A neighbourhood bistro in a Georgian townhouse. Lamb from a mile away, fish off the day boats, a short menu rewritten every week, and a back room for twelve with its own door.
The bistro
one
The set lunch: a choice of three starters, three mains and three puddings from the same kitchen as dinner, two courses for £24 or three for £29, in an hour if you ask. The best-value thing we do.
Two courses £24, three £29, Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 2:30.
two
The à la carte: eight starters, eight mains and six puddings, rewritten every Wednesday around what came in, with the producers named on the menu. Mains from £22; a six-course tasting menu on Fridays and Saturdays at £65.
Starters from £9, mains from £22, puddings £8.
three
Vale beef, Llanblethian lamb or a free-range chicken, with roast potatoes in dripping, a Yorkshire the size of your head, five vegetables and a jug of gravy, two courses £26. The forty covers go two weeks ahead.
Two courses £26, three £32; children two courses £12.
four
Forty bottles chosen to go with what the kitchen cooks, a third of them under £35, a dozen by the glass, two from Welsh vineyards, and a manager who will steer you to the cheaper bottle if it is the better match.
By the glass from £6 at lunch and £7 at dinner.
five
A panelled room at the back for eight to twelve with a fireplace, its own door off the courtyard and a set menu written for your party. No hire fee against a minimum spend; the whole restaurant on a Monday or Tuesday.
No hire fee.
six
The lamb farm in Llanblethian, the beef from the Vale, the Gower fisherman, the two cheesemakers, the Tuesday market and the orchard. Fourteen producers this week, each named on the menu, most within thirty miles.
Most of the menu comes from within thirty miles; the fish from the Gower and Pembrokeshire boats, the cheese from Caerphilly and Carmarthen.
This week
A representative week; the real one is written on Wednesday morning and online by noon. Producers are named on the printed menu. A 10% service charge goes entirely to the staff and can be removed.
How we work
Forty bottles, a third of them under £35, a dozen by the glass, two Welsh. Written by Tom, who will tell you the £28 bottle is better with your lamb than the £60 one.
Two courses in an hour is the promise at lunch on weekdays, for the people with an afternoon to get back to. Tell us when you sit down.
Two courses £24, three £29, Wednesday to Saturday, from the same kitchen as dinner. The best-value meal in Cowbridge, and the one we are proudest of.
The full allergen matrix is at the door and every dish can be explained by whoever brings it. Coeliac, dairy-free and vegan are cooked for every service, not improvised.
Sundays
Rib of Vale beef rested for an hour, Llanblethian lamb shoulder cooked from early morning, a free-range Pembrokeshire chicken, or a nut roast that is a dish. Potatoes in dripping, a Yorkshire from Lowri's grandmother's recipe, five vegetables, cauliflower cheese for the table and more gravy when you ask. Two courses £26, noon to four, two weeks ahead for a table.
The room and the plates
The roomThe room
Forty covers in a Georgian townhouse. The tablecloths are a decision; so are the candles, and the music low enough to hear the next table laugh.
DinnerSioned
From a farm a mile away, used whole across the week. The rump at dinner, the shoulder on Sunday, the rest in the lunch shepherd's pie.
The kitchenSioned
Four cooks, eight of everything, forty covers twice. The tweezers are for the herbs; the rest is done with a spoon.
Reviews
We have eaten here most weeks for a decade and the set lunch is still £24. The menu changes every Wednesday so it never gets boring, the lamb is from the farm we walk past, and Tom has never once sold us a bottle we did not need.
Tasting menu on a Saturday for our anniversary. Six courses built on what the boats brought in on Friday, Tom's pairing with every glass explained in a sentence and swapped when I pulled a face at the Riesling. The chocolate tart to finish, obviously.
Sunday roast for eleven in the back room for Dad's eightieth. Our own door, our own waiter, a nut roast for the vegetarian that was a dish not a punishment, gravy without asking, and nobody hurried us out. Booked a month ahead as the website said.
Find us
Number 52, halfway along on the south side. The Town Hall car park behind is free after 6pm and on Sundays, two minutes' walk. The X2 from Cardiff stops two doors down; the last one back leaves at five past eleven. The back room has its own door in the courtyard.
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, yes; Wednesday and Thursday you can usually walk in. Tables for up to eight book online and are held for fifteen minutes. Sunday roast goes two weeks ahead.
Starters from £9, mains £19 to £32, puddings £8. Most people spend £45 to £55 a head on three courses before wine. Lunch is two courses for £24. A 10% service charge goes to the staff and can be removed.
Yes, every service. The allergen matrix is at the door and every dish can be explained. A vegan dish is on every menu and we make gluten-free bread; tell us when you book and the kitchen will have it ready.
No. Tablecloths and candles are our choice, not a demand on you. Wellies after a walk are fine on a Sunday.
Yes, with a two-course children's menu at £12, high chairs and crayons. We ask that after 8pm the dining room stays a restaurant; the back room is the answer for a big family evening.
Forty covers, so Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays need a booking. Lunch is two courses for £24, Wednesday to Saturday. The back room seats twelve with no hire fee. The menu changes every Wednesday and is online by noon.
