Tyddyn Llan: rebirth of a legendary ‘restaurant with rooms’

FOR several years chef Gareth Stevenson travelled from his home in Llandrillo to the kitchens of Palé Hall four miles away. As commutes go it is among the most beautiful in Wales. The B4401 meanders above a River Dee that has emerged from Lake Bala on its rippling journey east to Llangollen. Autumn shows off the wooded splendour to russet perfection as we drive along it to Gareth’s new base – on the edge of his home village.

A five course breakfast tasting menu made up our best hotel start to the day in years

Convenient, yes, but a challenge also. Tyddyn Llan put Llandrillo on the culinary map under the 20-year stewardship of Bryan and Susan Webb. Now after their retirement Gareth and his partner Maria Ganova have taken over. Central to their plans for this ‘restaurant with rooms’ – re-creating the sustainable ethos that won Palé Hall one of the first Michelin Green Stars.

That was at a five-star country house hotel under idealistic owners with deep pockets. This is different. Despite the inexplicable loss of its regular Michelin star in 2019, remote Tyddyn retained a devoted following for its classic cuisine. But can a fresh regime, albeit with substantial investment, retain that clientele while wooing a newer foodie crowd?

Admission … as guests we go back way beyond the Webbs. Not quite into the Eighties when BBC production designer Peter Kindred first converted this Georgian hunting lodge, but certainly during his tenure. The back story was perfect: man who created the sets for Fawlty Towers opens his own hotel. 

Dr Who was among his other credits. You’d have to be a Time Lord to know if the weary dining room carpets Gareth and Maria inherited stretched back that far, but they have now been ripped out, replaced by wooden flooring, with new tables and chairs introduced and napery dispensed with, transforming the elegant 60 cover space.

A light-filled contemporary setting for another fresh addition that charmed us immediately – a five course breakfast tasting menu that made up our best hotel start to the day in years. 

They’re apparently flexible about the series of mini-dishes they serve. Primed by a busy schedule of hill walking and waterfall clambering we wolfed the lot. Among the treats, terrific coffee, house granola, home-smoked trout, Trealy Farm salami and a delicate fry-up of Middle White pork sausage, smoked back bacon, Bala black pudding and, also local, a Cae Pant egg done whichever way. 

Gareth remains loyal to TJ Roberts butchers in Bala town, his regular suppliers at Palé Hall, which has also provided the bulk of his compact kitchen team at Tyddyn Llan. His second-in-command, Joshua Morris, was named Welsh Chef of the Year last January, while fellow Palé alumnus Robin Evans brings his specialist pastry skills to the table. 

Leicestershire-born Gareth’s own mentor was Michael Caines and there are echoes of that great chef’s finesse (an exquisite rose veal sweetbread raviolo and a 68 per cent Nyangbo chocolate dessert with cardamom and cacao) in the tasting menus on offer at dinner – six courses for £105, ten for £125, Thursdays to Sundays. There is also a Sunday lunch (£38-£50), which showcases some benchmark Welsh Black beef.

The food menus are a work in progress, like the not inconsiderable cost of re-roofing a Grade II listed property. For the moment the series of lounges and 13 bedrooms are locked in a comfy, chintzy time warp. The grounds won’t yet sustain an ample kitchen garden, but they have period charm in keeping with the house.

Where to go with Tyddyn Llan as a base?

Llandrillo village is, well, quiet. A century ago it boasted eight inns catering for a 700-strong population. The last remaining one, the Blue Lion, re-named The Dudley Arms, has now shut with locals petitioning for a community pub in its stead. Saint Trillo church – over-restored in the 19th century when Tyddyn Llan was the Glebe house for the vicar – dates back to the 13th century. Breton missionary Trillo himself was a sixth century serial church founder. The 900-year-old yew tree in the grounds is as close as we get to him. In its original incarnation the saintly hermit might have sat under it. 

In the hills above there is the much earlier Bronze Age stone circle of Moel Ty Uchaf. We trekked up in search but went astray along the Wayfarer Pass into the Berwyn range. No hardship. Great walking. Even as the mist rolled down abruptly.

The big attraction up here is Pistyll Rhaeadr. At 240ft high it is Britain's tallest single-drop waterfall. Again we didn’t make it, but en route to Tyddyn Llan we had our own falls experience.

The coast is only a 90 minute drive away. Tucked inland from the A55 express way lies Aber Falls, a spectacular 120ft drop, reached via the easiest of inclines – a perfect introduction to Snowdonia. 

Highly recommended for a post walk lunch is Dylan’s, across the Menai Bridge and arguably Anglesey’s best seafood restaurant. There is a branch in foodie Conwy, but that lacks the original’s terrace view over the yacht-dotted Strait. That stretch of water is home to some of the UK’s finest mussels and it was a bonus to see them back on the menu after a period when soaring sea temperatures were devastating the crop. We followed them with the day’s special – local lobster.

Much closer to Tyddyn Llan is the market town of Corwen, starting point of the Llangollen Railway, a 10 mile heritage line up the beautiful Dee Valley to touristy Llangollen. It runs year round but check whether you’ve booked a steam journey; less costly diesel is much more common.

As an alternative in the summer months go for the little narrow gauge steam train that chugs the nine-mile return trip along the shore of Lake Bala. From it, you can watch the kayakers, windsurfers and stand-up paddle-boarders who hire out of the sports centre south of town.

The large glacial lake is also home to the endangered gwyniad, a small whitefish found only in this lake since the last Ice Age, 10,000 years ago. 

Quirky Bala town’s long High Street is full of pubs. My recommendation would be the Stori bottle shop and taproom at 101. There’s a comprehensive range of drinks to choose from but my recommended go-to is the local Geipel (Gareth Stevenson is a fellow fan). Ohio-raised Erik Geupel (sic) brews this range of authentic lagers – adhering to German beer purity rules, the Reinheitsgebot – in a cottage 10 miles to the north.

If food buying is more your bag, just six miles from Tyddyn Llan, check out the Rhug Estate Farm Shop and Cafe, a showcase for its own organic meat and the pick of Welsh produce. Grab a takeaway or assemble a picnic. This beautiful stretch of Wales is perfect for al fresco.