Maen llwyd Inn, Caerphilly

Having visited this pub several times over the years it had become a firm favourite with a lovely atmosphere and charm coupled with an extensive menu, great wine and fabulous specials. This was until we visited last night. To say that it has changed would be a dramatic understatement. The new refurbishment has turned this charming pub into a run of the mill chain affair - it is smart but lacks any atmosphere and the lighting is crude and stark. As for the menu i was thoroughly disappointed by the lack of any specials board, the removal of the fantastic dessert cabinet and the general banality of the menu. Sadly the experience continued to get worse upon the arrival of the food - the starter's (fish platter and pate) were fine the mains however were bland at best and appalling at worse. My main meal of Rib beef had to be refunded and returned to the kitchen due to the complete lack of meat - it was essentially a ball of fat. The other mains were not much better (pork shanks where the meat was well cooked however the over sweet sticky supermarket esq sauce completely over powered it) and essentially offered basic pub food - nothing like the treat that dining here used to be. A very disappointing evening marking the disappearance of another distinctive pub to the same old commercialised fodder.

I used to love this place, but its changed. Staff rude, service poor, though the food is still good. They're happy to email you offers from the pub chain, extremely grumpy verging on downright rude when it comes to using them.

The menu used to have an extensive specials offering which was great. Now limited to pub menu. Its OK, but nothing like it used to be.

Food was OK ... If you like ratatouille. It was on everything!

Overall .... find somewhere else if you're expecting anything special, Id summarise as above average pub food now, whereas I used to see this as a special place to eat.

We are reasonably local to this inn and go there from time to time. I have to say that we have aways had a pleasant time - we tend to take visitors there. Last year on boxing day we decided to stop there after a walk with friends, and had such a superb meal that we decided to book for this christmas. We were a family party of 11 mixed ages, with mixed dietary requirements. From the warm and friendly welcome when we were lead from the door to our table, to the super efficient and unprompted checking of what we had ordered, through to excellent table service and a respectful time lag between courses to enjoy Christmas chat, the experience was very good. The quality of the food was beyond expectations, and we struggled to finish it in some cases, as portions were generous. One minor criticism was that the chocolate mousse was so very lovely and rich we could have done with a slightly smaller portion. We had wavered a bit at the price before booking, but I can honestly say that it turned out to be very good value for money. There was a slight hiccough with something we had ordered but that was remedied swifltly and in a friendly fashion. We certainly didn't regret not dining at home. Excellent.

Been to this pub twice - once in about 2005 and once in 2010. It's a beautiful pub with good beers and friendly staff, but the food seemed to have gone downhill the second time I went. I'm not sure whether it was part of a chain the first time I went, but I remember the food being excellent. The second time I went, the menu was enormous, with a seemingly endless choice of food. However, when served, it was clear that only some of the dishes were being freshly made. The ones that were (mainly the starters) were very tasty, but lots of the main courses appeared to be microwave meals sold at inflated prices. This was a real disappointment. Still a good place to go for a drink, but I feel they'd be better off slimming down the menu and concentrating on cooking a few things well, rather than lots of things badly in order to give the illusion of choice. I don't mind paying £12 for an Aberdeen Angus Lasagne - but not when it has come out of a microwave and contains hardly any meat!!

i absolutely love this country pub. good views, excellent food, great service, but is pricey.

Lovely place to eat. This is our favourite local restaurant. Sometimes have to wait a while for a table as its so populor, but is worth the wait. The food is always lovely and an excellent varied choice using fresh ingrediants. The service is very good. Is a little pricey though but worth it!

So, 2 years ago we were asked to meet here for Sunday lunch "get there early, you cannot book a table but its worth it". And was it! A menu with a list of where the food came from, great choice, and as it turned out fabulous, reasonably priced food, happy customers!!
We ate there today...great service, although what turned up at the table was slightly wrong, no problem, pointed this out, all sorted in 2 minutes. However, quality of food, awful, no exaggeration. The early warning signs were a different menu with no local produce listed. I opted for lamb, erm, dry very thin sliced something arrived....best part was the Yorkshire puddings. Did I complain, no, whats the point, the damage is already done. The other meals served to our party were described as "OK" at best, 2 years ago this was "superb". A real shame as this place was very special at one time and from the number of people arriving and waiting for a table it is still running off a now undeserved reputation.

This is undoubtedly the best pub for miles. Great service. Great food. A wonderful assortment of good ales. Good parking.

A brisk 40 minute walk from Caerphilly and Lisvane leads to a very large beer garden where a meal and drink on a balmy summer evening does wonders for the soul.

In the cold winter evenings there are real fires and truly cosy atmosphere.

Highly recommended.

Oh today! What a disaster. I suggested to go here... difficult location because of the narrow lanes but had had many good meals before.
We arrived just in the middle of the lunch hour... you can't book. We were told to find a seat anywhere. I had my 83 year old mother with me and another older lady , so we were four. A waitress seated us, took away the reserved sign ... whilst we were looking through the menus a young man came up to us and asked us to move... even pressurised us to move.. because we were only four... whilst there was another empty large table. I spoke up for our party and refused. He was quite surly and abrasive and made us feel very uncomfortable. Eventually, he served our meals and kindly told us we were allowed to stay put. When we went to order our meals at the bar we were greated with an equaly surly, disaffected bar person. However, there was a lovely blonde girl who seemed to know what she was doing and she had some manners. Eat out there again ... good food... terrible service.. journey.. not worth the effort.

