The story
The Hare & Hounds in Aberthin, Cowbridge, has been a local watering hole for over 300 years. Today, it remains a thriving village pub, but the kitchen now draws on the best produce the Vale of Glamorgan has to offer. Chef Tom Watts-Jones grew up in Aberthin and trained in London at the Anchor & Hope and the Michelin-starred St. John. He returned to the pub where he had his first pint to champion Welsh food.
The menu changes twice daily with the seasons. The kitchen relies on produce from local Vale farmers, the pub’s own kitchen garden, and its smallholding. Everything is made from scratch – sourdough bread, cultured butter, fresh pasta. This is not pretentious fine dining, but a showcase of regional British cooking at its best. The Hare & Hounds holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, an award for good quality, good value cooking, and is featured in the Good Food Guide and Good Pub Guide.
Guests can choose from an à la carte menu, a five-course Daily Tasting Menu, or a nine-course Tasting Menu (24 hours’ notice required). A more casual bar menu is available Wednesday and Thursday evenings, offering pub classics. A Saver Menu (two courses for £29, three for £34) runs on Thursday and Friday lunch and Thursday evenings. Sunday lunch follows the à la carte format. The food is unpretentious, driven by locality and integrity.
The Hare & Hounds is dog-friendly in the bar and garden. It offers limited parking and can reserve spaces for those with limited mobility. The pub has a private dining room and hosts events, from tasting menus to barbecues. It is a place for both celebrations and muddy walks – a genuine local pub that happens to serve exceptional food.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
*The pub is closed until further notice following a devastating fire at the beginning of June 2026.* Stablemate to The Heathcock in Cardiff, this snug village pub brims with folksy features: wonky whitewashed stone walls, stripped floorboards, a Welsh dresser loaded with jars of preserved fruits, and a wood burner in an inglenook that contrasts with the polished metal of the open kitchen. The ever-changing menu takes its cue from the setting – traditional by inclination, but shot through with contemporary freshness. Executive chef (and local boy) Tom Watts-Jones previously worked at Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell, and it shows. Welsh rarebit (unctuous, glossy and perfectly charred) arrives on a chunky piece of sourdough (from the Hare & Hounds Bakery in Cowbridge) with a bottle of Worcestershire sauce on the side, while seasonally attuned starters might range from a thick, silky soup of new-season's asparagus and wild garlic topped with a runny-yolked crispy egg to a fresh, light risotto incorporating plump mussels and more wild garlic. To follow, our braised, crisp-skinned duck leg – an absolutely wonderful combo of crunchy and fatty – was teamed with velvety butter beans, chunky bacon and a rich cider sauce cut through with the spiky brightness of aïoli. We also enjoyed a tender, perfectly rosy hanger steak with flawless chips and a punchy peppercorn sauce. For dessert, dainty brown butter cakes – oven-fresh and nutmeg-spiced, fluffy in the middle and caramelised on top – were a huge hit, as was the almost impossibly thick and creamy honeycomb ice cream. A compact list of European wines offers plenty by the glass or carafe.
Location
Facebook
Instagram
X