Loft Restaurant at Heritage Park Hotel, The

It does not seem too many years ago that the Rhondda Valley was one of those places which people avoided like the plague. Now it is marketed as a place of lush greenery and spectacular views which, unlike some marketing claims is absolutely true. How quickly Nature reclaims its own.

All of this would not be possible if it was not for the collapse of the coal industry, which has left behind it some wonderful sites that lend themselves well to new purposes. Enter the Heritage Park Hotel, and in particular the Loft, its restaurant built in part from old timbers saved from a former warehouse in Cardiff Docks.

From what might be termed a pretty traditional menu, there are 7 starter choices with crispy whitebait salad and terrine of ham hock and wild mushrooms amongst them, followed by steamed red snapper with fresh, wok greens and oyster dressing, or Hungarian beef goulash with ciabatta.

Peaches bound in banana cream, and steamed ginger pudding could hardly make a bigger contrast, and some very Welsh cheeses, two of which turned out to be pleasantly provincial, make an interesting diversion.

Helpings are generous, and the dishes are by no means without merit. Good use has been made of local produce, in which they take an obvious pride. And yes, the grass really is as green as they say it is.