Food/Drink in Wales

Wales is the place to delight your taste buds whether you want something sweet, something savoury, meaty, vegetarian… You can find a vast majority of accessible restaurants and cafes in Wales. Welsh food and drink is incredibly diverse with many street food options, international cuisine and more traditional dishes made with incredible local produce.

Wherever you go in Wales, you’ll be sure to find hundreds of places to eat out and bars, restaurants and pubs with some excellent menus guaranteed to tempt your taste buds. If you’re staying at a hotel, they will often have restaurants attached which will serve food made with local ingredients and B&Bs and guesthouses will guarantee you an incredible breakfast! If you choose to go self-catering, you’ll be spoilt for choice with the amount of markets, restaurants, cafes, shops and bars, giving you ample opportunity to taste some of Wales’ national foods.

Wales’ most famous culinary export is Rarebit, which to the English, is just exciting cheese on toast, but that isn’t the only delight for you to try out when in the country. Head to a traditional Welsh pub in the more rural areas and try cawl – this broth made from meat and vegetables and served with trollies (or dumplings) is considered by many to be Wales’ national dish. The more traditional places will even serve it the historic way, in a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon!

Many cafes and bed and breakfasts will serve Laverbread (Bara Lawr), a traditional Welsh breakfast will always include it and it is an absolute must try when you’re staying in Wales. Make sure to book one of our disabled friendly B&Bs in Wales and sample some!
Those with a sweet tooth will want to grab a Welsh cake or two or Bara Brith – a kind of fruit loaf also known as Welsh tea bread which is the perfect accompaniment to a hot drink. The Glamorgan sausage is also from Wales and they taste so much better in their native home of Glamorgan!

Many of the food and drink establishments in Wales use locally produced food with all their meat, vegetables and oats coming from farmers in and around the area. Fish is fresh from the coastline and bread often made by bakers using ingredients produced  by local small holdings and farmers. You’ll find street food stalls and farmers’ markets are everywhere in Wales, giving you plenty of chances to sample the amazing home grown offerings.

Like most of the UK, Wales also has influences from around the world, so you’ll find popular international dishes all over.

In the bigger cities you’ll find eateries specialising in a whole range of dietary requirements including gluten free and vegan diets.

Wherever you find yourself, you’ll be surrounded by some fabulous places to eat and drink which make a real effort to be as inclusive as possible with everything from adjustable lighting, plenty of room around the tables and large print menus. Some even have hearing loops installed and servers that are multi-lingual offering Welsh, English and BSL. Many of the family friendly establishments will also have sensory play areas and will have calming neutral colour schemes.