Restaurant in Aberthin, United Kingdom
Seasonal Welsh pub cooking at real-pub prices.
A 300-year-old Welsh pub with a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) and menus that change twice daily based on a 3-acre allotment, family farms, and foraging. At ££, it delivers recognised cooking quality at a price that makes higher-spend Michelin venues hard to justify for the same trip. The Saver lunch menu on Thursday to Saturday is the strongest entry point.
Most people hear "pub in a Welsh village" and picture serviceable food at leading. Hare & Hounds in Aberthin will correct that assumption fast. This 300-year-old pub holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) and runs menus that change twice daily, driven by a 3-acre allotment, family farms, hunting, and foraging. At ££, it is the kind of place that makes £££+ tasting-menu restaurants in Cardiff feel harder to justify. Book it, and plan to return: one visit will not cover the range of what comes out of this kitchen across seasons.
The misconception worth addressing upfront: this is not a gastropub coasting on a clever concept. The produce sourcing at Hare & Hounds is a genuine operational commitment. Chef Tom Watts-Jones changes the menu twice a day, which means the dish you ate at lunch on Saturday will not exist by Wednesday evening. That is either a selling point or a logistical inconvenience depending on your priorities; if you want to return for a specific dish, call ahead. If you want a kitchen that reflects exactly what is in season right now, this is one of the more consistent examples of that approach anywhere in Wales.
The cooking style is described as unfussy, and that framing is accurate in the leading sense. The focus lands on flavour rather than elaborate presentation. The buttermilk pudding has been singled out as a dish worth ordering specifically, and given that desserts are often where seasonal pubs underperform, that is worth noting. Google reviewers back the overall picture: 4.5 from 453 reviews is a high-confidence signal for a village pub, not just a handful of enthusiastic regulars.
If you are planning more than one visit, or thinking about how to introduce this place to different groups, here is how to approach it across two or three trips.
First visit: go for lunch, use the Saver menu. The 'Saver' menu is available Thursday to Saturday at lunch and Wednesday to Thursday early evening. At ££ pricing with a discounted lunch option on leading, this is where Hare & Hounds delivers the clearest value. You get a grounded read on the kitchen's strengths without committing to a full evening spend. Order the buttermilk pudding here regardless of where you are in the meal.
Second visit: return midweek for the early evening menu. The twice-daily menu changes mean a Wednesday or Thursday evening visit will show you a completely different kitchen than a Saturday lunch. The allotment and foraging supply shifts across the season, so even returning within the same month will surface different produce. This is also the lower-traffic window, which matters if you want the room to feel more relaxed.
Third visit: bring a group for a weekend dinner. By your third visit you will know the kitchen well enough to set expectations for guests who have not been before. Weekend dinner is the higher-energy session, and the pub format means a larger table works naturally here in a way it does not at tasting-menu restaurants. Hare & Hounds is also a better recommendation for groups than most Michelin-recognised venues at this price tier, simply because the informal setting absorbs different guest types without anyone feeling out of place.
Seasonality is the point here, so timing your visits around the growing and foraging calendar pays off. Late spring through early autumn is when the 3-acre allotment is at full production, and the menus will reflect that directly. Winter visits are still worth making: the hunting supply shifts the menu toward game, which is a distinct experience from the vegetable-led dishes of summer. Avoid visiting on a day when you have not planned ahead; the twice-daily menu changes are exciting if you embrace them and frustrating if you arrive expecting a specific dish. Midweek lunch on Thursday or Friday hits the sweet spot of Saver menu availability plus a quieter room.
Hare & Hounds works well for low-key celebrations where the food is the point and the setting should feel relaxed rather than formal. A birthday dinner for someone who cares about produce provenance and seasonal cooking will land well here. It is not the right call for a corporate dinner requiring a private dining room or a proposal where you need guaranteed atmosphere control. For those occasions, a more structured restaurant environment makes more sense. But for a date, an anniversary, or a celebration where a genuinely good meal in an informal Welsh pub is the right tone, this holds up strongly against much more expensive options.
