Billed as a ‘country bistro’, the Welcome is a former village inn now smartly transformed into an ambitious but unpretentious restaurant. Chef/proprietor Ian Bennett’s career took him to the Walnut Tree near Abergavenny, the Waterside Inn at Bray & Kirroughtree House in Scotland before he settled in Wales, & his cooking is cleverer than the ‘bistro’ tag would imply. Welsh ingredients shine through in dishes such as a laverbread ‘overcoat’ with crispy bacon & cockle popcorn or best end of lamb with wild garlic polenta, glazed spring vegetables & sauce ‘cuisson’. Bennett’s classical training is also evident in everything from a paupiette of salmon & turbot with broad beans, Maxine potatoes & citrus vinaigrette to rhubarb fool with Grand Marnier sabayon & a brandy-snap biscuit.