaurant chain's £14 cauliflower steak, that at Nant y Felin was also £14 (well, 5p short). Good value? Well, it certainly was better than cauliflower cheese (though there's nothing wrong with that). £14 is steep for a chunk of cauliflower you can buy at Tesco for under a quid. But criticism is disingenuous because it undoubtedly takes more time to prepare a veggie dish of this sort than a pre-cut beef steak. Nice though it was, it was perhaps the knowledge that the main ingredient was the texture of a brassica that made we pang just a little for the haddock or sea bass on offer (yes, there was plenty of choice, much of it gluten free).
The avocado bruschetta starter of was a good quality dish and I particularly liked the sticky toffee bara brith, a twist on a traditional pudding. Now it's my turn to say it: this was one of best deserts I'd eaten in a long time.
Clean, modern, food well presented, food of quality, assisted by an attentive waitress. 4/5 and a good alternative to On the Hill (and you stand a chance of getting in Nant y Felin at short notice). The effort the Dowell Browns have put in deserves to be rewarded.
It reopened in March 2017 but that also failed, lasting about one year. It's hard work during the day and the evening and the rewards are limited, to be honest. People seem to prefer a Pot Noodle in from of Facebook to a pot roast face-to-face.
Now, though, since August 1st, the Nant y Felin is open again, under new proprietors Robert and Vicky (Dowell) Brown. Vicky's a well known Ruthinian, of course.
It's taken us a while to get along and we did so last night.
My significant other felt that the food and experience was the best in a long time. That's saying something. Vicky was welcoming and the young waitress professional beyond her youthful years. I enjoyed the meal as a welcome change to On the Hill but was less sure personally about stating that it was the "best in a long time".
Chosen because of the negative publicity surrounding a London restaurant chain's £14 cauliflower steak, that at Nant y Felin was also £14 (well, 5p short). Good value? Well, it certainly was better than cauliflower cheese (though there's nothing wrong with that). £14 is steep for a chunk of cauliflower you can buy at Tesco for under a quid. But criticism is disingenuous because it undoubtedly takes more time to prepare a veggie dish of this sort than a pre-cut beef steak. Nice though it was, it was perhaps the knowledge that the main ingredient was the texture of a brassica that made we pang just a little for the haddock or sea bass on offer (yes, there was plenty of choice, much of it gluten free).
Well-presented chicken curry went down well, too
Clean, modern, food well presented, food of quality, assisted by an attentive waitress. 4/5 and a good alternative to On the Hill (and you stand a chance of getting in Nant y Felin at short notice). The effort the Dowell Browns have put in deserves to be rewarded.
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