The Warren
Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire
Entry
Free-spirited chef and restaurateur Derri Reed set up the Warren as a community hub – a funky local venue driven entirely by renewable energy and run by a bevy of ‘patient and kind’ staff. Inside is a labyrinth of little rooms lit by candles and fairy lights, with exposed beams, vintage trappings and shelves of homemade provisions – a perfect backdrop for a rolling programme of quizzes, open-mic nights and sundry get-togethers. The cooking is wholesome and honest to a fault but also a bit leftfield, garnering influences from around the globe while championing local organic produce with a 'low carbon footprint’. At lunchtime that might mean anything from Câr-y-Môr crab cakes with tomato bisque, roast courgettes, pickled samphire and steamed seasonal greens to bowls of XO noodles with marinated tofu or a toasted sandwich ‘melter’ stuffed with Hazelwell Farm organic beef, Haford raw-milk cheese rarebit and tomato relish. In the evening, the kitchen also brings on board the likes of aubergine and lentil moussaka, rump steak or baked whole sea bass with Pembrokeshire new potatoes and seaweed butter. For afters, perhaps order some Perl Las cheese, Conti’s ‘Italian/Welsh’ ice cream or gooseberry, elderflower and mint fool. To drink, there’s a modest choice of artisan wines and Farmhouse Pilsner from Sobremesa in Talgarth – although one fan swears by the nettle tea. In addition to helming the Warren, Reed also runs Cegin Hedyn, a ‘pay what you can canteen’ that operates weekly from the nearby Lammas Street Community Centre.
Dining Information:
Family friendly, Dog friendly
11 Mansel Street, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire SA31 1PX
01267 236079
