The Huntsman Restaurant, Dinas Powys

The Huntsman Restaurant can be found in the centre of Dinas Powys, to the rear of The Star. The pub is owned by Brains, while the Huntsman is an independent restaurant that has been owned and run by Hilary and Peter Rice since 1993.

Peter always offers a very friendly front-of-house welcome, while Hilary is Head Chef. The food is traditional, with classic dishes having a definite local Welsh “country farmhouse” flavour and the occasional modern twist.

We opted for the same dishes on our last visit: starters of Welsh Rarebit with Crisp Salad and Rhubarb Chutney, and mains of Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Cider and Honey. We drank a house white (a French wine called La Cabane).

 

The rhubarb chutney was a good complement to the rarebit; it added up to a substantial and well-balanced starter.

 

The pork, which was everything we hoped for when ordering, came with four different vegetables between us: potatoes roasted in goose fat, sliced potatoes baked in cream and garlic, braised red cabbage, and mange-tout and carrot. We put these on our plates from serving dishes as required – so the plating in the photos is not necessarily the restaurants!

Portions are large, so The Huntsman is not a restaurant you are likely to leave still hungry.

There is a pleasant ambience in the 23-cover dining room, in a homely barn conversion. It’s a quiet and relaxed place to dine.

 

The seasonal menu changes every three months. Starters (in the July-Sept 2012 menu) range in price from £4.95 to £7.25, while mains are priced between £12.50 (Mushroom and Pinenut Stir Fry) and £23.95 (Welsh Fillet Steak with choice of sauces). Other options currently available include Salmon and Prawn Bake, Rack of Welsh Lamb with Plum and Port Sauce, and Roast Breast of Duck with Cumberland sauce. Puddings are generally £5.50.

Most of the cost of our meal was covered by a voucher won at a Dinas Powys Voluntary Concern (DPVC) fund-raising Jazz Night earlier this year. I always go for the restaurant vouchers as prizes at raffles!

The Huntsman contributes recipes to Depend, a newsletter published by DPVC that is delivered for free to every house in Dinas Powys. Contributions to recent issues have included Wild and Tame Mushroom and Stilton Tart (see link below to online version), Rich Chocolate Brandy Cake, and Smoked Salmon and Dill Mousse.

We are putting the finishing touches to the Autumn 2012 Depend (I have contributed pieces on the resources available at Dinas Powys Library, the Llandough Hospital extension, and the new Vale Foodbank in Dinas Powys). You’ll have to wait and find out what The Huntsman’s contribution is going to be this time!

A team of volunteers will be putting Depend through every letterbox in Dinas Powys in October, while everyone else can read it via the DPVC website (link below).

The Huntsman Restaurant

Station Road, Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan CF64 4DE

029 2051 4900

http://www.thehuntsmanrestaurant.co.uk

 

Depend (Summer 2012):

http://dpvc-dinaspowys.com/media/downloads/dpvc_depend_summer_2012.pdf

 

DPVC:

http://dpvc-dinaspowys.com/