Bryan Webb has come a long way since his first job in 1975, peeling spuds for self-taught chef Sonia Blech at the Crown at Whitebrook. After 14 years as owner and head chef of acclaimed London restaurant Hilaire (now Al Bustan), Webb returned to his native Wales in 2002.
With his wife Susan, he opened Tyddn Llan restaurant (with rooms) in a Georgian country house, located in Llandrillo. Today, it’s rated 36 on the Good Food Guide’s list of Top Restaurants in Britain.
Webb's food is as Welsh as a tenor voice, a trait accentuated by two years working with Colin Pressdee at Drangway restaurant in Swansea during the 80s. He’s fond of distinctive local treats like laverbread from the Gower Coast and Carmarthen ham, but as the Good Food Guide points out, he’s not ‘slavishly patriotic’, and occasionally sources goods from outside the Welsh border if he prefers the product.
'I love good quality ingredients, only the best will do and from that point the menu is built,' Webb told food writer Andy Hayler. 'It’s straight-forward cooking, keeping as simple as possible but with great flavour and simple presentation so that it looks that it’s not been messed around with.'
Restaurants
Tyddyn Llan
Located in rural Denbighshire, Tyddyn Llan aims to provide a real home-from-home feel. Although most commonly referred to as a ‘restaurant with rooms’, the hotel provides its guests with a couple of ultra-comfortable lounges in which to sit and unwind after a hard day’s yomping in the picturesque countryside.
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