Y Bistro in Carmarthenshire

After a few days camping in a field in Cwympengraig we chanced on Emlyn Hotel. The Bistro was recommended so we gave it a try. I was delighted that the cod was in gluten free batter. It was perfectly cooked and a generous portion. The Lentil and Spinach burger was good, but was a curry flavour. I like curry, but was going more for a classic taste that night and it didn't say that it was a curry burger. Having said that the gluten free roll was excellent and from a local baker and the triple cooked chips were fantastic. My husband had the welsh cake stack with Penderyn Ice cream and maple syrup. He said it was utterly delicious!

Ate here on a large group booking (40+). All food ordered and paid for in advance. Good points - venue looked lovely but it was downhill from there. Service at bar really slow. Appeared to be only one barman even though our pre-booked party was more than 40 people and he was serving the general public as well. No drinks service at tables. People went to get drinks and could be gone over half an hour. Starters - soup was OK, bread wasn't very nice, crab cakes were pronounced disappointing. Main courses arrived. I couldn't really remember what I'd ordered but could see it was some sort of chicken. A bland, plain lump on a plate with a glob of mashed potato and some plain steamed veg wrapped in a bit of leek. I cut the chicken - it was tender enough but completely tasteless. We then recalled it was supposed to be chicken Kiev but despite a few green bits in the chicken there was no discernible sauce or taste of garlic. No butter for potato or veg. No extra sauce. Then we had dessert. Out came some horrid looking pink thing which was announced as cheesecake. It was largely inedible. Some of the guys ate it as they were still hungry. At least 6 of us on our side of room just left it. A streak of something dried to the plate made it look like it may have been plated the day before and dried out. I could scrape it off with my fingernail - it looked like nail varnish. The base tasted awful - like it was made of cheap margarine, the pink top looked bad and tasted worse. A single fresh raspberry was the only edible bit. Nobody came to ask if meal was OK - maybe they were frightened to, seeing all the uneaten desserts. Chef of course was long gone and when I did tell the waitress who eventually cleared the tables about the awful cheesecake I was told lots of people had complained but there was no offer to do anything about it. An offer of a free coffee instead would have made it seem a bit better but just seemed no-one cared. Disappointing as I'd previously heard good things about the place but this has put me (and 40 other people) right off ever going there again. We were a large party but if you can't cater for the numbers then you shouldn't offer the service.

Very disappointing. Dietry requirements specified on booking but meals suitable for gluten free diet merely meant various items missing from the plate, no substitutes given yet still charged full price. Plates and potatoes were cold, advised cauliflower cheese not gluten free yet not served for anyone. On asking advised not available today ... so why mention it is not gluten free?? Vegetables had clearly been reheated in the microwave as green beans were totally shrivelled up. Think the masher was broken as the swede had so many hard lumps in it, and the leeks were watery and tasteless. So disappointed we went to another eatery for pudding!!

Had dinner here recently service good food varied and well cooked nice and local always good. Attentive service locally sourced meat and veg plenty of it pleasant atmosphere very helpful staff.

Myself, my Wife and Daughter went for Dinner on Saturday 4th August. There were only 5 other people dining there. We ordered drinks and my wife asked for a glass of ice which the waitress seemed puzzled by. We had to ask 3 times before it was finally brought out. The food arrived which wasn’t anything special, and my wife asked for a glass of Rose at the same time, this never arrived despite me asking again during Dinner. When I complained to the Manageress she just said “ sorry but it’s been hectic here today” . Don’t know how they would have coped if they had been full, but there were only about 10 other Diners when we left.

Slow drinks service coupled with slow food service. An average restaurant with above average pricing

Turned up Saturday lunchtime (1pm) and place was empty - maybe that should have made us stop and think. Waitress was pleasant. Starters were good. Main courses, especially the halibut, were over priced, had bones and was way over cooked. Prawn bisque was tasteless. Curry was nearly alright. One other couple had lunch that day. It was our first visit and as its near to where we live, we were hopeful for a nice lunch - but unfortunately, at best it was 'average', but really it was 2.5 stars.

We called in for lunch and were very pleased. Rapidly seated and very tasty food. Nice ambience, clean and bright.

Booked to have lunch with friends, however due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the party was running over an hour late. The staff were very polite and we managed to order just before close of kitchen. The restaurant was empty and the venue had remained surprisingly quiet the whole time we were waiting for the late member. We had imagined with the time of year, an abundance of Christmas parties and merriment?! The menu wasn’t all that exciting and I was shocked not to find any Christmas options. I had the fish cakes which were tasty and the ribeye steak. Cooked to perfection (ordered rare) the steak was tasty but very fatty which was a shame, especially at £25. Accompaniments were plentiful and the blue cheese sauce was lovely. Service was polite but they kept forgetting to clear our plates and replace cutlery etc. Restaurant is lovely, just a shame it was so quiet.

