The story
In the heart of Cardigan, Yr Hen Printworks occupies a building with a long history. Built as Hope Chapel in 1837, it later housed the local newspaper’s printing press for three decades. The current owners, whose family acquired the property in the 1990s, always dreamed of returning it to the community. After a renovation that began in 2017, they opened the restaurant in June 2021, preserving original features like a repurposed chapel slate slab for the fireplace and using chimney bricks for the bar. Discoveries made during the work—old printing blocks, trays, and vintage copies of the Tivyside—are now displayed, alongside Welsh oak beams and salvaged light fixtures.
The kitchen focuses on small plates, drawing on premium local ingredients from Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. The cooking is described as simple yet skilful, with a talent for grilling, smoking, and pickling. The Michelin Guide, which has awarded the restaurant a Bib Gourmand for good quality, good value cooking every year since 2023, notes that the triple-cooked chips are great and the desserts really hit the spot. The Good Food Guide has also recognised the restaurant since 2023.
The menu changes regularly, but typical offerings include a Curried Haddock Fritter with onion salad and raita, a Potato Terrine with Black Bomber cheese and walnut ketchup, and a Hispi Cabbage Caesar with aged Parmesan. Larger plates might feature Sea Bream with cider and salsify, or Duck with spiced plum and möle. The ethos is to order three or four plates per person and let the flavours guide you. The restaurant has a relaxed, stylish atmosphere, with outdoor seating on the terrace where dogs are welcome.
Recognition
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Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
Before it was a printworks, it was a chapel, dating back to the dawn of the Victorian age. The present incarnation retains something of every aspect of the building's past, from the chapel gates to displays of the local newspaper that was once produced here. Repurposed and salvaged materials have been used to create a welcoming cocoon of Welsh oak and stone, and a venue that feels like a home from home to its many devotees. The small-plates approach works well here: take two or three to begin with, and see where they lead. A fishcake with curried mayo and pickled cucumber might sit very prettily alongside a slab of pork, prune and pistachio terrine, with perhaps a veg dish such as roast carrot dressed in satay, radish and soy to round things out. The more substantial offerings might see haddock matched with cauliflower, hazelnuts and grapes, or a serving of peppered beef with onion pickled in beer. Dishes are artfully constructed to release layers of complementary flavour. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free variations will be appreciated, and desserts wrap things up with crumbles, mousses and brûlées, as alternatives to a Welsh cheese selection.
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