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Nantyffin Cider Mill Inn is a place with a split personality, on one side a smart restaurant, created in a converted barn with wooden flooring, stone walls and table linen, on the other, a thoroughly olde worlde pub with wooden tables and fires. The same menu is served throughout but the restaurant is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunches, while the pub operates for six days a week, closed on a Mondays.

They sell real ales from nearby breweries and a variety of ciders including local scrumpy, whilst the wine list is diverse. Kids are looked after too as they are able to choose half portions of most dishes and there is usually local farm sausages and mash or fresh pasta.

Should the sounds of ghostly oratory assail you during your time at Llangoed Hall, worry not. The Hall stands on the site of the Welsh Parliament of 1400 years ago and it is said that it was this connection that inspired Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, of Portmeirion fame, to transform this Jacobean country house into an Edwardian re-incarnation at the behest of the Christy family.

Chef Sean Ballington is an innovator, but not for the sake of it, and many of his dishes are very recognisable - all are well-presented and generous. The panelled dining room fittings are reminiscent of a home rather than an hotel. The pressing of local duckling with orange and Grand Marnier jelly, red pepper coulis and bacon biscuit is effectively a signature starter. The steamed brill with lobster sausage, crab and spring onion risotto, braised leeks and lobster butter is a piece of sheer self-indulgence, and not only in the dining room either, to which many will succumb. The baby pineapple tarte tatin is accompanied by peppered honey ice-cream and star anaise syrup.

An excellent wine list keeps pace with the quality of the table. House wine is available by the glass or bottle from £4.50 and £18.00 respectively.

Tucked away in one of the most scenic areas of Britain, mid-Wales, is the Red Lion Inn. This 16th century drover's inn, newly refurbished, full of character with open fires and oak beams in abundance, has a long history of providing travellers with sustenance, and, in this day and age, meals of high quality are one of the rewards of penetrating this land of lakes, mountains and warm-hearted people.

Start with Black Mountain smoked trout pate pancake with sour cream and cucumber sauce. In the circumstances I think I would forgo my inclination towards swordfish steaks and head for the medallions of Welsh black fillet beef, with crumbled Welsh blue cheese and port wine sauce.

The chocolate truffle with orange sauce might have to compete with that Welsh cheese board. The wine list is exceptionally well-priced, even if the choice may be slightly limited.

Formerly the home of Lord Swansea, Caer Beris Manor has been tastefully converted into a country house hotel with an emphasis on the traditional. The historic panelled restaurant has all the ambience of a private dining room and serves a menu which depends very much on local ingredients and produce. A four course a la carte does justice to such delicacies as Welsh Black beef and lamb. The sea is not far away and its delicacies, such as Pembrokeshire sea trout are well exploited. Welsh cheeses, those little known but delightful additions to the British cheeseboard are kept well, with good variety. Wine is taken seriously at Caer Beris and over 150 bins from twelve or so different countries are for your consideration. House wine at £10.95.

Wales is full of surprises when it comes to eating out, and most of them are nice ones. Wynnstay certainly comes into that category, with a sheaf of recommendations. Chef Gareth Johns does a first class job on sourcing his materials, much of which is Welsh and local, like game - partridge, pheasant, wild lake and river fish - trout and salmon, sea fish - wild bass, turbot, etc. Menus change daily and include such dishes as Penrhyn mussels with leeks and white Welsh wine.

An excellent main course is the moist salmon wrapped in Carmarthen ham served with saffron-scented risotto, encircled by a rivulet of butter and fish-stock sauce. Probably their most renowned dessert is a ring of sweet, fresh macerated roast pineapple in a caramel sauce flecked with rough-ground black pepper. Service is friendly and paced. The wine list starts at £13.95, and offers a very interesting choice from all over the world but specialises in Italian wines, with probably the best Italian selection outside London, but not at London prices!

Kilvert's is one of those comfortable and homely hotels that one associates with Middle England, historic but not lacking in convenience. In the centre of the town it is handy for the bookshops and a welcome sight to many of the walkers who pass through.

The Garden Restaurant offers well-prepared food in civilised but not overwhelming surroundings. A typical pair of starters might include crispy duck spring rolls on a bed of noodles and plum sauce or excellent soup of the day served with warm crusty bread. The spinach and mushroom roulade filled with cream cheese and served on a bed of red onion and sweet pepper marmalade would suit vegetarians and others alike, but others may prefer the local leg of lamb steaks marinated in orange, ginger and spring onion.

A decent wine list would accommodate most tastes and the house wine at £10 a bottle, or £2.50 for a large glass represents good value.

The splendidly located hotel in Mid Wales was built to accommodate all those concerned in the construction of the reservoir, now indistinguishable as such, in 1881. The views are spectacular, and inside the hotel the décor and furnishings are those of a very comfortable country house. Liverpool's city fathers, for whom the water supply was intended, in their wisdom decided to purchase 24,000 surrounding acres to ensure purity of the supply, so the sporting opportunities are mind-blowing with shooting, fishing, bird-watching and walking all available.

In the AA Rosette winning restaurant, the emphasis all on the gloriously fresh local produce, organic lamb reared on the estate, locally shot game and freshly caught fish from nearby Pwllhelli. The cooking style is contemporary but the portions are hearty and aimed to satisfy. Expect to find trio of lamb on the menu, with confit of shoulder, pink lamb cutlet, and baby shepherd pie. Even the breakfast marmalade is made by the chef.

The history of Norton Manor Hotel dates back to 1858 when it was the family home of the 1st Baronet of Radnorshire; now it welcomes guests from further afield to experience rural countryside life within its pleasant interior. Milanos Restaurant likewise bears a charm that is in keeping with the rest of the hotel

For Chef Enzo cooking is a way to illustrate his creativity and imagination and has demonstrated this passion for over 30 years in various restaurants. The à la carte is a repository of collective British and Italian dishes, so expect to find linguini with tomato, garlic, white wine and baby clams alongside a 10oz Radnorshire sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce. An investigation of the antipasti section could reveal salmon gravadlax, and mango and prawn cocktail.

It's also heart-warming to note that Milanos pay special attention to those well advanced in years by offering a fantastic value, two-course senior's lunch, and what better to reminisce those bygone days than over some delicious food and splendid views of the Black Mountains beyond.