Original plates and imaginative presentation are a vehicle for one chef's expression of local flavours in a remote Welsh village that's pulling in the crowds
Down a side alley, next to a surf shop in the beachside village of Rhosneigr off the west coast of the Isle of Anglesey, a spotlight shines on a sign for ‘Y Parlwr'. Guests are asked to knock at the ominous black door on arrival, behind which lies the brainchild of chef Hefin Roberts, the executive chef of Sandy Mount House across the road.
After seven years at the Bull's Head Inn in Beaumaris – during which time he gained the pub three rosettes as well as the accolade of best restaurant in Wales – Roberts met Philip and Louise Goodwin of Out of the Blue Group, who renovated the Sandy Mount to create a seven-bedroom luxury beachhouse with a 300-cover brasserie, which Roberts has spent the past six years developing into a go-to destination in this holiday-maker hotspot.
During the depths of Covid, Roberts spotted a bistro across the high street that was closing down and, within a week, the Out of the Blue Group was the new owner and Roberts was given free reign to design the restaurant of his dreams, from the dark interiors with aqua and gold lighting and copper accents to the imaginative serving plates – much of which he creates himself – and of course, the food.
Roberts and a second chef Ffion Maple prepare the 10-course tasting menu for the 16-cover Y Parlwr (Welsh for the Parlour). The evening begins with a savoury twist on the Aberffraw biscuit, a traditional shortbread from a few miles down the road, where legend has it that a wife of a Welsh king saw a scallop shell on the beach and asked for a cake to be baked in the same shape. "I want guests to know where we are from the off," explains Roberts, who adds strong Welsh Hafod Cheddar and a layer of cheese curd before baking the biscuit in the scallop shape.
The next plate out of the kitchen is less plate and more fish skeleton. Two snacks arrive upon a fish bone tray created from a fish skeleton that Roberts has cleaned and lacquered black, making the bones look like they have been cast in metal. "I said to the owners ‘don't worry, you won't have to buy plates I'll make them all', and I've been polishing pebbles and concrete and making trinkets out of scallop shells."
Sat upon this gothic-inspired centrepiece is a bite of finely diced sea trout cured in a 50/50 mix of sugar and salt with lime and lemon zest, served in a feuilles de brick tartlet case with citrus crème fraîche and nasturtium leaves. Next to this is ‘fish jerky', made from the trout skin which is dehydrated and then fried, which puffs the skin up like pork rind. It is then sprinkled with dehydrated fish dust made from brill offcuts, citrus powder, seasoning and spices, and served with labneh and fish eggs.
The menu then weaves its way through a densely savoury Welsh fillet of beef with cauliflower, onion and horseradish; a local scallop with pear and nasturtium; and Anglesey lamb served with garlic, leek and grains. Then comes a cheese course of a comforting toastie made from Époisses, ham and sourdough, before a transition course of bread and butter pudding with banana, butternut and bacon. "The Époisses sandwich is so strong, to go straight into dessert would be confusing," Roberts says.
For this course Roberts plays on sweet and salty, starting by pressure-cooking a banana for seven hours until caramelised before sandwiching it between custard-soaked brioche and fresh banana. Leftover bananas are dehydrated and blended into a dust with molasses sugar in which the pudding is rolled and then torched to brûlée the outside. Local 6% fat milk is infused with bacon and made into a custard. A spoonful of bacon jam brings the dish together, with a balloon of candyfloss sprinkled with dehydrated butternut squash on the side.
This is ambitious cooking, especially for a village which is abandoned by the tourist throngs in the depths of winter. But local diners are travelling across the island to take advantage of the £65 wine pairing, which includes Welsh gems such as a sparkling wine from the Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard and a rosso vermouth from Pembrokeshire micro-distillery Still Wild.
Having only teasing snippets of the restaurant on social media prior to opening in January, the naturally competitive Roberts is hoping his bold cooking will gain attention from further afield, while hinting to some more "mad, crazy" ideas he has up his sleeve.
"Flavour is always going to be key – a crab dish, at the end of the day, is still crab. You can push for its locality, freshness and flavour, but people want to be wowed and I want to deliver that with every course."
High Street, Rhosneigr LL64 5QU www.yparlwr.co.uk
From the menu
- Bread and butter
- Savoury: wheat, laverbread, Hafod
- Elements of sea: Mussel, lemon, toast; oyster, xo, cucumber; sea trout, yogurt, eggs
- Welsh beef: cauliflower, onion, horseradish
- King scallop: pear, nasturtium
- Anglesey lamb: garlic, leek, grains
- Époisses: ham, sourdough
- Sweet transition: banana, butternut, bacon
- Sweet one: honey, orange
- Sweet two: lemon, charcoal
Tasting menu, £135; optional wine flight, £65
