Craig-y-Dderwen Riverside Hotel

Location: The hotel is consistently praised for its stunning location by the river, offering scenic views which are often highlighted as a key attraction.

The view from our table was incredible. We were greeted with a rainbow and a helicopter landing in the hotels garden while we ate. The server was lovely, but did not know the menu, or dishes and wasn’t bothered to ask the chef about the dessert when the other table inquired about a dessert. She didn’t know what the item was, claimed she was new, and that was that. We ordered, I the chicken and my husband the vegetarian option. The starter was a bowl of perfection. Leek and potato soup with a lovely cheesy puff in the centre. Perfectly seasoned. The mains were a sad disappointment. My anemic chicken, sous vide or poached was cooked properly, but lacked any colour or care. It was served skin side down, and that skin was floppy and sad. A quick blowtorch could have saved it, or three minutes in a pan basted with wild garlic would have made sense. Instead it was soulless. The sauce was basic, lacked character, just some cream with a spoonful of whole grain mustard. A Welsh leek mustard (locally made) would have given it some extra flare. Two bits of carrot, one bit of courgette and a single stem of broccoli, cooked lightly and fresh. The fondant? Potato, batch-cooked in a pan, and sliced into batons, was impressively small. Smaller than a pinky finger. Two would have been fair, one was a tease. The vegetarian, on the TASTE OF WALES menu, was a stuffed mushroom- stuffed with couscous and bleu cheese. Topped with a crumb and served with the same veg combo with the addition of roasted potatoes. Complete with a featured rotten black spot face up. The Bara brith pudding was lovely. No faults there. I believe the snowdonia pudding was supposed to have a black bomber ice cream. If there was cheese in my ice cream it wasn’t noticeable. Just seemed like a scoop of iced cream. Wish I had been able to know what the snowdonia pudding was but the server wasn’t going to ask the chef so no need to bother asking. For the price, I know the portions would be small, but that was just a bit too small in my opinion. If the mains had tasted more elaborate or inspired I wouldn’t have felt so let down. I expected the mains to reach the level of the soup and it did not. Perhaps a new approach or addition to the chicken main is needed. The bartender was the best of the bunch. She clearly knows customer care and service and think she is an asset to the place. A lively redhead with a smile and a chat, warm and lovely. The table setting was interesting. Very posh, except for the plastic plant and the pre-ground pepper and salt pots. Surely a place like this would have a single fresh flower in a stem vase, and a pepper mill. That speaks cheap cafe, not luxury.

Fantastic stay here, the room was so modern and clean and the food was fantastic. I would reccomend this to people in the area not bothered about splashing out