Penbont House, Tearooms and B&B in Powys

I booked this B&B as part of a motorcycling weekend in Wales for my Son and myself. Although it is unstaffed in the evenings, access to our room was very straightforward. The room itself was very clean and extremely adequate. In the morning, now staffed, by extremely friendly ladies, there is a very good choice of breakfasts for most if not all tastes as well as tea, coffee, juices and cereals. I thoroughly endorse this both as a B&B and a short stop during the day. It's location, although remote, is in a superb spot, in the middle of the Elan valley.

Sunday Lunch 11/05/2025 Friendly & efficient staff & roast beef meal excellent (so good we booked for next Sunday) good portions & nicely presented.

We had the roast at Ty Penbont Café and it was absolutely fantastic! Everything was cooked to perfection — the meat was tender and full of flavour, the roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, and the vegetables were fresh and delicious. The gravy tied it all together beautifully. You can tell a lot of care and quality ingredients go into their food. Friendly service and a lovely, relaxed atmosphere made the whole experience even better. The views are great on a lovely sunny day too! Definitely one of the best roasts we’ve had — we’ll be back!

Visited Penbont House for lunch with family - we will not be returning. We were looking forward to supporting a local company taking on the business which although we give some leeway with it being new however the level of service and food we received was extremely poor. Soup was lukewarm and served with a barely cooked bread roll on a separate plate, Lasagne was served flat on a plate and was tasteless with a very small side salad (hardly worth having). The service was adequate but certainly I would have expected them to be more attentive, I understand it is only a cafe however expected more given it is newly reopened and first impressions. Extremely disappointing and feel senior management need to have better oversight to ensure some sort of improvement.

We used to visit here often so was pleased when it had opened again. Upon arriving you are greeted by an awful smell of fat and unclean extractor fans.(previous owners cooked chips and breakfasts but it never smelled of stale fat). We were shown to our table,the staff were friendly but some without uniform did look quite untidy,(not a great impression really). I found it not quite as clean and welcoming as it used to be in previous visits. The menu sounded really nice and we were looking forward to the food,well that was to be short lived!. Lasagne was flat on the plate and reminded me of a Findus lasagne from the 90s!,not very tasty at all and really pathetic portions. Chips were okay,some very old stragglers that had obviously been in the fryer many a time were inedible. The pie looked similar to the ones you get in the local chip shop…. Plates were dirty and presentation was really poor ,chef has no clue what he is doing and should go back to catering college!. Cakes were certainly not homemade (I’m a baker,I know a homemade cake!),the previous custodians served lovely cake and it was homemade. All in all we certainly won’t be visiting again,just another generic café similar to their other businesses in Rhayader town,no quality or quantity apparently and expensive to boot!. My advice; bring a picnic!.

Fabulous cafe in a beautiful setting. We often come here when we visit the Elan Valley. The food is excellent, lovely coffee and cakes. Staff are friendly, professional with service with a smile.

Absolutely beautiful place to stay. Penbont House managed to accommodate at the last minute for an unplanned visit to friends who live near by. The accommodation was fantastic, staff attentive and friendly and breakfast was excellent (as promised). The location is outstanding, it is indeed remote but I can see that as being an attraction to walkers & ramblers. Would definitely stay again & wouldn’t hesitate to recommend friends and family.

Second visit and was not disappointed. Took out daughter and granddaughter for a treat whilst on holiday. A real friendly welcome from All the staff. What can I say about the Afternoon Tea. So fresh. So much. So good. No not good. An Excellent Tea. One of the best we’ve had. The price is so good also. Would recommend it to anyone.

