Hare & Hounds — Restaurant in Wales

At 4pm today (28th April 2025) my colleague and I stopped at the Hare & Hounds for a drink post hard day’s work in the sun. Whilst I parked, my colleague entered the pub to order the drinks. When I went inside, I noted the silence in the air and no welcoming presence from the lady behind the bar (Rotund lady, with horn-rimmed style glasses and pigtails). Joining my colleague, I smiled at her and offered a greeting but she blankly stared back. The drinks were placed on the bar in silence and we left to sit outside. My colleague then recounted to me how he had gone inside to order, had said hello and said ‘two pints of lager please’ and was met with the same silence. She did not say a single word during the transaction.

We joked that maybe she was genuinely mute, only to see her come outside the pub to join in a conversation with someone who had pulled up in a pickup truck and who was also already speaking to someone else, she brought out a pint of Guinness for this other person. She was smiling, laughing and engaging in the conversation. My colleague and I found that most strange. We decided to have another drink so my colleague went back in and was met with the same frosty, silent treatment from the woman behind the bar.

Very odd behaviour for someone working in a customer facing role. It didn’t bother us too much as we both found it rather petty.

What did bother us greatly though was what happened next. We were sheepishly approached by a young boy (around 13-16yrs old) who was with another boy and a girl of similar age, just standing away from us at the front of the pub. He said that they had gone into the pub to ask for a glass of water for the girl as she had been feeling faint due to the heat (I can attest to the hot weather that day having spent 8 hours working in it) but had been refused the water by the woman behind the bar, because they were not accompanied by their parents?! He asked if I would go into the pub and get a glass of water for her. I went into the pub and said ‘Can I have a glass of water please?’ For the third time she didn’t say a single word, took a glass filled it with water and put it on the bar. I thanked her, she still said nothing. I gave the glass of water to the girl who was now sat on the floor of the small carpark at the front of the pub, in the shade of a small wall. My colleague and I finished our drinks and approached our vehicle whereby the three young people again politely thanked us for getting the girl a drink. I asked if she was ok, and she said she was. As I get to my vehicle, I notice the woman from the pub now surreptitiously sweeping the extremely small porch area at the entrance to the pub, clearly eavesdropping on the three young people.

To refuse a child water is unforgivable, especially in the heat that it was. What’s more, it is also illegal!

in England and Wales, pubs, along with other licensed premises, have a legal obligation to provide free drinking water to all customers, including under-age people, upon request.

I have visited the Hare & Hounds on many an occasion, either to have a drink or to eat at their Michelin star rated restaurant. I’ll never visit...

This 300 Yr old bar and restaurant is filled with nooks of things that enhance its history, from the open fires to the walls of trophies in the man bar we were led by the wait staff to our table facing the open kitchen. Chef is a highly passionate man who knows how to pair his fresh ingredients to create the most amazing culinary delights. You can see how his passion is mirrored by his kitchen staff all of whom will tools down and give full attention as he shows them how to attain the newest of skills, and you can tell they share his joy in creation of foods for those being catered for. The menu is varied and interesting with use of all ingredients. Succulent lamb, perfectly seared venison, scallops that had been kissed by the heat of the pan, duck with blueberries that exhuded flavour. The handmade artisanal breads were light and bold flavoured when paired with the hand churned butter. The éclair pastry was light and so fluffy a French pattisier would have delighted to call it his own. But the crown jewel really is the crab apple crumble soufflé with hand made vanilla ice cream. To say the least this kitchen is inspired! The wait staff are cheerful and attentive, well attired, knowledgeable about the food and drinks they are serving and as joyous in the environment as the kitchen staff. There does not seem to be a sommelier as such but advice is available as to wine pairing and a good variety of wines is available, as are gins and aperitifs made on site. We came away with a local bottle of St.Hilary Rose to have at home, so glad to see a local vinery prominent and available. Considering the age of the building it is fully accessible to wheelchair users (although the bar is a bit tight to the entrance) and that includes the bathroom. Which unfortunately is a single bathroom. And that is the only downside I can find. The chef has attained Michelin status for a few years making bib gourmand. I wish him and the rest of the team at Hare and Hound, the best in 2026....

First time for us to be ushered upstairs. Somewhat bewildered and a little agitated at the length of time we waited for the main course, (Sunday Roast) and when they were served, more disappointingly, the roast dinners were all only just luke warm, the portion of parsnips, a side dish of £5, had no familiar comforting caramelised colour, and were almost cold. The portion control on the lamb and beef was very meagre, beef, 1 slice, was sinewy and difficult to cut, however the pork dish had two decent slices and had excellent flavour with a little stuffing and excellent apple compote. The meat juices liquor or gravy or jus or whatever it was supposed to be, was unremarkable, almost watery. The serving team were first class, apologising at one point for the length of time, and it pleasing to hear one of them enquiring how our meals were. She was sorry to receive the feedback about the temperatures of the food and asked if she could get them reheated, we declined, we'd waited long enough, she mentioned she would feed back to the kitchen team and FOH manager, we sort of expected further engagement from one of the senior team members but nothing further. It was also a little disappointing to have the automatic 12.50% service charge added to drinks ordered and mainly drank at the bar counter downstairs and carried what was left in the glasses upstairs ourselves. £34.50 for two apple juices and a 2 and 4 year old childs portions of dinner, felt the polar opposite to bargainous. Weve always had very memorable and very enjoyable experiences here in the past, but they were not equalled today for us. Forage kitchen a mile or so away offers much better value for money, superb quality and presentation, excellent meat quality and portioning and additional veg complimentary on request in a very bright, airy, relaxed and contemporary setting. It will be Forage for us in the future im afraid team but we were very grateful you were able to host us this...