Illtud's 216
Congratulations to Pugsley - Andrew Davies to the taxman - whose new venture, the gastropub, Illtud's 216, recently opened its doors in my home town of Llantwit Major. Located in a 16th century building that most recently housed Ernie Rogers' electrical shop, Illtud's 216 is divided into two sections: a dark, low-ceilinged bar area and a much larger, light, high-ceilinged dining area. The number 216 is written on the walls in a couple of places. According to this article, the numerals were found during the renovation of the building and their origin and meaning is unknown. According to this one, 216 is the number of gallons in a mash-tun. The Illtud's part of the pub's name is rather more straightforward, being derived from Saint Illtud, after whom Llantwit is named.
As you might expect from the landlord of a former CAMRA Welsh pub of the year (The Plough and Harrow in Monknash), Pugsley has stocked Illtud's 216 with a great selection of real ales and traditionally brewed ciders (I enjoyed a bottle of the very drinkable summer ale, Scorcher).
The true test of any gastropub though, is its food. And here Illtud's 216 comes up trumps again. After poppy seed bread with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, I enjoyed a starter of sardines in pesto with salad, followed by a main course of supreme of chicken pan fried in stilton and berry sauce, served with a garnish of cherries and a side order of new potatoes, carrots, baby corn and mange tout. A bottle of Chilean Semillon-Chardonnay complemented the food nicely.
Portions are healthy (I was too full for dessert) and prices reasonable for this kind of quality (18 pounds for the two courses). High-class, yet unpretentious, it was no surpise that the place was fully booked last Saturday (luckily the courteous waiting staff were able to squeeze us in after one pair of diners ate early). Bookings should continue to roll in. In fact, Illtud's 216 should soon be attracting drinkers and diners from the more salubrious surroundings of Cowbridge or the more cosmopolitan ones of Cardiff. A welcome first for a Llantwit pub (at least in my lifetime!).
As you might expect from the landlord of a former CAMRA Welsh pub of the year (The Plough and Harrow in Monknash), Pugsley has stocked Illtud's 216 with a great selection of real ales and traditionally brewed ciders (I enjoyed a bottle of the very drinkable summer ale, Scorcher).
The true test of any gastropub though, is its food. And here Illtud's 216 comes up trumps again. After poppy seed bread with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, I enjoyed a starter of sardines in pesto with salad, followed by a main course of supreme of chicken pan fried in stilton and berry sauce, served with a garnish of cherries and a side order of new potatoes, carrots, baby corn and mange tout. A bottle of Chilean Semillon-Chardonnay complemented the food nicely.
Portions are healthy (I was too full for dessert) and prices reasonable for this kind of quality (18 pounds for the two courses). High-class, yet unpretentious, it was no surpise that the place was fully booked last Saturday (luckily the courteous waiting staff were able to squeeze us in after one pair of diners ate early). Bookings should continue to roll in. In fact, Illtud's 216 should soon be attracting drinkers and diners from the more salubrious surroundings of Cowbridge or the more cosmopolitan ones of Cardiff. A welcome first for a Llantwit pub (at least in my lifetime!).
posted by Justin Toland at 1:07 am
1 Comments:
If you are wondering why I call the place Illtud's 216 when the official site and Tea and Biscuits review both refer to it as Illtyd 216, the answer is that Illtud's 216 is what is written on the sign! Illtyd and Illtud are two different spellings of the same name, so it's six and two threes really.
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