Lovely B & B which is part of the Tearooms. Staff were great - really friendly and helpful - Scott and Em! The tearooms are closed Tuesday and Wednesdays, Em was there to greet us on the Wednesday for our B&B reservation, so no problems. Do bear this in mind if you want to book an evening platter, they are not available on the days that the tearooms are closed. We did have a platter on the Thursday evening, which was excellent! This is left prepared and covered in the tearooms, which you have access to. Breakfast was superb! Cereals, fruit, yoghurts, toast - followed by a cooked breakfast of your choice, all delicious and generous. We stayed in Caban Cosh, which was small but perfectly formed! Spotlessly clean and a great shower. Bottled water supplied daily. There are some lovely walks from the tearooms too. We really enjoyed our stay here and plan to return! Thank you Scott, Em and the cook - who we didn't meet but provides great food.....and freshly baked cakes in the tearooms! Highly recommend.

Total peace & quiet, no mobile signal and very limited internet connection via free WiFi, perfect!! Excellent 2 night stay while walking in the area Comfortable clean room with en-suite facilities Breakfast was plentiful, excellent with good choice of cereals, yogurt and fruit, the cooked full Welsh, WOW !!! The B&B do not do evening meals but do offer a pre booked ploughman’s platter, again excellent and value for money. Didn’t try the hot food served in the tearooms during the day (too full from breakfast 😀) did try the cakes served throughout the day with a good pot of tea after walks , again excellent. Thanks to all the staff for making our stay great, we will return

After a very enjoyable walk along the reservoir we were delighted to find this establishment to have a light lunch. The cleanliness of the place is first rate and the location superb. We only required soup/sandwich/cake/tea and it was beautifully served and very efficiently too. Congratulations to everybody 'behind the scene '.

I went to the tearooms first a work meeting. We had a lovely room with tea and coffee. In the afternoon we had an afternoon tea. I’m vegan and didn’t have high expectations but wow!! Sandwiches, falafel, ‘sausage’ roll, trifle, scone with ‘cream’ & jam and three different cakes. Absolutely stunning. The ‘normal’ and vegetarian afternoon teas looked great too. Staff were fantastic . Really can’t recommend it enough.

An enchanting scenic area and an amazing place to stay but plan your visit carefully to maximise on all that Penbont offers. Firstly, you will be staying in, and wandering through deep valleys, so there will be limited phone signal. In some ways this is a blessing - leave the baggage of everyday life at the entrance to the Elan Valley and use the Penbont WIFI to catch up when you return from your activities. Secondly, Penbont is off grid so has an onsite generator. This means that there is a communal kettle but supplies of tea/coffee, milk and cocoa are plentiful. Thirdly, the tea rooms closes fairly early and the nearest restaurants/takeaways are in Rhayader but Penbont does offer a cold-plate supper option which you have to book in advance. Things I loved about Penbont? Lovely staff; comfy spotless accommodation - I slept like a log - a lovely light duvet to fit the season; fantastic breakfast and later when we returned after our walk, a lovely selection of cakes; a location to die for with walks, flat or elevated, starting from the tea rooms - Pen y Garreg dam is a short walk away. Above all, the silence! Looking forward to returning later in the year for some Dark Sky therapy.

Great - you are to be recommended. Staff very friendly. Food excellent. Service - second to none! need I say more?

Lovely food and lovely location. Another eatery that is very dog friendly. If you’re in the Elan Valley then this is worth visiting. We actually visited in March 2022 but can’t put that date in.

Lovely cafe a perfect half way stop. Cakes looked amazing, unfortunately we wanted a sandwich and they stopped serving at 2pm. Will definitely return before 2pm.

Popped in for tea and cake half way around our hike. A gentle pace of service, but that is what I expect - I’m on holiday not rushing because of work. The cake and drinks were good (and good value for money). The server was very accommodating, filling our water bottles and flask as we left.

Excellent Sunday lunch, Penbont never fails to deliver. Good tasty homemade, staff are very friendly.

We visited here today and were treated to a delicious roast, made even more special by the excellent service, attentive and speedy. We’ll be visiting again very soon, thank you.

Stayed last night for the dark skies event and another excellent experience. This was our 3rd stay and we will be back again. The staff and service is excellent and food is great. Location is excellent and we always visit all the Dams when in the area, and the only one currently overflowing is Craig Goch. Thank you Penbont