The West Arms
Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Wrexham
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Since taking over this rambling old hostelry snuggled away in the foothills of the Berwyn Mountains, Nicky and Mark Williamson have endeared themselves to locals and travellers alike. ‘We are so spoilt here, and would not go anywhere else to eat,’ confessed one regular. As befits a 16th-century drovers’ inn, the interior has its full quota of inglenooks and gnarled oak beams, although the place now functions as a hotel with all mod cons for business meetings and the like. Many of the kitchen’s suppliers live in the village or the nearby valley, and the menu is a movable feast dictated by the day’s deliveries – so expect outstanding venison sausages with mash, shepherd’s pie made with Dolwen PGI lamb, and slabs of prime Welsh Black sirloin with hand-cut chips. Long-serving chef Grant Williams also tosses in a few ideas and influences garnered from his travels, perhaps beetroot falafels with pear salad or baked fillet of cod with herb, lemon and olive-oil crumb. For afters, readers have singled out the amaretti cheesecake and the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce – a perfect fit for the inn’s cosy, cockle-warming vibe. Locally brewed Big Hand ales are on tap and the wine list offers ‘plenty of variety for all’.
