Le Dragon Rouge can be found located inside the lower level of Château Rhianfa in Anglesey. Le Dragon Rouge is the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, offering a Welsh inspired menu using locally sauced ingredients. The décor inside the restaurant is traditional and in keeping with the rest of the hotel. Although it is not causal, it is also not overly sophisticated, making for a comfortable yet special setting.
I must commend Le Dragon Rouge on their secret table for two located within a turret-like space that is secluded and set apart from the main restaurant area. This is one of a kind within the restaurant and perhaps anywhere, as I really haven’t come across anything quite like it. We would highly recommend that anyone staying at Château Rhianfa on a romantic break should remember this table and be sure to request it when making your table reservation.
When we arrived at Le Dragon Rouge, we were greeted in a warm and welcoming manor, which was indicative of the service we would become accustomed to for the evening. We were shown to our table where the menu was explained in detail along with the daily specials that were available. Although the staff appeared to be young, they were evidently very well trained and you can really tell that each and every staff member has a genuine passion for hospitality.
To begin our evening, we opted for two glasses of the Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose as our aperitif. The crisp pink bubbles made for the perfect start of what we knew was going to be a special evening.
“This restaurant gets a firm recommendation from us.”
To begin our culinary journey, I chose the pea and nettle veloute, served with a quails egg and Carmarthen ham. This was an extremely tasty, hearty soup based dish, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. My partner chose the scallops with cade de Paris butter for her starter. The scallops were perfectly cooked to just soft in the middle, with a crispy outer, and were wonderfully sweet, juicy and buttery.
For our main courses, I chose the Conwy lamb served with baby leek, potato, anchovy and sweetbread. The lamb was wonderfully pink in the middle and beautifully tender. My partner decided on the fillet of beef served with cheek, dumpling, horseradish, mushroom and bone marrow. It was a rich dish that was perfectly executed and excellently presented - in fact, I must remark on the presentation of every dish throughout the evening, as extreme care had clearly been taken to ensure they were all immaculate. We also enjoyed sides of new potatoes, French fries and spinach.
For our desserts, I chose the chocolate, complete with an intriguing choice of Halen Môn, Olive Oil and Peanut Butter. My partner chose the lemon, served with meringue, curd and able. Both were incredibly tasty and completed our dining experience perfectly.
Throughout the evening we sipped on a bottle of the 2013, San Salvatore Jungano Aglianico Paestum, Italy, which we chose following much debate and browsing of their extensive wine list.
Le Dragon Rouge is a tough restaurant to fault, this restaurant gets a firm recommendation from us.
The Bill: £54 per head
