I found one of Britain's best pubs in the Welsh hills

This countryside dining pub in the Welsh hills has a superb supper offering Let the record show that I’m a big fan of old-school pubs.

Give me a roaring fire, low beams, and a gravy-laden Sunday lunch and I’m happy as a clam in cheap chardonnay. The problem is actually finding one.

With pubs closing at a grim pace across the UK tracking down a decent Welsh boozer with exceptional eats is now becoming akin to a Top Gear Challenge. We’re in real danger of ending up with nothing but identikit 'Spoons, all wall-of-noise, bonkers carpets, and lurid cocktails that glow in the dark for reasons science has yet to explain.

Yet somehow, against the odds, Wales still has a handful of historic inns and allegedly haunted pubs holding the line – old timber, crackling fires, locals at the bar, rooms upstairs, and kitchens that actually care. The Good Food Guide agrees.

In its first-ever list of the 100 Best Pubs in Britain five Welsh pubs made the cut – proof that quality survives even if the rest of the industry is clinging on by its fingernails. On the list is the renowned and dog-friendly Felin Fach Griffin.

It's a countryside dining pub in the Welsh hills with eight rooms, sandwiched between the Black Mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog. Dripping with accolades, including multiple awards for Wales from the Good Pub Guide, a César award for Welsh Inn of the Year from the Good Hotel Guide, and a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide, it's exactly what a pub should be: warm, welcoming, and serving decent homemade food.

Part of brothers Charles and Edmund Inkin’s Eat, Drink, Sleep trilogy – which also includes the Gurnard’s Head and the Old Coastguard in Cornwall – this ever-popular pub with rooms is described as an "archetypal dream of a country inn" by the Good Food Guide and I had come to see if it lived up to the hype. Dragging my ever-obliging husband along for the ride we packed the car and set off from Cardiff into the countryside.

With a cheery, dark cherry red exterior the pub certainly has all the hallmarks of a modern countryside inn with a roaring fire, low beams, dogs, squishy sofas, colourful walls, and seasonal touches. Staff are polished but not intrusive, attentive without hovering. Drinks are considered as important as the menu and won't bankrupt you, according to the owners, who say they're priced for local trade, not just seasonal visitors, so "London prices can remain in London".

More of this in Wales please. The sensible bar features ales from local breweries including Brecon Brewing, Antur Brew Co., Wye Valley, Rhymney Brewery, Monty's, and Waen.

There's also a robust wine list with carafes and plenty by the glass for indecisives like me. The kitchen is even sharper.

Head chef Gwenann Davies, previously the senior sous chef at Lush by Tom Kerridge, runs the culinary show here. The concise menu changes daily and seasonally, featuring ingredients from the surrounding hills, farms, and dairies, showcasing the finest Welsh lamb, beef, game, and cheese.

Staff showed us to a table set with seasonal decorative flourishes and warm candlelight, giving a cosy autumnal feeling, which was ideal as the weather had frankly turned. Starters read like a food nerd’s fever dream. Carrot tartare with black garlic, coriander seed, and smoked rapeseed oil.

Black Mountains Smokery smoked salmon with baby beetroot, wasabi, and puffed rice, salted pork belly, bacon jam, pickled onion, and shimeji mushroom. How can you possibly choose from this epic line-up?

After much deliberation I opted for the white crab on a toasted crumpet with Granny Smith and pickled celery, which was bright, creamy, and fresh. My husband ordered a slab of chicken and confit leek terrine with truffle oil and raisins.

While perfectly pleasant we both felt like a zingy piccalilli would have elevated the terrine to god-tier status. Still, we happily spread it on light-as-air homemade bread.

Mains are where chef Gwenann Davies really shows her skills. I went straight for the beef rump with creamed potato and bourguignon jus.

Perfectly pink, tender, and paired with creamed potato and a jus that was rich, glossy, and measured. Every bite proved why overcooked beef should be considered a war crime.

My husband went for the pork belly with barbecue apple purée, black pudding and pork fritter, and warming chilli cabbage. The pork was the perfect mix of rich, crispy, and velvety soft – exactly as it should be.

Other delicious-sounding mains on the menu that night included plaice with warm tartare sauce and creamed potato, cod with salt-baked celeriac, Roscoff onion, brown shrimp, and chicken butter, mushroom, spinach, and celeriac pithivier with olive oil mash and mushroom gravy, and gnocchi with roasted beetroot, beetroot purée, goat curd, and pumpkin seeds. Sides deserve an honourable mention.

Triple-cooked chips with aioli are dangerously moreish and the Tenderstem broccoli with Perl Las (a divine Welsh blue cheese) and hazelnuts hit all the savoury notes you didn’t know you were missing. And extra creamed potato is a life choice you will not regret. Dessert continued the masterful authority of savoury courses and included a white chocolate mousse with berry ice cream, fresh raspberries, and crunchy, bittersweet honeycomb.

Dinner here exceeded all my expectations and I cannot wait to plan another visit with my hardcore foodie friends who are often hard to impress. While my wine-fuelled rambling hopefully suffices the Good Food Guide sums Felin Fach's menu perfectly: “Each dish is carefully considered, right through to dessert.

Sunday lunch is an ultra-traditional feast featuring meat from the lowland hills, garden greens, and plenty of homely touches." After an extremely filling dinner we retired to our room.

There's something wonderful about rolling straight from bar to bed without having to order an Uber. The rooms are what you hope for in a country inn: TV-free, calm, countryside chic. Plentiful amenities include robes, cafetiere coffee press, Roberts Radios, Bramley toiletries, homemade biscuits, and local art.

Restful sleep arrives without delay – possibly due to the cheeky nightcaps by the fire. It's hard to say.

Morning continues the high standards with breakfast featuring ingredients from the same local sources, freshly-made coffee, and staff who are remarkably jovial at 8am. Feast on a filling Borders Breakfast, Welsh natural yoghurt, Griffin muesli, fruit from the kitchen garden, and apple juice from the Usk Valley.

Given that the pub is quite rural it makes sense to book a stay if budget allows so one of you doesn’t have to be the designated driver. Price-wise, the mains range from around £21 to £38, depending on whether you order veggie, meat, or steak.

If you want to stay over rooms vary in price and start from £185 for a double. They also offer seasonal deals including two-night sleepover packages with supper included in spring and autumn.

More information is on their website and you can book your stay here.