48 HOURS IN PARADISE 

AKA WALES

OR LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE

This restaurant is the most highly-awarded restaurant in Wales, was named Best Restaurant in the UK in 2022 and 2023. It has two Michelin stars, five AA rosettes, and is ranked in the UK's top five UK restaurants by the Good Food Guide.

Thursday 14th August

It’s 7.30 am and the alarm just rudely woke me up. Time for a quick shower, a high dose of caffeine and on the road by 9am to drive to ……. dinner.

Yes. We have chosen a dinner venue 247 miles from home. As you do. 

But this is - clearly - not just any dinner venue. This is Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, the multi-award winning local produce restaurant based near Machynlleth in Wales. This restaurant is the most highly-awarded restaurant in Wales, was named Best Restaurant in the UK in 2022 and 2023. It has two Michelin stars, five AA rosettes, and is ranked in the UK's top five UK restaurants by the Good Food Guide. Its owner and Chef, Gareth Ward was also named Chef of the Year by the Good Food Guide in 2019. So hopefully worth the drive.

Paul and I have had this one on our hit list for quite a while. Many months ago we managed to secure a two night stay with dinner at Ynyshir on the first night and its sister restaurant Gwen the following evening.

The party begins a while before the day itself when I find a black envelope in my letter box. Gold handwriting. It is my dance card. This is going to be different, special.

The drive ahead is a long one, five hours according to my Sat Nav. I have to be honest, when we originally booked I had got my geography a tad wrong. I assumed Ynyshir Restaurant was in Ynyshir - which happens to be the midpoint between London and Machynlleth - but by the time my error was discovered (thankfully long before today) we were in too deep to rethink.

It's midday and we are starving. The service stop has Starbucks and Greggs on offer. We opt for the latter. This is a far cry from what lies ahead tonight but we dig into some carbs and hit the road again.

2pm

We have finally reached our destination. A parade of firelit torches guides us and we catch our first glimpse of the house. Very elegant. Very beautiful. Very black. 

We are warmly greeted by Anand and escorted to our room; the entrance door shielded by a dramatic leather curtain. Our room is enormous, uber stylish and also very chicly black. There is obviously a theme going on here. A huge window resembles a painting - just a massive sheet of glass revealing a stone formation covered with grasses and mosses and flowers and with none other than the Michelin man in the middle. 

Every surface in the room is natural - beautifully carved wooden beds and side tables, slate floors, fur covered leather chairs, a fire burner with lots of freshly cut logs. It is minimalist yet opulent at the same time. Splashes of colour come from the cushions, the throws and the oh so luxurious bathrobes.

We settle in for a little unwinding in preparation for the evening which we were told would begin with drinks at 5pm. The sun obviously crosses the yardarm pretty early in Wales.

And just like that it is that time. Refreshed and reinvigorated we are ready for the adventure to begin.

23.08pm

6 hours later. 29 courses later. Literally. 

My head (not to mention my stomach) cannot process what I have just experienced.

This was not a dinner. This was a once in a lifetime thing. 

It was Japanese and Asian and Big Macs made small and glitter balls and theatre and vinyl and disco lights and a zillion other mind blowing occurrences.

I am now going to sleep in my delicious crisp Egyptian cotton sheets and tomorrow I will attempt to tell you all about it - although I don’t really know where to begin.

Friday 15th August

I’ve just woken up after sleeping like a log. Last night seems like a dream. It really was that incredible.

Ynyshir is most definitely something that needs to be lived rather than talked about as words cannot do it justice. But it's my job so I will give it a stab.

The evening began with a complimentary glass of gorgeous Gusbourne Brut in the most exquisitely furnished room. Every table, every chair, in fact every thing is sublime. Bespoke. Made to fit the theme. I actually couldn’t stop staring at the tables. They have place mats literally carved into the wood as part of the design. 

