Tan-y-Foel Country House

Lording it on a tranquil hillside above the hordes in the tourist honeypot village of Betws-y-Coed, Tan-y-Foel is a 17th-century Welsh stone house transformed into a refined haven of aesthetic pleasures. Referring to itself as a 'country guesthouse', this is a classy contemporary boutique-style operation run with the kind of exemplary attention to detail that comes with truly hands-on owners. Set in six acres of woodland with glorious vistas of Snowdonia and the Conwy Valley, the view indoors is no less impressive: the chic, light and contemporary minimalist interior would not look out of place in a style-driven metropolitan hotel. Liberally sprinkled with ceramic pieces, sculpture and modern abstract artworks, the intimate restaurant seats a mere dozen diners, allowing chef-proprietor Janet Pitman to bring spot-on technical precision to her imaginative modern ideas. Fresh seasonal herbs and veg from their own 30-metre greenhouse are useful adjuncts to the top-class Welsh produce forming the backbone of daily-changing dinner menus, which are tightly-focused with two dishes at each stage. You might start with duck Pithiviers with Madeira sauce and prune, apple and pecan dressing, and follow with braised locally-reared steak teamed with crisp fried black pudding and potato dumplings, wilted greens, caramelised shallots, white onion foam and rich beef gravy. End on a sweet note with a lasagne-style dessert of caramelised pineapple with goats' cheese ice cream and toffee sauce, or go for a savoury finish with exemplary Welsh cheeses.