The Bird In Hand in Carmarthenshire

Lovelly warm fire. Food, outstanding cockles, bacon and laverbread, lush.main meal lovelly. Homemade chips. Friendly staff

A lovely welcoming atmosphere. Warm and accommodating staff. Highly recommend. Food is delicious. I am in Wales on business and dining alone it makes a big difference to be made to feel welcome after a long day.

Good food, not too pricey. Service a bit slow, considering not busy.

A crowd of 18 arrived on a Monday evening. I found the staff really friendly and efficient. They took our orders and we expected to have a long wait but thankfully our meals arrived very quickly and piping hot. I had cod and chips and it was delicious. I must also say that the bar staff accommodated our needs and greeted us with a friendly smile. Thank you Tegan and Elin. 😊

Lovely food, never been disappointed. Very friendly staff

Cosy pub. Loads of beer on tap and a great food menu. Lamb was delicious

Haven't been here in over a year, unfortunately it has gone down hill big time

Came for a meal last night with the choir and my food was lovely and its huge portions and a good atmosphere. the staff were all lovely too, tegan and elin on the bar were fantastic. I highly recommend their lamb it was very tasty.

When on holiday we always check out our pub's on what pub which states a new ownership with a keen interest in serving real ale and is open for suggestions from the customers of what ales they would like to see on the bar.however on entry to this lovely pub you're greeted by staff who have absolutely no idea why there's no real ale at all very disappointed ! P.s food and tap water highly recommended

Very good Sunday carvery. Staff very friendly. Great atmosphere and a stunning pub. Highly recommend 🔥

Beautiful food and generous portions of home cooked ingredients. We had a jacket with curry and the tikka chicken burger. Curry was superb and tikka burger was lovely. Only thing I would say, and a serving suggestion rather than a criticism, would be to provide the mint yoghurt as a dip for the tikka burger as it made the bhaji a little soggy. Other than that. Food was perfect 👍.

Surprise 50th b.party asewme night out. Perfect ambiance. Really appreciate the staff...

The food was good, the staff were friendly and efficient but the pub/restaurant was too busy and the carvery was not well managed, allowing long queues to form, standing too close to our table and preventing any privacy for conversation for our family gathering. I'd go again, but not for the Sunday carvery

Nice food good selection. Long wait to be served. Bit pricey

Me and my partner arrived at half 6. We got served to take our order had drinks quite quick, but waited hour and a half for our food. No-one had said anything about there being over an hours wait. My partner had ordered a cheese burger and chips with salad. Then the food finally arrived and halfway through the meal my partner found some peas hidden within the chips. As this wasn’t supposed to be part of the meal, it did then put my partner off her food. When we had finished with our food, we sat with our plates in front of us for 20 minutes. I understand the waitresses were busy clearing a bigger table and when nearing the end of that table being cleared one of them said she would be back to clear ours. A further 10 minutes later, our plates were still on our table. We were not offered desserts and because we had waited so long, we decided to just go up and pay with the 2 waitresses who were chatting by the desk. One of which was the waitress who said she’d be back to clear our table. The waitress then asked how our meals were, so I mentioned about the peas on the plate. The waitress laughed in our faces and said “Are you joking?”. I then took the waitress to the table to show the peas on the plate. She laughed again and nothing was done about it. We did actually want to have desserts and another round of drinks, but due to the poor service we decided it was not worth the wait. The lack of empathy from the waitress was the final straw. I will not be returning. This place has gone down hill a lot!

The food was really good! My husband had a Sunday Lunch and I had the vegetarian version and we loooved it!

Attending today (13th October 2024) we had a booking for 5 at 13:30. We had ordered 3 carvery’s and 2 meals from the limited menu, however after 1hr and 10 minutes we still haven’t received our meals and told to wait for the other 2 meals from the limited menu so we could all eat together, however this was not the case. It was now approaching 15:00pm and was still waiting for scampi and chips from the limited menu, I was surprised and saddened how what I assume to be frozen food had taken so long to arrive. Due to the extended waiting time we decided to cancel the scampi and finish our planned family meal in the house. After speaking with the manager she explained how it was down to the waitresses who failed to take the order correctly resulting in the over anticipated waiting time. The manager did apologise for the long waiting time and “ tell your partner the scampi did look nice” this was a very sarcastic response to a poor service. It’s clear to see that either more training needs to be done with all staff or the kitchen can’t deal with the demand of providing carvery’s and frozen food at the same time. I would recommend that anyone eating here is prepared for extended waiting times when ordering off the limited menu and best stick to carvery’s as that’s the only way to avoid such issues.

