Felin Fach Griffin, The

Not for nothing do the elite troops, amongst others, of the British Army train in the Brecons. It's pretty wild stuff and when the Felin Fach Griffin hoves into sight thoughts of an oasis in the desert leap to mind. Closer inspection reveals a gaunt building that has done service as country pub and hill farm; but once inside pause to admire the stylish conversion that has cleverly retained the original plot, providing the setting for some excellent cooking, and comfort overall.

There is a leaning towards local and organic produce, much of it from within a 15 mile radius, and increasingly from their own kitchen garden, resulting in mouthwatering dishes of impressive authenticity.

The Griffin harbours a refreshing tendency to regard lunch as just as important a meal as supper, and the value for money throughout is remarkable.

Starters include a delicious roasted plum tomato and Jerusalem artichoke soup, a powerful antidote towards the effects of a cold Brecons day, a dressed crab, one of the fleshy Portland variety, with a salad of young vegetables and spiced tomato syrup, a Welsh cheese ploughman's, or some Black Mountains Smokery smoked salmon, crème fraiche and cucumber.

A plate of Welsh venison stew with creamed mash on the side is comfort food personified, so are the local 'Bower Farm' pork and leek sausages, and the creamed wild mushroom risotto has a lightness sometimes lacking in that dish, with sherry butter as a partner. Sunday lunch is a well celebrated event, with Griffin favourites all round, but a rib of local Welsh beef from Paddy Sweeney, the local butcher, as the centrepiece.

Supper fields many of the lunch dishes, but with quantities adjusted to suit a meal where time and budget may be of less consequence. Starters include woodpigeon, ratatouille, aubergine caviar and walnut foam, and wild mushroom tagliatelli with chive olive oil.

For main courses expect to see in season oven roasted partridge, Muscat grapes, braised puy lentils and mash, or plaice fillet, Girolles mushrooms, baby artichokes and herb oil.

Puddings for lunch and supper are all homemade on the spot, starting with chocolate Nemesis and Welsh clotted cream, sticky toffee pudding with double cream, or a plate of ice creams and sorbets. The Welsh are famous for their cheeses and Felin Fach take full advantage; amongst the selection keep an eye open for Celtic Promise, St David's, Perl Wen and the famous Caerfai Caerphilly, all served with chutney, celery and homemade soda bread (and all from Caws Cymru, Ceredigion in case you like it that much).

It is always an added bonus to find a restaurant where the wine list receives as much attention as the cuisine. Here the list has been reduced to around 40 wines, of which 10 are open. At the top end of the range in particular, the pricing is keen. None of the main list go above £30, except champagne and some pudding wines (of which there are 6), though several would cost very significantly more elsewhere.

A reserve list of around 10-12 wines offers real treats and the process of selection overall is carried out by a small team of men and women, including Head Chef Ricardo, who do not hesitate to sound out opinion from amongst the front of house team too. As with all good teams the chairman makes the final decisions. Wine comes from a number of sources, including Whirly Wine, a small specialist supplier.