On a sunny Thursday night me and a group of friends thought it was time to get some pub grub. Situated in Old St Mellons, along Newport Road is the Ty'r Wynch. Formally know as the Coach and Horses, but it has now had a makeover. There is parking on site and easy access by bus routes which stops outside. We booked in advance to make sure we were not disappointed on arrival.
When me and my mum walked in our friends were already there and had been seated. As we walked through the decor had changed with a fresh lick of paint. The pub has a country cottage kind of feel. With vintage tables and chairs, original wooden beams and the atmosphere is very inviting.
We were left to our own devices for about 10 minutes which gave us time to look at the menu and catch up. The menu had a fresh look ,as well as there being some specials. I had looked the menu up before arriving ,but there were a few added extras. We were mainly served by a lady, but never caught her name. Later in the evening Micheal went on to serve us . When taking the orders they were great at reading it back to use to make sure it was correct as well.
I had eyed up the menu already for my starters and knew I wanted the buffalo cauliflowers bites(£5.45). But then I saw the brushetta(£5.65) and was tied between the two. So did the best thing we could and split the dishes with my mum to get the best of both worlds. Our friend opted for the chefs pate(£5.95) selection. Our friend throughly enjoyed it and it had lovely flavours.
When it came out I realised I had not read it correctly. The bruchetta is of the day, bit luckily for me I liked salmon. The bread was fresh and the salmon not too fishy. Recently my new obsession is with cauliflower bites so was excited to try. When I bit into them they were beautiful cooked and seasoned well. The dipping sauce on the side did have a bit of a kick as well, but the bites were fine without the sauce.
It was then time to move onto the main course. While we were waiting we were approached by a man. It turned out to be the new owner and he wanted to know how we were enjoying our visit. This added touch made the service even better. It showed that the staff really did care about your experience. The owner(did not catch his name) was so passionate about his food telling us about them being his own recipes(The duck).
I had chosen the owners recipe for my main ,the duck Ty'r Wynch(£17.95). Have being torn between this and the chefs pie(£11.45) I shared with my mum again to get the best of both worlds.
The duck had been pan fried so that the skin was crisp but not burnt. The sauce it was glazed in was a red wine, plum and ginger jus. There was plenty of this to go around as I do love my sauces. The duck was then rested on a bed of spinach, which was beautifully creamy. Then my favourite potato side of dauphinoise. Wounderfully cooked but not to heavy on the sauce.
The chefs pie the meat changes, I never did find out what meat was in there in the end. The meat was Well seasoned and there was plenty of gravy. I like the lashings of sauce, but my mum thought there should be more meat to the sauce ratio. The pie top was lovely and flaky. As it was me trying the last bit of it, I used the lid section I had to mop the gravy up. My mum had opted for chips, but personally I would of gone for the creamy garlic and chive mash.
Our friends opted for the steak salad(£12.95), the Tyr Wynch curry with chicken (£13.45) and a beef burger(£11.95)with an extra patty(£2.50).
The curry came with so many packed in vegetables such as sweet potato cauliflower and sugar snap peas. It came with a nan bread as well a mini onion bahji. The burger had a special request of no bun, hence the extra patty. The burger patties were nice and large and juicy. The chips were nice as they were double cooked. A side salad was also ordered which was fresh and crispy. The steak salad strips were cooked perfectly with the salad being fresh and having a nice colour range or vegetables. A side of coleslaw was ordered that was lovely and creamy. Laura side of chips she described as crisp but golden fluffy, which sounds like a good chip to me.
Before ordering pudding we were asked if we were staying for the pub quiz. My eyes lit up and I looked around and everyone else also was up to join in. This is one of my favourite things to do and was part of my originally bucket list. Costing £1 per person and with cash prizes. Booking is reccomend for this as well to avoid not getting a table.
So moving on to the puddings before finding how we did on the quiz. The puddings had a huge list and even had some specials on the list. I opted for my usual if on offer of sticky toffee pudding(£5.45). Coming with custard and a toffee sauce. I was last to get my pudding while everyone else was on munching theirs. But we were sticking around for the pub quiz so this was not too much of a problem. As soon as Micheal found out , he rushed it through the kitchen for me. The pudding to custard ratio was amazing, plenty to go around.
My mum and Jayne had both opted for the special of the black forest trifle. Layered chocolate cake with brandy sauce, black cherry compote, dark chocolate and whipped cream. My mum was very impressed with the really cherries used. Both demolished the glasses they came in with not a crumb left.
Helen who never has a pudding even joined in on the action. Having the other special of apple struddle, which came with custard. Laura opted for the millionaires chocolate fudge cake(£5.45). The cake was light and moist , comprise of a chocolate and toffee sponge. The cream was lovely and thick full of vanilla flavour, but she said it should be swapped for custard next time.
So how did we do on the pub quiz I hear you cry. The picture round we won, getting 19/20. This won us a bottle of wine, which we have chosen to keep for when we return next time. Unfortunately we did not come in the top 3 for the main quiz. Despite this we had so much fun playing the quiz and testing our knowledge. I especially enjoyed the music round.
Overall our group stated it was the best place we had been in a long time. They loved the food, the staff and the added bonus of doing a quiz. With us having that bottle of wine to share we will be returning soon. The only thing I would say is we were offered hot drinks at the end. I had to decline mind as there was no decaf tea on offer. This added extra would be great, as caffeine after 9pm for me is a no go.
Comments