Great local food and a massive choice. Vegan, veggie and pescatarian also available. Good parking opposite. Lovely staff. Good portions of food.

Delicious food, large portions, great service

Absolutely spot on! Recommended

I have had meals here over the past years and whether it was a one off, I didn’t find it as tasty as I recall. Most probably me, but that’s my take on it. Service was 1st class and setup fantastic !

Thank you for providing such a wonderful service today for my dad’s wake. The buffet was delicious and plentiful and everyone was catered for including those with specific dietary needs. We will definitely be coming back.

We, as a family cannot thank you enough for the perfect wake today. The buffet was exceptionally good. The service of all staff was outstanding. Our Dad would have been pleased with everything, especially the black forest gateaux. It made today a little easier. Diolch wrth calon xxxx

Carvery was fantastic and my wife had lamb and she said it was so good. It is a little expensive but I willing to pay for good food. Definitely will be back

We had an excellent meal here on a Thursday evening. There is a good sized car park opposite but it can get very full and road parking a distance away may be required. Once inside, the restaurant is very comfortable, plenty of space and a pleasant decor for dining. The venue was incredibly busy so booking in advance is advised. As a consequence there was a significant wait for the main meals. This was to be expected as food is cooked from fresh to order and as I say, it was very busy that evening. The quality of the food was excellent. We had cockles and larver bread, nachos, beef and ale pie, lambs liver and spicy chicken. All were piping hot and very well presented. The staff were very attentive and no issues in getting extra drinks or the like. Be aware however, the portion sizes were huge. The steak pies contained more meat than I’ve ever seen in a pie and the nachos starter was simply huge and likely enough for x4 to share! Best to skip lunch if heading here for dinner! Many thanks for a lovely evening!

Staff were so friendly and accomodating to us and our two small children and the food was lovely.

Came here this evening with family and was really disappointed with the service. Several wrong drink orders, staff totally rushed off their feet didn’t seem to know what orders were for what table and all seemed flustered and uninterested in helping bar one who was kind to us despite us not being her allocated table (didn’t catch her name) Can’t fault the food, but when you combine the noise, the over crowding and the number of staff running around like headless chickens and the fact that they got my boyfriends parents bill wrong and undercharged and then had the cheek to phone up and demand further payment even though it was their mistake, I won’t be returning. Improvements need to be made for a better experience, I think it would be better to spread tables out and book less and provide better customer service than cram as many people as possible in with pre-orders and deposits. The pre-ordering in itself suggests to me an inability to time manage and perhaps biting off more than they can chew. A table of 8 is not pushing the boat out! I appreciate that this restaurant is popular and again, I cannot fault the food, but please consider that customer service is more important than making as much money from as many people as possible. My opinion is my own, and does not necessarily reflect other family members who attended, so please don’t hold a grudge against other parties who attended. *EDIT* I find it disconcerting that the pub feels the need to address every point (bar the ones about the mistakes that were made with the drinks being delivered wrongly, twice , funnily enough) and reply to every person. If the establishments quality speaks for itself, then there would be no need to address every negative review in such detail.

Very busy with food, consequently service did take a little longer that expected. However, when the food arrived it was worth the wait

The food was absolutely faultless, however the score is down to the length of Tim we waited for the food. One hour and ten minutes seems VERY long for four standard meals. No communication from the staff in regards to the length of time we were waiting, and no one asked if we wanted extra drinks etc. My daughter had to book an extra hour off for lunch and it got to the stage whereby we were sorely tempted to just leave. We have tried to have a meal on two other occasions and both times after waiting an inordinately long time, we made our excuses and left. However today was my dad's birthday , and he really wanted to try to eat at the Bird in Hand. So, even though the food was good, the wait was unacceptable 😐. Just wondering what it would be like if it was really busy.

Great food and worth waiting a little for.

