Y Polyn

Y Polyn occupies a former drovers' inn at Capel Dewi, on the road between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, and is run by husband and wife team Sue and Mark Manson. Sue heads the kitchen; Mark, a former hotel inspector, oversees the dining room and wine list. The menu changes daily around what is available: saltmarsh lamb, Welsh beef, and free-range, rare breed pork, cooked without foams or gels and served on bare wood tables with no cloths. Diners pour their own wine, and staff work in jeans rather than uniforms, a deliberate departure from the formality found in fine dining elsewhere in the county. Almost everything served, from bread to ice cream, is made on the premises. The restaurant closes on Mondays and Tuesdays and takes bookings by telephone only, a policy the Mansons have kept unchanged.