Much like buses reviews seem to come two or more at a time, so here is my two penneths worth on top of (always ahead of the game) Gourmet Gorro’s ringing endorsement,with us staying over.

Some people are seemingly born to hospitality.  Life’s natural bon viveurs effortlessly put people at ease and can coax out conversation from even the most maladroit of malcontents (i e. me). For someone as socially awkward as me, it seems a rare (and impossible to master) skill and one that I seriously envy when I see it in others.

Such people include Teej and Jenks, a dynamic duo if ever there was one, who have taken over an 18th century inn out West in the form of the Inn at the Sticks (my dyspraxic brain so wants it to be the Inn in the Sticks) in Llansteffan (a rather charming village by the sea/mouth of an estuary in Carmarthenshire which even has its own castle).

I first came across Teej at Curado Bar in Cardiff, where she was always a consummate host, and a couple of nights away with Mrs. SF planned for a wedding  anniversary weekend (how after so many years together she hasn’t killed me remains a mystery to me, her and to many, many, others) I knew we would be in safe hands at her new place. A veritable bolt hole in the sticks, with the promise of good food, good booze and brisk walks with the pooch (when he can be arsed) to blow away the cobwebs.

The place exudes charm, with a bustling bar

and a roaring fire.

We, including the dog (it is very dog friendly), felt instantly at home.

After checking in to our very nice and well provisioned room (with an uber comfy bed, which is always a must in my book)

we sojourned downstairs for a pre – dinner tipple.

A nice pint of bitter, followed by a crisp albarino and some gratis truffle crisps wetted the appetite rather nicely.

Have to say the bar snack game here is rather fine.

We indulged on both nights of our stay,

with the Valencian almonds paired with a glass of La Goya manzanilla, a particularly fine combo.

On the wider food front, reference is made (in the explanation of what to expect) to Welsh tapas, a use of that term that I can’t say I am massively keen on (but I am a miserable pedant).

To me the offering is, size wise, much more raciones in nature and as such I would call it small plates which are ideal for two to share.

It is split into sea, land (meat) and garden (veg), as well as a specials board

On our first night, we decided to stick mainly with the sea element

A smoke salmon roulade (£12) was a generous portion, with a robust wheel of quality smoked salmon (not too heavy on the smoke)

encasing a dill spiked salmon mousseline. Crisp and sharp, juliened, green apple bought a welcome bit of acidity to the dish. Decent bread (just a touch doughy, perhaps) came with it.

A pan seared emperor prawn (£14.50) was an absolute whopper, being positively krakenesque in stature

The risk with such a mega sized prawn is you overcook it and it becomes tough or you take it off the heat too soon and the middle is not cooked enough . Here the kitchen applied a fine touch with the best of both worlds (i.e. neither over or under done).

Prawns seem to have a natural affinity with garlic (and butter) and this one benefited from a liberal bathing in a garlic and seaweed butter. The garlic had been cooked so it lost its astrigency and some (but not all) of its pungency giving it a  nutty and almost sweet butteriness. The seaweed added a nice saline and ozony streak to proceedings. A squeeze of lemon provided the coup de grace to the dish and the bountiful prawn head juice the crowning glory flavour wise.

The same bread as with the salmon worked well as a mopping up tool, but I did find it slightly odd we got two with this dish and only one with the eminately spreadable salmon dish

I am a sucker for battered anything and couldn’t resist the allure of, Wales’ gift to the seafood world, cockles (such an underrated mollusc) in a beer batter ” popcorn” form (£9.50).

A very generous portion of little nuggets of joy this, with crisp beer batter, the sweet meat of the cockles (gratifyingly absent any grit – the bane of an otherwise good cockle) and chilli spiked vinegar making for a very moreish dish. My only complaint here was the rather good aioli was billed as “garlic” aioli (which winds me up more than it should).

The bounty of the sea continued with a well executed scallop dish (£12).

