Ynyshir (restaurant)
| Ynyshir | |
|---|---|
Front entrance to the restaurant | |
Location within Ceredigion | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2013 |
| Owner(s) | Gareth Ward and Amelia Eiriksson |
| Head chef | Gareth Ward |
| Food type | Creative, Asian-inspired[1] |
| Dress code | None |
| Rating | Michelin star AA Rosettes (2026)[2] |
| Location | Eglwys Fach near Machynlleth, Ceredigion, SY20 8TA, Wales |
| Coordinates | 52°32′40″N 3°56′43″W / 52.54456°N 3.94514°W |
| Seating capacity | 20 |
| Reservations | Yes |
Ynyshir is a restaurant in Eglwys Fach, Ceredigion, Wales. It is run by head chef Gareth Ward, who owns it with his partner Amelia Eiriksson, and in 2022 became the first restaurant in Wales to be awarded two Michelin stars.
Cuisine
Ynyshir serves a tasting menu dinner consisting of approximately 30 courses, with Japanese inspiration and focussed on meat and sashimi. The cuisine is described by the Michelin Guide as "creative".[1] Ward uses live fire cooking over birchwood,[3][4] and ages Welsh Wagyu beef for 300 days[5] and ages seafood in a Himalayan salt chamber.[6]
History
Gareth Ward, originally from County Durham, has run the restaurant since 2013.[7] It was originally a hotel called Ynyshir Hall; after the owner Joan Reen died in 2016,[8] Ward and his partner Amelia Eiriksson, an architect, rebranded the business as Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, a restaurant with ten bedrooms.[9][10] During the COVID lockdown, the restaurant sold meal kits.[11]
After an inspection in November 2025, Ynyshir received a one-star hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency,[4] which Ward blamed on the kitchen's use of raw and aged ingredients whose freshness the inspectors had questioned.[12] The full report, obtained by the BBC after a Freedom of Information request, mentioned among other health and safety violations: flies, a dirty knife which the restaurant said was in the process of being cleaned at the time, cooking temperature records showing inadequate heating of sous vide cod, absence of an ultraviolet light which the restaurant stated was present and in operation at the time of inspection, and inadequate health safeguards for raw lobster, which Ynyshir was ordered to stop serving.[13]
Reviews
A 2018 review in The Telegraph awarded Ynyshir 9 out of 10 for the location, character, service, and facilities, and 10 out of 10 for the food and drink. The reviewer described Ward as "ballsy and fearlessly experimental" and each of the 19 dishes on the tasting menu as "impossibly dainty and delicious".[10]
The reviewer from The Times in 2022 gave an overall score of 7 out of 10 for the venue, and 9 out of 10 for the food and drink. They said of the tasting menu that "each [dish] is intensely flavoured and somehow always more thrilling than the last" and "this is really gastronomy for meat lovers".[14]
Andy Hayler, the first person to visit every 3-Michelin-star restaurant, characterised Ward as "like Picasso" and wrote, "Gareth says he's ingredient-led and actually means it."[11]
Celebrity chef James Martin described Ynyshir in 2024 as the best restaurant in the world and in 2026 predicted it would soon achieve three Michelin stars.[6][15]
A 2025 review described Ynyshir as "a culinary house party", for not only the food but the loud DJ music.[3] In The Guardian, Zoe Williams also mentioned the loud techno music.[11]
Awards and recognition
Ynyshir Hall held a Michelin Star until 2011 and regained it in 2014 after Gareth Ward's arrival.[16]
In 2017 the restaurant was awarded five AA rosettes, the first restaurant in Wales to achieve this.[17]
In 2022 Ynyshir was awarded two Michelin stars by the Michelin Guide, the first restaurant in Wales to achieve this.[7]
Ynyshir was voted Restaurant of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards in 2022[11] and 2023.[3][18]
References
- ^ a b "Ynyshir". Michelin Guide. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ "Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms". AA Rated Trips. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026.
- ^ a b c Sanz, Jordi Luque (2025). "Ynyshir: Inside Wales' Wildest Two Michelin-Starred Restaurant Experience". Honest Cooking & Travel. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ a b McKernan, Bethan (16 January 2026). "Two stars from Michelin, one for hygiene: star chef's poor score ignites UK dining debate". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ Shingler, Tom (19 July 2018). "Old beef, new tricks: ageing meat with Gareth Ward". Great British Chefs. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ a b Forgrave, Andrew; Johnson, Taite (15 January 2026). "Top critic calls for rule changes after Wales' top restaurant gets poor hygiene rating". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ a b Williams, Kathryn (16 February 2022). "Ynyshir has become Wales' first ever two-star Michelin restaurant". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Knapman, Joshua (22 October 2017). "Helicopters and £500,000 kitchens - what it takes to run one of the best restaurants in Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Lochead, Gemma (18 August 2016). "Ynyshir Hall undergoes rebrand". Hospitality Interiors Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ a b Walker, Kerry (1 July 2018). "Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Zoe (17 June 2022). "'Not a place to relax': Ynyshir, the £350-a-head Welsh techno inn atop the National Restaurant Awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ Mackrill, Amy (13 January 2026). "Chef 'not embarrassed' by one-star hygiene rating at Michelin-starred restaurant". BBC News.
- ^ Mackrill, Amy (11 February 2026). "Dead flies and dirty knife - Michelin-starred restaurant's hygiene failings revealed". BBC News.
- ^ D'Arcy, Susan (28 November 2022). "Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms hotel review". The Times. London. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Matt (8 January 2026). "James Martin names 'best place to eat in world' but you need to be quick to try it". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ Owen, Cathy (25 September 2014). "North Wales restaurant receives Michelin Star for the first time in four years". North Wales Live. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Sell, George (20 October 2017). "Ynyshir awarded five AA Rosettes". Boutique Hotel News. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Ynyshir". National Restaurant Awards. Retrieved 11 February 2026.