Staff were very friendly but we had to keep asking for our drinks to be refreshed. Atmosphere and the setting was lovely. The menu needs a little more imagination as it resembled a glorified pub grub menu. There was even a salad section on a winter menu, which I was initially shocked at. The Chicken dish was bland and had no pancetta in sight. The crab cakes however were very tasty. The dessert menu was a bit lacking. We only found out about the dessert special when the order was being taken. Which was a brownie with vanilla ice cream. One of the party didn’t like Vanilla ice cream so she asked the waitress what could she have instead with the brownie.She read out a list of ice creams and sorbets which weren’t even on the menu. She opted for a gin & tonic sorbet. 2 minutes later the waitress came out and informed us that the chef is refusing to give an alternative for the vanilla ice cream!! We were all shocked - actually gob smacked!! My heart went out to that waitress having to go out to the customer and say such a thing! Not wanting to cause a scene she chose to have nothing as a dessert and was a bit disappointed. The Wine was a hit however and not too badly priced.

We stayed at the hotel for the bonfire night celebrations. Arriving on Friday we decided to have dinner in the hotel. So glad we did. I had a really good meal as did My wifeI had the pate followed by a chicken Caesar salad, both were well prepared and nicely presented, my wife was very happy with her meal too. Brealfast was great for the next two days and the hotel was really comfy we thoroughly recomend it and are going back for New Year

Had our evening meal here 3 nights while staying at the hotel...it was all excellence from the rib eye steak.fish&chips.homemade burger cooked to perfection..they were served on a wooden board and homemade chips in little buckets..only had one dessert the chocolate orange bread & buutter pudding omg it was awesome!!!! a little expensive but worth it...would definitely recommend and would return to the Y Bistro and hotel if in the area....thank you -diolch.

Previously attended function at hotel and had a great time and food was fantastic. Tried Sunday carvery as a result and was sadly disappointed, however recent positive reviews and reported new chef led us to try the Bistro again. Unfortunately our experience was once again disappointing. Menu options were basic although service was friendly and starter enjoyable. However main courses of pie of the day, and fish and chips, were bland and unappetizing. Furthermore when we asked for our bill after confirming we were paying by card, we didn't recieve any bill but instead we were presented with the machine with total figure entered. Additionally we also witnessed a poor dining experience by adjacent customers whose order was incorrect resulting in lengthy delay and husband eating most of his meal before his wife's arrived.

We decided to come here on our last evening and weren't disappointed. The place had a really nice ambiance, the staff were helpful and friendly and the food was served quickly even though we came in at opening time. The food was great, including the kids meal - very succulent chicken goujons! Definitely worth a go!

We were staying in the local area so decided to pop into this restaurant to see if we could get Dinner that Evening. From the Receptionist in the Hotel to the waiting staff in the restaurant, everyone was very helpful and friendly. I asked to change one of the dishes slightly and they were more than happy to do this and it was delicious. My partner loved his pate starter, nothing was wasted! We both had 2 courses and it was very reasonably priced for a Hotel restaurant. We would eat here again if we are in the area.

Came here for a meal following a recommendation but were quite disappointed with our meal. The starter of Pate was quite nice, but the steaks were disappointing. The table service was good.

Having stayed near Newcastle Emlyn many times and never visited The Emlyn Arms, we decided to call on our last night of our current holiday. Very friendly staff and very nice ambience of hotel. We ordered food in the restaurant and we were not disappointed, I chose the homemade beef burger which was served with delicious onion rings and the tastiest chips I have ever tasted. My husband had chicken and chorizo tagliatelle which was beautiful, it had a side of cheesy bread. The whole meal was beautifully presented and we would highly recommend.

having stayed in this hotel we opted to eat in the onsite restaurant for all of our meals as they were so well cooked and presented. The staff are also very polite.

Loved the Sunday lunch, the carvery was varied and very good. The staff really looked after us, especially Tina. They made us feel very special. The barman was very polite also and again helped make it a really good day out.

Comfortable dining room in two parts , contemporary style without over doing it. In a 300 year old building white stone walls . Pleasant helpful staff. Nice menu I had a lovely home cooked pea and ham soup , yum and roast belly of pork with pineapple, mash potato with sugar snap peas with a sauce. All very tasty. We were the first ones in the restaurant and the music was a tad loud but they were happy to lower it, don't know why restaurants and pubs have loud music much better low or without. Will go again without hesitation, you won't be sorry .

Visited the bar at the lovely Gwesty'r Emlyn for a quick meeting than ran a little later than expected, so decided to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant "Y Bistro".

A warm welcome however let down by warm white wine and cold chicory! Perhaps it was just a bad night.

Extremely slow service (we only ordered sandwiches) and the quality of the food was extremely low. Will not be returning

Newly opened restaurant within the Gwesty Emlyn. Limited choices, went for the ribeye steak at £25 expected to be blown away, but unfortuantely was tasteless and definitely not worth the £25 price tag.