I absolutely adore this pub, the Maen Llwyd in Rudry is located right on top of a mountain with breath taking views of the valley below. Built over 400 years ago it is said to be one of the most "haunted" pub/restaurants in Caerphilly. There is still a lot of old charm about this pub with its 2 welcoming fires still in use. The only downside is that he ceilings at their lowest point are 5' 8"! Light snacks were 1st introduced a few years ago but this soon took off and eventually they started serving main meals. When the pub eventually changed hands the food went through a slightly rough patch and unfortunately never fully recovered. The main reason I keep returning to this classic mountain gem is for it's diverse choice of real ales, I would recommend Adnams Bitter or, my favourite London Pride (the only pub in Cardiff that I could find which does this ale!) The real selling point is most definitely the landscape, be it a cold winters day or a summer evening this pub will deliver. Word of advice, keep a peeled eye out when trying to find this pub, it's natural farmhouse disguise is easily missed when concentrating on the narrow country roads.

My job takes me all over the Kingdom , and with a healthy travel allowance , I've eaten in so many restaurants and food pubs that I could write a Food guide , and believe me when i say that is The Best food Pub In Britain , that I Know , and I had the pleasure to meet the young but talented Head Chef , Lucica Badila (apologies if I misspelled the name)which,along side a dedicated team of people ,they manage to have every day around 40 dishes to choose from ; and on top of that a wonderful selection of real ale and wine. But please don't believe me go and see for yourself .

Agree with Ash1975's review. This is a lovely old inn with stone walls and low beams but lots of atmosphere. The restaurant area is well laid out and offers a remarkably wide menu of choices, some of which are quite unusual and well thought out. Service and food as also the cheerful environment is first rate. Prices are middle of the road. The approach route from Cardiff, from Newport or from Caerphilly is a little bit 'narrow lanes' in places but very well worth a visit for all day menu availability (and an excellent range of ales!)

I live in Pontprennau area of Cardiff and generally eat here 2 - 3 times in a year. Quality of food and service has always generally been excellent - only dipping perhaps at the very busiest times. Always a good selection of dishes for everyone. Good in the summer to sit out in the beer garden and the snug aspect of this old pub makes it a cozy place in the winter.

This year we had Christmas dinner. I've eaten out for the past 6 years in both Cardiff & Swansea and this was the best we've all had in a long time (6 adults and 2 kids).

Only problem I have is with the location, in particular, with the wing-mirror jousting that takes place in the lanes coming from Lisvane :-)

I’ve always enjoed my meals here, but will say that more recent meals, have felt a little less special.

I do however recommend the Aberdeen angus Lasagne from the specials board.

Despite the bad review of the Maen Llwyd, i’ve never had a bad experience there.

Its a qaint, countryside pub, that always seems to be busy.

In the winter, it has a log fire, so is lovely and warm. The summer seems to bring lots of walkers, and bikers.

Nice place.

Recommended.

Having just endured what can only be looseley described as a meal at the Maen Llwyd I felt compelled to give an honest and frank review. Myself and my partner were hastled by no less than 4 waiting staff for our order, having been given the menu only 2 or 3 minutes before. Having made our choices from the so called “specials Menu” we were surprised to receive our starters within 5 minutes. This course proved to be inoffensive if a little lack lustre. the starters were closely followed by what can only be described as horrendous. My partner endured his so called aberdeen angus lasagne but my morrocan lamb was truly quite upsetting as it came with a side order of dark hair underneath my cous cous. Strangely, the waiters that had been all too keen to take our orders from us just 10 minutes earlier were nowhere to be seen. When a waiter did come our way i did point out my addition to my meal. I was offered no apology for this breach in food hygiene, but was asked whether the short black hair on my plate was mine… having shoulder length blonde hair myself i found this particularly offensive and felt as if the waiter was trying to point the finger at me, implying that i had planted this rogue hair in my own food. Our “charming” waiter then offered me a dessert although he did not make it clear whether this would be served with hair or whether i would have to provide my own. I was then offered money off my next meal… somehow i very much doubt there will be a next time and would strongly advise others to try elsewhere also.

A lovely Welsh mountainside pub with a homely atmosphere and a welcome to match. Visited earlier in the year with visitors and really enjoyed the ambience and good traditional food. Friendly, pleasant staff and fare that is tasty, traditional and value for money. Happy to recommend.

Not so homely since it’s refurb but can’t fault the food the beer or the service.

The maenllwyd is probably the best country pub in the Caerphilly area. I think it is best in the winter when the log fire is burning, and you can tuck into their beef lasagne.

It is proper Welsh pub grub, but of the highest quality. In the past they have served up Kangaroo steaks if you wanted to try something a little more exotic than the Caerphilly sausage. The choice of guest ales has been pretty decent in the past, but I think there is something for everyone at this pub.

The low beams and candle lit tables make it a snug, cosy place for a meal. I might live 20 minutes away, but I could almost call myself a regular.

Pub food that impresses from the moment you walk in. You find yourself looking around at peoples plates as you walk through and the specials board impresses even more. The misses and I have worked our way through the menu over the past 2 years, have taken friends and family and celebrated special occasions, never to be dissapointed. I struggle to recall something I disliked as all the good things outshone them. The ales are fantastic, as is the selection of drinks. The best thing on the menu has to be the slow cooked lamb shoulder with Red Current sauce. Ask for a red to go with and they will oblige. In winter it is fantastic, especially after a day christmas shopping in the centre. Hard pushed to find a better Gastro Pub in Wales.