Pant-y-Gwydr restaurant — Restaurant in Wales

The Pant-y-Gwydr is a fabulous restaurant. Tucked away in quite an unassuming corner of Swansea, this restaurant is certainly one of the city's best.

When we arrived we were greeted with a warm welcome from a waiter and the front of house. The décor inside is nice, clean and simple, with a nod to the coastal location with a colourful mural and artsy black and white photos. We were greeted with an amuse bouche comprising a neat little warm pancake parcel of cream cheese and chives. They were served piping hot however and so burned a guests mouth. It was however delicious and a taste of the wonderful dishes to come.

The food on the menu looked lovely, however the sheet it was printed on needs an overhaul. It was congested and printed in Arial font, whilst surely, if it must be required, all of the allergy information could be on a separate sheet rather than on the main menu. Nevertheless, there was a beautiful selection and variety of dishes to choose from, as well as a large selection of good wines.

The starter of pan-fried scallops, broad beans, balsamic pearl caviar, olive oil was delightful. Perhaps the scallops didn't sing as much as in perhaps a more simple dish, however it was a generous size and the flavours were warming and subtle. A great tribute the seaside location. The frogs legs with parsley, garlic, tomato, butter was equally lovely. Perhaps more of a punch is needed as part of a summer menu, but it was well presented and perfectly executed. The bread served with the starters was very good, though the butter straight from the fridge was hard and so difficult to spread. Overall a nice start to a meal.

The main courses looked equally appetising (despite their poor menu presentation). The Magret de canard (duck breast) was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented with neatly trimmed large asparagus, a rich fond de canard sauce, and flavourful dauphinois potatoes. The quality of the ingredients were certainly allowed to shine here and each mouthful was comforting and delicious in equal measure. The sea bream with lentil parmentier and coriander sauce was also a very well put together main course. The portion of sea bream was generous and the presentation, though not terribly modern, was classic and without gimmicks.

And finally to dessert. The concept of the trio of deserts is novel and certainly shows off the pastry skills of the chef who creates them. We chose Le Caramel, comprising a quite exquisite chocolate and caramel fondant, lovely caramel ice-cream and crisp, and a caramel log. The fondant was clearly the star of the show and was so wonderful, left the log component seeming as surplus. It is probably worth a trip to the Pant-y-Gwydr just for the fondant! Le Citron again was a great dessert with a cooling, palate cleansing sorbet with lemon decoration and a delicious cream of lemon and meringue component with candied lemon zest. This was certainly the star of the show, and if there can be any fault it would just be that it wasn't the size of the plate! The "demi-citron" with mascarpone and mint however was sadly not nice, and terribly sour. It seemed such a shame after such a brilliant sorbet and the most marvellous meringue.

Overall this is a great restaurant. At the end of our meal we felt that we had had a quite delicious meal (despite the chairs being strangely, a touch low which meant we were leaning forwards all evening - though like all of the minor points mentioned above, very fixable).

The highlights were definitely the main courses and our favourite pieces of the desserts - especially the fondant. If one ever does visit Swansea, they simply must visit the...

10 years ago I first discovered this restaurant when I lived in Swansea and I loved it back then. I have since turned vegan. French cuisine is classically animal product heavy and the French vegan cuisine I have tasted (including a vegan French restaurant in Paris!) has been very forgettable. I was flabbergasted and so excited to see the addition of so many vegan options on the menu! The dishes was thoughtful and creative and I couldn't wait to try.

The menu exceeded all expectations... A thoughtful amuse bouche celebrating the humble delicious tomato was aburst with flavour The Millefeuille of vegetables with a prominent earthy spinach sauce and also tasted the gateau de courgette with gently layered ribbons of courgette atop a delicious filling with a rich tomato sauce. For main I indulged in the couscous/vegetable tagine and vegan tofu croquettes - beautifully sculpted and flavoursome croquettes and the vegetables sung in the tagine bathed in an umami rich sauce and never did I think cous cous could be cooked so beautifully. A carafe of Beaujolais to hand to complement these vegetables beautifully.

The piece de resistance was indeed dessert - I was concerned that I would never be able to taste the trio that is the incredible, irresistible, mouthwatering and ingenious "la vanille" - however a vegan version appeared on the menu and my dreams came true! Whilst it is challenging to substitute eggs in dessert - this was the best vegan version of creme brulee I have ever tasted. And wow - the raspberry sorbet - I was in heaven! (Sadly I was so in the moment I forgot to snap a pic!)

I am speechless and booking my next meal as we speak eventhough I now live 4 hours away! Worth traversing the country for without a doubt! I appreciate so much your exploration and embrace of plant based food 🙏 This is the best dining out vegan experience I have EVER...

This was the first time in five or six years since we had met with my sister and brother-in-law for a meal. What a pleasure it was to eat here at the Pant-y-Gwydr.

As ever, the range of food on the menu was excellent, with a wide range of French influenced dishes for all tastes. I was particularly impressed by their new range of vegan items on the menu. While none of us chose these items it is good to know they are available when vegan friends come for a visit.

My frog's legs were a delightful starter, full of rich and tangy flavours with the delicate taste of frog meat.

My main - Potée de lotte - was a wonderful combination of squid, monkfish and mussels in a wonderfully flavoured stock. The monkfish was the star of the dish, but the warming after taste was also a great delight.

I finished with a lovely selection of cheeses which, though normally served with biscuits was served with bread at my request.

The careful, attentive, service was an example of good practice, being there at the right time without any pressure.

The treat was compounded when my brother in Australia had arranged to pay for the four of us without us knowing until the end...