Whilst we sipped, Sophie arrived and invited us to go view some of the produce we would later be sampling; we saw exquisite boxes of black truffles, Ethiopian coffee, the finest caviar, single press olive oil, enormous vanilla pods.

There were chopping boards that looked like works of art. 

And the maestro himself, Gareth Ward, in the foyer no less, preparing tuna. Where else would he be doing that?)

Opposite Gareth there is a line of full length fur coats hanging and waiting to help warm anyone who later may want to maybe have a midnight cognac outside.

We were taken outside to see the chilled rooms where the fish and meat is stored. Damien Hirst, eat your heart out (literally).

Then we were ushered into the dining room. If indeed you can call it that.

It was more like a theatre. Each table had seats next to each other as opposed to the customary facing opposite - and the sight we all beheld was a stage where Gareth and his head chef, Patrick McNulty were performing their magic. Observing these two work together was mesmerising; like watching synchronised swimmers. Few words were exchanged yet they seemed to read each other’s minds knowing exactly who had to do what and when.

For the next four hours, an army, dressed in black and each wearing ear pieces so they could be instructed to perform to precision, choreographed their way amongst us bringing the most insanely beautifully crafted bowls containing food unlike anything you can begin to imagine.

I say army but each and every member of the team was just gorgeous; so warm and friendly and literally bursting with enthusiasm to share the intricate details of how each dish was created.

The 29 courses were divided into sections; first a Japanese fish ensemble, then a more Asian and spicy seafood collection. Think lobster, prawn, crab, scallop, tuna……..think sushi, curry, in fact just think of anything divine you have ever eaten and take it up not one notch but maybe thirty or forty. Ok, a thousand. 

I could not get my head around the amount of work that goes into each course. Whilst it is only a mouthful, it is nothing short of art. Gareth and Patrick worked calmly and non stop on each dish, unflustered, smiling and very zen. No Gordon Ramsey type tantrums on this stage. 

A mouth cleanser was the pause button before the pigeon, duck, wagyu meat selections and then not one, not two, but seven deserts.

Paired with sparkling sake, riesling, xinomavro ……every drop of nectar you can hope for. The sommelier, Rory, certainly knows his grapes - and his grains of rice.

Meanwhile a DJ was spinning vinyl - it didn’t intrude, it set the mood. The volume increased as the evening progressed and we somehow went from chill vibes to of an eye. One second it was a sunny afternoon and fizz then it was late night and club feels.

Next on my agenda is a coffee in the lounge where the chilled music continues and the view is something Van Gogh would have killed to paint.

Rory Eaton, the man in charge of drinks at both Ynyshir and Gwen, joins me for a chat. Rory is a man who was always destined to work with wine as at 18 he found himself working in Bordeaux and living in a tent in Pauillac. Through a series of twists and turns the universe brought him to Ynyshir eight years ago and,

Until now my all time favourite restaurant was Sat Bains and it is no surprise to find out that Gareth spent three very formative years there before coming to Ynyshir in its previous guise as a classical Relais Chateaux hotel owned by Joan Reen. Under Gareth’s guiding hand, Ynyshir metamorphosed from the traditional to the completely unique place it is today. Amelia also worked at Sat Bains and was running the restaurant at Ynyshir while setting up her own architectural practice. Then she decided to completely dedicate herself to Ynyshir and therein began the physical transformation that was to make this place such a phenomenal thing of beauty. The interiors, which I have waxed lyrical about already, perfectly compliment the very special world Gareth has invented with his culinary genius. I asked them how they had come up with such an extraordinary vision and they both said they didn’t actually have a vision initially beyond changing a somewhat stuffy white and turquoise hotel into a more contemporary restaurant with rooms. The rest just evolved through the couple meeting and finding local craftsmen, furniture makers and potters and briefing them to come up with stuff that is a million miles away from the Nordic vibe most restaurants are aspiring to these days. I asked Gareth what inspired his menu.

To be continued………

Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, Eglwys Fach, Machynlleth SY20 8TA

https://www.ynyshir.co.uk/