We go there every time we go to see my son as he lives near by but we love the food here and the staff are great, it's always very busy

Came today on a wet Thursday afternoon. The place was dead but the food quality was very good. A very well planned and thought out menu with plenty of lamb dishes. The waitresses were lovely and very attentive, I will certainly return. Thank you

Fantastic food and staff. Great atmosphere. Very clean

Great place, great food so much on the menu I wanted to try and big portions. Also best chips I have had in ages. Will be back. And thank you Bird in Hand

Another stunning meal. We are never disappointed. The food is home cooked fresh and hot. We visit frequently and the staff are second to none. See you all soon x

We had the upstairs private room for our Golden Wedding anniversary family party in August. Lovely room and toilets on hand there too - very handy for the children! Staff couldn't have been more pleasant and accommodating and my husband and I were presented with a flute each of Prosecco to congratulate us on our 50th anniversary - lovely gesture.

Put one star due to one and half hour wait for food..I put this down to poor management for booking too many people in in a short period of time. It was crammed with not enough staff to deal with customers. Sadly the wait effected the atmosphere in our group. Big shame as food was nice but it's put me off returning.

Food was nice, however we had to wait 1 hour and 30 mins for the food to arrive, despite asking to speak to the manager we were told this was not possible. Absolute shambles of a place, will not be going back here. Terrible service.

I gave this place a 4 Star review a couple of months back…. But tonight I popped in for a drink with my wife…. £26 for a bottle of “House White” and the girl serving me couldn’t even tell me what wine it was…. I don’t think so. Come on guys…. I understand that you need to make a profit….. but 400% markup??

First visit. Bird in Hand came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. Took Mum for a delicious Sunday Carvery. We treated ourselves to the lamb option from lambs reared on their own farm across the valley. Generous portions and great service. Very popular for Sunday lunch so booking is recommended.

Called on spec as we had heard the food was really good here. Initially thought it was a bit pricey compared to many other places in the area but we can honestly say it was well worth that little extra. The choice of dishes plus the quality of the food and how it was cooked was spot on. Staff were extremely polite. Would highly recommend and will definitely be eating here again

Fantastic carvery, second to none!

One of the best carvery’s I’ve had I a very long time. No long wait, great service, excellent food.

Absolutely outstanding service for my daughters 8th birthday. Everyone was so thoughtful and helpful. She received a birthday card too from the bird in hand which was very unexpected but she loved. We were allowed to bring in a birthday cake for my daughter too to celebrate. Everyone sang to her, she loved it. Food was excellent too, 100 % recommend bird in hand

Went for my mother-in-law's 60th and the family was absolutely amazing

Great Sunday dinners we sat outside and it was great

A brilliant place to eat! Fabulous food,especially the home grown lamb. Excellent, friendly service. A great venue, lovely scenery from the outside seating.

So disappointed. The service was so slow, we waited over 30 min for our drinks and over an hour for food . My brother ordered a rare stake for it to come out well done. We sent it back and 40 minutes later he still didn't have his meal, by now we had all finished ours so he asked for a refund. We were offered no apology or anything! Will not be going back and will not recommend. The reply I have received for this review is disgusting! The manager has either has been informed incorrectly or is just making things up to suit. WE HAD A BOOKING! For 6.30pm. I wish we had taken a photo of the steak as if they think that steak was rare then well done would be ashes. I do not appreciate being made out to being a liar. When we waited so long for our drinks and food. This is the most unprofessional response to a complaint.

Food was great and the service was excellent. Our waitress Seren was friendly, made us laugh and was efficient with our orders. Would definitely come back!

Finally visited after hearing great things on Facebook. Wasn't disappointed, arrived early so enjoyed a drink outside overlooking valley, great app for ordering to table, fast friendly service. Restaurant was atmospheric, lovely twinkle lights, good was AMAZING they rear their own lambs. Meat quality was superb and portions large. Great wine selection too. We will be back 😃

Visited the Bird in Hand for my mum's birthday to celebrate with the family,. Lovely place to have food, staff were great couldn't fault anything. Definitely recommend. 🙂

Brilliant meal with my son and his girlfriend and my partner

Just all round awesome. Lush staff, food was as beautiful as the surrounding countryside. Can't wait to come back for my parents Golden Wedding anniversary.

My husband who is blind could not have been looked after better.we all loved the experience. Thank you so much.

