The best sandwich in Wales is found in a cafe in the middle of nowhere

We all have those places, you know the ones, they have menus you hanker for on a random Tuesday but are inevitably an hour or more's drive away? We have these kind of places in Wales, lots of them.

From Little Haven's Lobster a Mor's lobster rolls to The Walnut Tree's delicious lemon sole in saffron over near Abergavenny and The Old Point House' crab butter that's so good you can bathe in it, you definitely know those kind of food stops I'm talking about. The place I'm writing about today is somewhere I am guaranteed to stop off at any time I drive down west. No, it's not Pont Abraham services, though I was a steady customer back in the '90s thanks to its homemade pea and ham soup, but it's a place about 15 minutes away from there, on the B4300 in Llanarthne, and it's never disappointed me.

Wright's Food Emporium is a cafe, deli, and wine store in the heart of the village and is rarely not busy, but even I'll navigate their tight car park for one of their Cubano sandwiches. Opened at the start of 2014 by food industry authorities Simon and Maryann Wright inside a former Brains pub - which cut a large figure in the small village but had been yet another rural local to close its doors - Wright's Cubano sarnie is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why a former Georgian pub is my stop-off en route to Tenby, Narberth and beyond.

When you walk in you're confronted with a dining space to the left but turn right and it's business time. A bustling, well-stocked deli with fresh, local fruit and veg, wine, Welsh cheeses, meats and the best shelves of condiments west of Wally's in Cardiff.

As of this summer it's got a new coffee stop for walkers and cyclists, CoffiWright's, around the back of the standalone building. But, you want to know about the sandwich. The Cubano is so good I don't think I've seen it off the menu - which rotates weekly thanks to what's fresh or fancied that week - in a good few years.

What's in a Cubano? Well at Wright's you'll get their ciabatta stuffed with pork belly, Hafod cheese (from Lampeter), Myrddin Heritage (from eight miles down the road in Tanerdy) ham, pickles, Sriracha and mayo.

The pleasing chew of the bread and pork belly is offset by the fresh pickles and sharp, creamy dart of the mix of mayo and Sriracha runs through each bite. And as you [me] try, but ultimately fail, to keep the whole shebang together, the bonus of the hidden ham comes through at the end a winner as you switch the sticky, dense and lovely pork belly to a side portion. It's a bloody triumph of a sandwich - all in one go, and if or when it falls apart.

The individual components work hard to stand out but also marry as harmoniously as they should. Wright's Cubano is not the only winner on the ever-changing menu; you'll do well do try their amazing salads that feature items from Blaencamel Farm, a past favourite of mine featuring charred nectarines, walnuts and Brefu Bach cheese all delicately decorated with edible flowers. Veggie sides come in shapes like aubergine fritters, patatas bravas, Welsh asparagus.

If I really want to ensure a taste of Wright's in the moment I usually insist my other half - or anyone else I can coerce - into sharing half a Cubano and half the salad. It's a bloody win-win. And if you've already had lunch, don't like sandwiches (not sure who those type of people are) and fancy coffee and cake, there's still a reason to stop off at Wright's.

Earlier this year I bought one of their apple and cinnamon pastries and, not to be over the top, it was so heavenly up my street I've been waiting for it to be back on their Instagram ever since. The fact there is no photographic evidence of this proves how irresistible it was.

Before Covid one of the beautiful things about Wright's was their choc-full cake table. It would be a tough choice deciding which to choose. They still have an impressive display of sweet treats and baked goods at the heart of the deli room.

You can read the full story behind Simon and Maryann's Wright's Food Emporium journey, here. Why else would you visit Llanarthne?

The Carmarthenshire village is just a stone's throw away from National Botanic Gardens of Wales and on the castle-front, nearby the epic fortifications of Carreg Cennen and Dinefwr. If those aren't good enough reasons to get down to that part of the world then I don't know what is.

Find out about Carreg Cennen, here. and Dinefwr, here.

How to find Wright's Food Emporium

Open Thursday - Sunday. Wright's Food Emporium, Llanarthney, Carmarthen SA32 8JU.

Up-to-date menu prices, here.