The Maenllwyd Inn Rudry

Most pubs in the UK now serve food and the Maenllywd is the one in which we celebrated my mother's 80th birthday recently. It's got everything: bags of charm, country setting and excellent food.

Maenllywd means "grey stones" in Welsh which is pretty appropriate as you can see. The building's an old farm and is almost at the top of the hill, it's supposed to have fabulous views which we missed because we were too busy trying to park. If there were a guide for parking, this pub/restaurant wouldn't be in it.

But the food makes it worth risking life and limb. The emphasis is on quality food home cooked; for instance we chose a beef pie, scampi(the real stuff), rack of lamb and haddock and the vegetarian had a mushroom dish. The portions were huge so I skipped dessert but with extreme reluctance. The service was competent and the evening a huge success.

If you're in the Cardiff/Caerphilly area and have transport, essential because the pub's in the middle of nowhere, do give it a try. It's in all sorts of good food guides where you'll find the number and directions.