Lovelly place. Very welcoming. Took my baby boy here and they were very thoughtful in providing us a spacious table where I could be comfortable in feeding my son. Food was fantastic too, had the fish and chips, perfect

Wot a lovely meal we had today staff was amazing couldn’t do enough for you food lovely and warm as well can’t wait to go back again the manager she was so helpful 🥗🥗🥗

Could do with disabled parking.

Beautiful food even for a veggie! Service great, portions are great see you soon !

5* food service and atmosphere!! Worth the drive to have a delicious meal and great atmosphere with exceptional customer service! We have made it our new local even though we don’t live in the village

We visited on Thursday night. We were greeted by the lovely Poppy. She was absolutely amazing! Food was on point. We will definitely be back! Diolch

Went for our wedding anniversary; food and service were exceptional. The beef was so tender and the gravy rich and thick. The chocolate fudge cake was a perfect end to a wonderful meal.

Expensive busy limited parking for busy days. Food ok not outstanding

Found it on a road trip and travelled 35 miles to visit again, not the cheapest menu around but the food and atmosphere of this pub make it worth every penny!

Beautiful spot with great views across the valleys. The staff are really friendly and the service is great. We visited today, and it was very busy, so there was a little want for food but when it came it was absolutely delicious. Would definitely recommend if you want great service, a fantastic atmosphere and delicious food. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Had shepherd's pie so hot had blister on roof of mouth

Another outstanding Sunday carvery lunch at the Bird in Hand. Lovely friendly staff and atmosphere. Meats are outstanding, so tender they melt in your mouth. Excellent selection of fresh vegetables accompanied by delicious gravy. Can’t fault it!

Stunning carvery with plenty of options for everyone

Worst service. You pay immediately at bar for drinks on arrival, you wait. Nothing. You order and pay for food. Nothing. You complain. They rush. Avoid unless you're not in a hurry.

Always a pleasure visiting this lovely friendly pub, been here a few times in the week for a meal but today was the first time I visited for a carvery. The food was delicious as always, everything was nicely prepared even with visiting an hour before the carvery finishes. We were sat on the table for two in the middle of the restaurant but both myself and my friend felt very exposed & uncomfortable being in the middle, so we kindly asked if we could move to the other table for two and they kindly agreed, thank you for that. We then felt much more comfortable and enjoyed our visit.

The bird in hand has become our regular go-to place whether for a family celebration or just a passing meal after shopping. The staff are always accommodating and friendly the food is always of a high standard. Value for money, I think you would have to go a long way to beat it.

Gorgeous food. Friendly, helpful staff. Welcoming atmosphere. Great music. My family and friends have been several times- this place is a firm favourite for me. The lasagne is incredible! All home cooked.

A warm welcome awaits you, meals are well presented & delicious, staff always polite & helpful… plus a big thank you to the lovely Beth a credit to the team.

Lovely food , speciality seems to be the lamb , lots of different lamb dishes on the menu .The lamb does nt disappoint , I opted for the shepherds pie which was very tasty and a generously sized portion.Service was very good , friendly and professional.Definately return and recommend.

I had a lovely meal with friends a couple of weeks ago. My main meal, steak and ale pie was delicious and a great sized portion and the desserts were also very good. Absolutely no complaints, would highly recommend and a very big thank you to our wonderful waitress Beth, who was very attentive.

Massive portions (had eaten half my food before I took the picture) friendly staff, nice atmosphere 🤩🤩

Our meal was lovely, service was very efficient and staff were great. The twinkle lights make a lovely relaxing environment to eat and relax.

The service was excellent,The staff were welcoming and prompt.The carvery was wonderful with more than enough of meat.The selection of vegetables would please anyone.

Decent food. Pleasurable local pub

Only recently discovered this place and just cant help going back. The food is outstanding, I've had a Sunday roast including the Lamb which is locally sourced from the pubs very own farm. Carvery is well presented and more than enough vegetables to choose from. Staff are very welcoming, polite and easy to talk to. One of the waitresses 'Brandy' is very dedicated to her job and made us smile on our last visit there. Great variety of traditional pub food to choose from all cooked to perfection 10/10.