Two plump, sweet, scallops had a nice caramelisation to the exterior and a just past translucent interior.

Crisp onions added a touch more sweetness, with a umami hit from the miso puree and a thwack of saline from a lump fish roe butter sauce.

A finally foray into the menu (specials board) brought some welcome carbs in the form of a potato terrine with a parmesan and truffle mayo.

Nice crispness to the pots, with a drift of nutty parmesan, but I did think (echo’d by Mrs. SF) that the mayo was a touch too heavy on the truffle (overpowered a bit, which is always the danger with truffle).

We ate their both nights (silly not to, to be honest) and for our second night we had one of their sharing platters in the form of the tomahawk steak with sides (£70 for two).

Big bugger this, which was cooked bob on to the requested medium rare (usually go rarer but with the fat in a ribeye, essentially what have here bone in, I prefer it a touch more done) .

Nicely seasoned and full of the flavour, with that umami, buttery, nuttiness, I associate with a good bit of grass feed dry aged meat.

Fries were nicely seasoned and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Good, well seasoned, meaty portobello mushrooms added nicely to the mix, as did a nicely charred tom (which despite being whole didn’t suffer from the curse of a grilled tom in that it was hot all the way through.

We were (understandably) pretty stuffed at this point, but decided it would be rude not to try a dessert.

After much conjecture, we settled on the black forest trifle (£9). Mrs. SF had dug in before I took a picture

leading to it looking a tad scruffier than its unsullied form.

Very rich this, with a good lick of booze, I particularly liked the abundance of stem ginger.

On the booze front, there is everything you would want from a pub, with draft and keg beer and plenty of interesting spirits

As readers will know wine is my bag and the offering here is a rather well thought out list (by someone, Teej, who knows what they are doing).

On the first night, our fishy theme paired very well with an Ana de Atún white rioja (£30.95 – retails at around the £17 mark, so a very fair mark up)

Not your traditional oaky number this, with plenty of citrus, apple and a touch of gooseberry on the nose and a refreshing acidity and a long finish. Very nice wine and very nicely priced too.

For the second night, I had spied a Chateau Musar 2017 (a glorious Lebanese wine which I have always been a big fan of and of which I have a fair few bottles in the wine room at home) on the list for (to me) the very reasonable price of £59.95 (it retails at £36 + – more often than not over £40, so a more than fair mark up, with me having seen the similarly retail priced 2016 on a list at £75.50 earlier this year).

Lovely wine this, with bags of rich, ripe and dried fruit, including cherries, blackcurrants, cranberries,as well as liquorice notes.

Still a baby for a Musar, but already drinking beautifully and it will get better and better for at least a decade (and probably continue in fine form for much longer).

Glorious paired with the bone in ribeye.

Breakfast is part of the room deal and it is (as is the case with everything here) a generous (two course) affair.

Very enjoyable on both days,

with the bonus of very good and free flowing coffee.

Oscar (very much the not so little porker) approved the offer from the kitchen of a sausage for him on the first morning,

Scoffing the lot in double quick time

I declined, on his behalf, a similar offer on day two as he is a bit of a tubster (according to his vet) already (am hoping said vet doesn’t read the blog, an unlikely occurance I grant you)!

The verdict

Good food (with a clear committment to local sourcing), good booze, comfy rooms and consummate hospitality is a heady mix and what Teej and Jenks have created at the Inn at the Sticks  in Llansteffan ticks all of these boxes.

With them opening (next door) a deli and wine bar shortly, it is about to get even  better.

Lucky locals I say and it certainly makes for a lovely place go to for a short break, in what is a lovely part of the world.

We pitstopped during our weekend at both Wright’s Food Emporium

and the Stackpole Inn.

both of which are worth a visit.

We will definitely be back for a return visit to this part of the world and what better place to stay, when we do, than the Inn at the Sticks.

The details

Address: High Street (opposite the Church), Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, SA33 5JG

Website: https://innatthesticks.com/