Just over the Welsh border and approximately 15 minutes drive away is Croes Howell Bar, Restaurant and Wedding Venue. Located near Rossett in Llay, Croes Howell has been a local hub for the past 10 years, and now it has been lovingly refurbished and relaunched by hospitality legend Kingdom Thenga and his awesome team from Ubuntu Restaurants.
Phil and I were lucky enough to be invited to the relaunch event recently along with our doodle doggo Ted (this is a very dog-friendly venue with water and biscuits available as soon as you walk in through the door) and were both really impressed with every aspect of this fabulous new space.
The locals are still very much a part of the new venue, and are clearly delighted with the upgrade – but Croes Howell is going to be as much a destination venue as it will remain a great place for local people and their families.
Every venue that Kingdom opens has his trademark commitment to being genuinely family-friendly, with plenty of things to keep the little ones occupied (our friends’ little girl was very busy drawing and colouring in as we arrived). As already mentioned, dogs are very welcome and Ted was treated like a rock star throughout our entire visit, which he absolutely loved!
In true Kingdom style, the drinks flowed and the big man himself was buzzing about doing what he does best, making sure everyone was having a great time and being very well looked after. It was really good to see so many of his hospitality superstars there too, including my favourite Chester chef of all time, Carl Noller, who will no doubt continue to champion local produce as he always does.
We were served some really delicious canapés followed by a selection of small plates including honey-glazed chipolatas, Jalepeño bites, ham hock & Caerphilly cheese terrine (with crispy egg, smoked tomato chutney), homemade black pudding salad (with rhubarb chutney) and Marinated olives – all of which were super-tasty. The menu definitely has something for everyone and is very reasonably priced, and word on the street is that the Sunday roast is fantastic!
This venue looks great, feels great and is of superb quality. Definitely worth the 15 minute trip from Chester and perfect for a bite to eat or a full-on feast with family and friends. We love it!
Family-friendly / Dog friendly / Outside space / Sunday roast / Afternoon tea / Events venue
Find out more about Croes Howell here