Last night my entire family 20 + people had a fantastic time upstairs in the Bird in Hand in FFOREST Pontardulais. The food was incredible and the waitresses were incredibly attentive. OUTSTADING, highly recommend

Food was fantastic, very nice friendly staff, especially Chloe

Fabulous place,lovely place and staff very friendly and efficient,the food was amazing,definitely my go to place on Fridays.Well done to all that work there❤️

Having been several times we have never been disappointed. From the moment you step through the door you get a warm welcome and that continues throughout our evening by the helpful knowledgeable waiting staff The food again never disappoints even with fussy eaters it is always delicious and cooked the way you ask for. It is well worth travelling the miles to visit our favourite restaurant

Fantastic food and a big thankyou to Lucy for great service and with a smile.

We phoned on Saturday, to book a table for Sunday lunch after the bird in hand was recommended to us. We were offered a table for 2pm, which we accepted. Attending on time we enquired at the bar, where staff told us to go up to the restaurant. After initially being ignored by three waiting staff, one of the waitresses told us our table was in the snug and proceeded to lead us there. In doing so, one of her colleagues started "telling her off" for telling customers to go up to the carvery when it was so busy. We were shown to a small circular table in the main entrance door way. There were 3 of us in the party, and frankly the table did not seem big enough to have taken three plates. Three menus appeared on the table, with no explanation as to how we went about ordering. The table rocked back and forth as the legs were uneven. The so called snug was exactly that. There is so little space between tables that waiting staff or customers cannot get through, bumping into both you chair and table as they try to maneuver through the establishment. The floor at the edge of the bar moves every time someone walks past, and this was a lot, exacerbating the issue of the uneven table. I can't comment on the food as we did not stay long enough to find out and after this experience, never will find out either.

A great country pub atmosphere. Parking a challenge. Beer was good. Menu provided a good variety of options. Our meals had cool chips & peas and thankfully a cool salad! Staff whilst inexperienced, were very helpful and addressed our issues. Nevertheless at £18pp for a meal & drink it was not good value and we will go elsewhere next time.

On arrival we were greeted and welcomed so warmly, initially we popped in for a drink but stayed and had a bite to eat as the atmosphere was so nice. Beautifully decorated lovely staff and a very nice meal. We will be back thank you

Food was as always excellent and not overpriced. Superb service. A special mention to Lucy who's service was top draw.

First time going ,had a lovely meal and service was great . It was mine and my brother's birthday 🎂 🥳

Best carvery around! Beautiful food, really generous portions and good value. Really friendly and approachable staff who are amazing with our toddler! Can’t wait to return, thank you for great service

We all had a lovely meal. Food was delicious and satisfying. The puddings were also glorious. The staff were attentive, polite and very friendly. We have been quite a few times and I can honestly say we have never been disappointed.

Fabulous find! Delicious meals great service

We visited the bird in hand for a family meal, the food was delicious and the service was very quick. There was also an ABBA tribute act on and there was a great atmosphere. Would definitely recommend and can’t wait to visit again.

We booked for a large group between Christmas and the New Year. The food was superb and we did not have to wait long as we had pre-ordered our food. There was a great atmosphere as it was an ABBA tribute night. Would highly recommend as I could not fault the food or service. I will definitely be going back!

I thought I had gone to heaven! The food was amazing, you MUST have the lamb. It was fantastic value for the quality of produce. The reassurance of the local source was also incredibly welcome.

The welcome from staff was warming and settled us down to our table quickly. The curry was very nice and to the spiciness I like which was mild, washed down with a couple of cocktails. Joio!

What a lovely place to eat, lovely open fire, fresh local lamb, we even had a mini bus to pick us up and drop us off. Very accommodating also as there was only supposed to have been 10 of us, ended up as 17. I asked if they could help with a fundraising evening for a young boy called Jaden, who is only 14 and has only 18 months left of his life. They contacted me today and have donated a meal voucher of £50. How generous and supportive of this cause. So much appreciated we will auction this voucher. Thank you ever so much again. Well worth a visit guys.

Don't go here unless you want to be sitting on a table with people queuing around you. Literally stood in line for 15 mins before getting to the carvery section while others sat down trying to eat there food with us hovering over them. The manager needs to be more organised BIGTIME!

Parking terrible but over all quite nice

Went for lunch stunning food excellent service and a lovely double sided log burner, proper country pub!