Y Marram

A caravan park on a Welsh holiday island is not the first place you’d think of to find a meal that could hold its own alongside many a Soho or Shoreditch joint. Formerly the Guide-listed Marram Grass, the venue has gone through several iterations, but if they can sustain the quality we experienced on our visit, many more bucket ’n' spaders should be queuing up for dishes such as whole wild sea bass in shellfish sauce or hand-dived scallops, yoghurt, poached egg in a burnt butter sauce – as well as dayttime brunch treats. Given the location, fish predominates, but you’ll also find choices on the short main menu such as dry-aged pork loin and apple in a pork butter sauce. Pen Lyn spider crab, caught just a few miles away, was as outstanding a version as ever you’re likely to experience: served in the shell, the poached meat dressed with capers and dill and moistened at the table with crab bisque. It came with fresh-from-the-soil Anglesey new potatoes and a courgette, fennel and pine-nut salad. Menu structure is still a work in progress: opening times are varied (check the website) and there is currently no separate starter or dessert options, though the kitchen obligingly piped salted caramel cream along a well-filled almond croissant (leftover from that morning’s batch of homemade pastries) to round off our meal. To drink, beers, ciders and wines have a local accent wherever possible. Also, look out for visiting guest chefs and culinary events. In contrast to the rather rickety surrounds (think an extended, florally bedecked garden shed amidst farm buildings), Ellis Barrie’s cooking is instinctively refined, skilled and confident enough to keep it simple – not because he doesn’t know how to elaborate, but because he clearly does.