Mansel Street, Carmarthen
01267 236079 / warrenmanselst.co.uk
Food **** Atmosphere ****
A great restaurant in the centre of Carmarthen town that delivers a tasty, clean and healthy dinner. Anyone who knows Carmarthen will be aware how often restaurants open and close, who knows why, maybe the tax man could tell us. So we’re all crossing our fingers that this one stays where it is. It’s interesting, unique and it’s safe to take you partner, friends and even your parents for dinner.
The starters we tried included olives, bread and oil, with an original, interesting and moreish salty-nutty dip. The courgette fritters and selection of dips for starters ( hummus etc) were also delicious. And all this after a shot of carrot and coriander soup. For our main meal we tried the hake, lamb tagine, chickpea curry, salad, but there was also steak, among other mains, to choose from. The hake was superb, the tagine was fine, the curry was full of flavour and an absolute delight. For the main meal you can order two different sizes, and it’s fun to get the smaller sizes pretending they’re large tapas, or get a bigger portion and share. There is a plentiful supply of gin, including a local seaweed gin, plus local ales and beers. Not much choice for the cider lovers though. All the ingredients are sourced locally, which is surprising considering the restaurant is really reasonably priced. Some of the vegetables are even grown on the restaurant’s roof top. They also have dishes that are vegan friendly: the oat coated blackberry crumble with soya cream to name but one. The décor gives the restaurant a warm, cosy, almost French feel, with bare brick walls and wooden candlelit tables. The staff are very polite and helpful and the atmosphere was laid back but professional.
If you’re looking for a delicious and interesting evening meal in comfortable, hip surroundings this is the place to go. They seem to update their information on Facebook pretty regularly so have a look on there if you want to know more, or their website.
words NIA STRONG