There are restaurants you can hop in a cab to, and restaurants that require a little forward planning to reach. Ynyshir is almost wilfully remote, planted among voluminous rhododendrons and conifers near the Snowdonia foothills, a Victorian manor house with a white façade and black-slate roof, skirted by lawns and with a firepit out front for aperitifs. The main event is an artfully considered 18-course tasting menu, presented on beautiful handmade plates, which takes as long to feast upon as the trip to get here – a slow-travel journey through chef Gareth Ward’s vision of Japan’s multi-dish kaiseki dinner. Welsh wagyu, sprinkled with shiitake ketchup and a single strand of seaweed; a bowlful of warm-hearted dashi; buttermilk-poached apple, grown in a nearby orchard. But don’t read the menu beforehand – this should be a surprise. Between courses you may choose to wander around the main spaces, a vision in Studio Green, where sheepskins drape the chairs and pinch-pot ceramics line rough-hewn shelves. A curious, completely one-off restaurant in the heart of Mid West Wales. By Rick Jordan
Address: Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, Eglwys Fach, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 8TA
Telephone: +44 1654 781 209
Website: ynyshir.co.uk
