Pant y Gwydr Restaurant
The rough old Pant y Gwydr pub in the Sandfields has had an amazing makeover. Now the Pant y Gwydr Restaurant, it has achieved dignity and beauty with the sensitive improvements made by new owners Michele and chef patrone Jacques Abdou.
New look
This couple have had the discernment to preserve every attractive feature of the building, enhancing it with the use of ultra chic purple trim. Wood panelling and floors act as counterpoint to the high ceilings but the atmosphere remains cosy and contemporary.
Immaculate pedigree
As for the food-----we’ve never had restaurateurs in Swansea with so immaculate a pedigree. After qualifying as a chef, at an école hotelière in Versailles, Jacques Abdou worked in two Michelin-star restaurants in Paris and then moved to London. He worked for Prue Leith at 10 Downing Street and Carlton Gardens as well as doing a stint as Head Chef at L'Etoile in Charlotte St. In his last year in London he was Head Chef for a catering company where he organized many interesting events, including a birthday party for Pavarotti.
French but not forbidding
Jacques Abdou is passionate about traditional French cooking and we are all very happy to be at the receiving end of his obsession. The menu is full of authentic French dishes but is by no means forbidding. We had familiar dishes cooked in an appealing way Piquant chicken terrine, and spicy squid, bacon and laver bread starters , followed by Onglet steak with shallots and chips, luscious slow-cooked pork belly with finely shredded spiced cabbage and confit of duck with a true deep flavour, set off by cannellini beans in tomato sauce.
If you can still manage a sweet, I’d recommend the sorbets—and in fact everything on the dessert menu, maybe not all at once.
Open every day
The Pant-y- Gwydr Restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner. Bookings on 01792 455498. Please note, it is already very popular and it is wise to book in advance. www.theph.co.uk