Culinary Causerie
La Mancha at the Bluebell Hotel
South Wales has a number of very popular Spanish-style restaurants much loved by those of us who enjoy pointing at a fine bit of raw meat or fish and having it cooked to order with an accompaniment of jacket potatoes or chips.
What fun to find that the Bluebell’s La Mancha in central Neath belongs to this genre of excellent eateries. La Mancha is a very well appointed restaurant, spacious, airy and light with high ceilings and pleasant décor.
The intrepid safety expert Ann Jones led our foray into this robust cuisine, supervising the ordering of luscious meatballs and fried camembert to start, with a very nice piece of hake and gammon and pineapple to follow.
Gammon is one of those British dishes of which I am inordinately fond and La Mancha’s version involved a giant piece of salty pork, juicy and delicious with a char-grilled finish that was truly excellent – as were my lovely home-fried chips and Ann’s more virtuous jacket potato.
The Bluebell is a very pleasant hotel with an exceptionally satisfying restaurant.
Brave the one-way system – La Mancha is worth it.
Round the Square - Café With A Conscience
The Killay Precinct’s new coffee shop is rather wittily called ‘Round the Square.’
“Our mission is to serve tasty food using locally sourced ingredients from around our very own square,” explains proprietor Emma Bamio. “We want to provide a welcoming hub where our community can meet. We are proud to use suppliers on the precinct like Stuart’s Bakery, Chaplin’s deli and grocer and Prime Cut the butcher.
“Supporting businesses on the square also means we can guarantee almost zero food miles. And it is such a pleasure to provide a welcoming ecofriendly venue for shoppers and locals alike”
Traditional Teas
I dropped in for a traditional afternoon tea served in unusual little combined teapot & and teacup sets. A proper cake-stand offered hand-made sandwiches and scones and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed,
Emma and her team are true food heroes—serving the community with the best available local produce. Through the day bistro-quality soups, quiches, pies and Panini are on the menu, as are an appealing selection of cakes and sweets
Above all, the café has a certain indefinable charm, drawing shoppers and passerby alike.