Our first dinner in North Wales was at a local inn just outside of Conwy and it was GREAT, a treat, an experience and full of character.
We decided to sit outside as the weather here has been called a heat wave and at 730pm, the temperature was about 75degreesF!
The menu is huge with lots of options but we knew what we wanted as this was a trip down memory lane for Will & me and Sam was excited about the veggie options.
They both kept enjoying multiple. Manchester Craft Lagers while I started with a super refreshing Outnumbered Sauvignon Blanc 2018 from Wairrapa, New Zealand that was intense grapefruit, think grapefruit JUICE! for the main course I switched to a decent Malbec called Despacito 2018 from Mendoza, Argentina; not my favorite wine but a good pairing.
The manager Chris was a character and Sarah, our server(well, we had 3 servers) and Sam hit it off big time discussing their tattoos! Sam started with Halloumi Fries with Sweet chilli dipping sauce and Will & I decided to split the enormous GRAZING BOARD which had Spanish olives, houmous(their spelling) with hand fried spiced tortilla chips,, Salt & Pepper Squid(battered) with a chilli & coriander dipping sauce, but the crown was the huge bowl of MESSY CHIPS--a signature dish here with thick cut chips(fries) with pulled beef Brisket adn Cheddar cheese melted on top. These were AWESOME..move over poutine and southern US BBQ, Wales is where the beef is!
Will had the "legendary" Homemade Cheese & Onion Pie with more chips, mushy peas and Gravy, which was a childhood treat he missed. I love Steak & Ale Pie and here it was a gorgeous pastry made with JW Lees ale and again came with mushy peas and mashed potatoes as well as a tasty ale gravy. We also had to try the yummy Ale battered onion rings!!
Check out the photos on FB, as the portions were HUGE and there was no way we could even consider the wonderful desserts. The entire team at Groe's had us entertained all evening and were superb from start to finish, but we felt like Wales was home! The food got "5 stars across the board" from Sam and indeed all of us.
Tonight, we dine at the hotel and tomorrow on the north coast, then on to Yorkshire.