Compare it to the Hand and Flowers in Marlow or the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton for a sense of the category: Michelin-recognised British pubs that deliver serious food without a formal dining-room format. Hare & Hounds sits comfortably in that tier, and at ££ it undercuts both on price.
For context on what Welsh seasonal cooking looks like at the leading end, Hare & Hounds is the accessible entry point into a category that gets much more expensive when you start looking at L'Enclume in Cartmel or Moor Hall in Aughton. Those are longer-destination meals at significantly higher price points. If you are already in the Vale of Glamorgan, Hare & Hounds is the clear first booking to make. Check our full Aberthin restaurants guide for what else is worth considering nearby, and our Aberthin hotels guide if you are making a night of it.
Come expecting a pub setting with a kitchen that punches above its category. The menu changes twice daily, so do not arrive with a fixed dish in mind unless you have confirmed it is on. The Saver menu at lunch Thursday to Saturday is the easiest entry point for a first visit: lower spend, full sense of the kitchen's approach. The buttermilk pudding is specifically flagged as worth ordering if available. Hare & Hounds holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024), which at ££ pricing is a strong value signal for first-timers comparing it to other options in the area.
At ££ with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, it is one of the more straightforwardly good-value propositions in Welsh dining. The Bib Gourmand is specifically awarded for quality cooking at a price that does not require a special-occasion budget, so the recognition is directly relevant to the value question. For comparison, CORE by Clare Smyth or Dinner by Heston Blumenthal deliver comparable Michelin credibility at ££££. Hare & Hounds delivers recognised cooking quality at a fraction of that spend.
Yes, with a specific caveat: it works well for celebrations where relaxed informality is the right tone. A birthday or anniversary for someone who values seasonal, produce-driven cooking in a 300-year-old pub setting will land well. It is not set up for formal occasions requiring a private room or a controlled atmosphere. If the celebration calls for something more structured, look at options in Cardiff or Bristol instead. For the right occasion type, Hare & Hounds is a stronger choice than most ££ venues in the region.
Specific seating configurations are not confirmed in our data. As a traditional British pub, bar seating is common at venues of this type and format, but contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability and whether the full menu is served there. Given the twice-daily menu changes, it is worth calling ahead regardless of where you plan to sit.
The pub format generally suits groups better than a formal tasting-menu restaurant, but specific group booking policies and capacity details are not confirmed in our data. Contact the venue directly to arrange larger tables. The informal setting means groups of mixed dining backgrounds tend to work well here, which is not always the case at more formal Michelin venues. For groups where value matters, the Saver menu sessions (Thursday–Saturday lunch, Wednesday–Thursday early evening) are the most cost-effective window.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hare & Hounds | Traditional British | ££ | Easy |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Unknown |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Unknown |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Unknown |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in the venue data, so it is worth calling ahead before assuming walk-in bar dining is an option. Given this is a 300-year-old pub with twice-daily changing menus and Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition, demand at the counter is likely. Booking a table is the safer approach, especially midweek when the Saver menu runs.
Group capacity is not listed in the venue data, so contact the pub directly before planning a large booking. For smaller groups of four to six, the relaxed pub format works well. Larger parties should confirm in advance, particularly if you want the Saver lunch menu on Thursday or Saturday.
The menu changes twice daily based on what chef Tom Watts-Jones has grown, foraged, or sourced from family farms, so do not arrive expecting a fixed menu you can preview online. The cooking is unfussy, not fine-dining theatrical, which suits the ££ price point. The buttermilk pudding is specifically called out in the Michelin notes, so order it if it is on.
At ££ with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the value case is strong. The Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good cooking at a reasonable price, and the Saver menu available for Thursday to Saturday lunch and Wednesday to Thursday early evening pushes value further. For what you get — hyper-seasonal produce, twice-daily menus, and a kitchen that hunts and forages — this is a fair deal by any measure.
Yes, if the occasion calls for relaxed rather than formal. This is a pub, not a white-tablecloth restaurant, so birthdays or low-key celebrations where the food is the focus work well here. If you need a dress-code dining room or a set-menu tasting format, look elsewhere. If the meal itself is the celebration, the Michelin-recognised cooking at ££ makes a strong case.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
