Hare & Hounds

Deep in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales, the 18th-century Hare & Hounds is that happy find – a proper local, country pub with seriously good food. The daily changing menu is based on local suppliers and the produce from their own kitchen garden, and puts a contemporary slant on regional Welsh cuisine, so you can expect anything from smoked eel and homemade soda bread to Welsh-caught fish served with a mussel butter. The London-trained chef has a nice backstory – he had his first ever pint in the same pub – and you can see why he wanted to come back to showcase his cooking. It's a lovely, relaxed place, with a roaring fire in winter, garden seating for summer and a warm welcome at any time of the year. It's also worth knowing too that the same people run the excellent Heathcock in Cardiff, where you can also stay overnight.