Annwn - April 2023.

Annwn reopens at One Market square Narberth, Pembrokeshire - SA67 7AU

We have set a date of the 5th of May 2023. I do like a challenge…!

The below photos on this post were taken by the amazing Emli Bendixen.

Thank you so much Emli!

Kilpaison oyster - Kilpaison Oyster purée, Pepper Dulse, Sea Purslane, Lemon verbena, Lightly pickled seaweeds and Seaweed cracker

The dates for our opening weekend are already fully booked up, although there is availability the week after and there on in as I write this post.

Please though if you do want to book a place do not leave it to chance as places will go very quickly once we release dates.

As subscribers to our website and followers on our social media pages you have the chance to get yourself booked in for what is an amazing dining experience.

Needless to say we have been extremely busy in the background.

We had to go through planning which seemed to take an age.

This has probably been one of the most difficult challenges I have ever faced. We are there now though and the venue is perfect for us moving forward.

Building work has been ongoing, but there is an ending in sight now.

Sourcing the right restaurant flooring was really difficult but we got lucky with some wonderful Cwt y Bugail from North Wales.

I have been setting up raised beds in our lovely garden and I planted seeds back in mid February. Although the growing of vegetables is a massive part of what I do, I find the whole experience of growing a huge learning curve. I am always on the lookout to learn more and to work with other growers would be amazing. It actually a really nice release for me to get away from project management which puts me way out of my depth.

I will post more of that on our social media over the next few weeks.

The Mabinogi, Annwn and Connections to Narberth.

We hope that we can be a massively positive dining experience for the town of Narberth.

Arberth along with Annwn and Gorsedd Arberth are mentioned in the first branch of the Mabinogi.

Its quite surprising most people I speak to that don't know the origins of the stories in the Mabinogi, and the connections to Arberth.

These connections to Narberth and our ideas and whole ethos connect so well to the town and the area.

Its so exciting that we can take our “sense of place” dining experience to different heights just by taking a small step back and looking at the whole bigger picture.

The more we look and the more we discover connections, the more we learn.

And in life is there anything more endearing or as exciting as the gift of learning?

In Wales we have a word “Hiraeth” which means a deep sense of longing, a yearning for that which has passed, a sense of homesickness tinged with grief or sorrow over the lost or departed.

My longing and yearning is to gather more knowledge, to create and refine.

Overseeing and overlooking things is a bane on any busy and creative mind, but when your subject is an endless source of inspiration then this does get in the way, in a good way.

We are not just a restaurant that forages and grows our own.

We are a place to come and enjoy and to open people’s minds to possibilities.

We are forward thinking and listen and look to echoes of the past to give us clues, to try and make sense of what we are all missing sometimes.

Parts of a puzzle which can never be solved.

Simplicity is often the key, but simplicity is so close to us that it is overlooked, most of the time.

Anyway as I type, part of the kitchen arrives today so I need to keep this post short.

Dates available for Dining and Foraging for 2023 are as follows…

Available Dates for 2023

May 2023

Thursday 11th of May and Friday 12th of May - All Spaces available at the moment.

Saturday 13th of May and Sunday 14th of May - Dining only - 4/6 spaces left for each day.

Thursday 18th of May - Fully booked for foraging and dining.

Friday the 19th of May - 6 places left for the foraging and dining experience

Saturday 20th of May - Four places left for the dining experience only.

Sunday 21st of May - Foraging and dining available 6 spaces left.

Thursday 25th of May - Foraging and dining 6 spaces available.

Friday the 26th of May - Dining experience only 2/4 places left.

Saturday 27th of May - Foraging and dining experience - Fully booked.

Sunday 28th of May - Dining experience - All spaces available at the moment.

June 2023

Thursday 1st of June - Foraging and Dining - All spaces available.

Friday 2nd of June - Foraging and dining - 6 places available.

Saturday 3rd of June - Dining experience only - All places available.

Sunday 4th of June - Dining experience only - 6 places available.

Thursday 8th of June - Foraging and Dining experience.

Friday 9th of June - Foraging and dining experience.

Saturday 10th of June - Foraging and dining experience - Fully booked.

Sunday 11th of June - Dining experience only.

Thursday 15th June - Fully booked.

Friday 16th June - Fully booked 4 spaces pending.

Saturday 17th June - Dining experience only 6 places left.

Sunday 18th June - 6 places left.

Thursday 22nd June - 8 places left.

Friday 23rd June - Fully booked.

Saturday 24th June - Foraging and dining experience - 6 Places left.

Sunday 25th June - Dining experience only - 6/8 Places left.

Thursday 29th June - Foraging and dining experience - 6 places left.

Friday 30th June - Foraging and dining experience - 8 to 10 places left.

July To December - Please get in touch, dates are filling steadily

Notes on Food ideas and Photos below.

The new space will now allow me to refine my craft and to delve deeper into old traditional Welsh dishes and refine to bring them into the Fore.

We are growing our own turnips and potatoes to make a dish called Punchnep a long forgotten dish that can be taken to new heights with a little thought and a touch of creativity.

Refined cawls will be added to the menu soon.

Its surprising that most people think that traditional Welsh cawl is all about lamb and root vegetables, but this is far from the truth.

Egg in the woodland - Spring 2023 - Slow cooked Duck egg yolk, Preserved chanterelles, wood sorrel and Morel sauce.

Shoreline plants.

Lobster and the Shoreline - Our late summer main course.

Fresh Laver seaweed.

Ynys Gwales - Gorse flower custard, Birch vinegar meringue and sweet Cicely.

Thanks

A big thanks to the workmen doing the work for us in Narberth.

And of course to my close family and friends who have been there for me at the end of the phone.

Thank you to everyone who has already booked in this far, we cannot wait to welcome you.

Thanks for reading - Stay Posted.

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Foraging Experiences

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Annwn - Early Spring 2022