19 Top Dishes and Foods of Wales

Welsh rarebit is a savory dish consisting of a hot cheese sauce served over toasted bread. Commonly, the cheese sauce can vary, with some recipes using a simple melted cheese-on-toast approach.

Alternatively, the toast can have ale, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika, wine, or Worcestershire sauce.

Variants of the dish include the addition of an egg on top, known as buck rarebit, or blended with tomato for a “blushing bunny”. The Welsh love their toast so much that they dedicate each year’s September 3rd to National Welsh Rarebit Day.

Bara lawr, or laverbread, is a seaweed-based Welsh delicacy made from laver, a type of seaweed primarily found along the west coast of Great Britain and Ireland.

This edible seaweed is boiled for several hours and then minced or pureed into a gelatinous paste, which can be eaten as is or rolled in oatmeal and fried.

Surprisingly, laverbread has a distinctive flavor likened to olives and oysters. It is often served as part of a Welsh breakfast alongside bacon and cockles, or used to make sauces and soups.

Bara brith is a Welsh tea bread traditionally combined with dried fruits and spices soaked in tea to create a rich, flavorful loaf. Originating from Wales, its name means “speckled bread” in Welsh, referring to the mixed fruits used.

Ideal for serving at tea time, bara brith is enjoyed sliced with butter. Over time, it has many variations, including ones without yeast, using self-raising flour instead.

To present the bara brith the right way, I suggest cutting the loaf into slices and spreading them with butter for serving.

Leek soup is a Welsh culinary creation made with potatoes, leeks, chicken broth, and heavy cream, seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices. The potatoes are typically diced and cooked in broth, while leeks are sautéed before combining all ingredients.

As a staple of Welsh cuisine, known as cawl cennin, leek soup is a favorite for its simplicity and depth of flavor.

Cawl is a traditional Welsh soup, often considered the national dish of the country, centering around lamb or beef, leeks, potatoes, swedes, carrots, and other seasonal vegetables.

Originating from the 14th century, cawl was a winter staple in south-west Wales, evolving over time to include potatoes. The meat and vegetables are simmered together in water, sometimes thickened with oatmeal or flour.

Historically served in two courses, first the broth, then the meat and vegetables, cawl is now commonly enjoyed as a hearty single dish.

Selsig Morgannwg is a vegetarian Welsh sausage made primarily from cheese (often Caerphilly), leeks, and breadcrumbs. These sausages are named after the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales.

These vegetarian sausages started gaining popularity during the Second World War due to meat shortages. Modern variations may include onions or different herbs and spices, offering a versatile and flavorful alternative to meat-based varieties.

Welsh cheese is a variety of cheeses produced in Wales, notable for their distinct flavors and textures.

Among the most famous is Caerphilly, a hard, crumbly cheese that originated around the town of Caerphilly. It is known for its light color, mild taste, and slightly tangy lemon flavor.

Another notable Welsh cheese is Y Fenni, made from cheddar blended with mustard seed and ale, named after the Welsh name for Abergavenny. These cheeses are often celebrated in local festivals and used in traditional Welsh dishes.

Tatws pum Munud is a Welsh stew known for its simplicity and quick cooking time. The stew is a combination of smoked bacon, stock, potatoes, and other vegetables such as onions, carrots, and peas.

Unique for its preparation, all main ingredients are sliced to lie flat, allowing it to be cooked in a large frying pan rather than a pot. This method results in a dish that’s served on a plate, often accompanied by crusty bread and butter.

To enhance the flavor, sometimes Worcestershire sauce is added. There’s even a variant like tatws popty (or tatws pobdu), which uses chunkier vegetables and is oven-cooked.

Conwy mussels are a renowned delicacy from the historic Welsh town of Conwy, situated on the north coast. Thriving in the River Conwy and the Irish Sea, these mussels are favored for their distinctive taste.

Once primarily harvested for pearls in the 19th century, with the meat fed to livestock, they have now become a favorite gourmet.

They can be prepared either fried in oil with cream and shallots or steamed in wine, and are best enjoyed when complemented with appropriate side dishes.

Faggots and peas are a traditional dish in the United Kingdom, especially in Wales and the Midlands. This combination is a dish of meatballs made from minced off-cuts and offal of pork, such as heart, liver, and bacon.

The protein is mixed with herbs and breadcrumbs before being wrapped in caul fat and baked, then served with processed peas and a savory, thick gravy.

Scouse is a popular stew originating from the port city of Liverpool, which later gained popularity in Wales. Derived from ‘lobscouse’, a similar stew eaten by sailors from Northern Europe, the name was eventually shortened to ‘scouse’.

The stew is prepared with large chunks of beef, potatoes, carrots, and occasionally ale for added flavor. For serving, scouse is best enjoyed with bread, pickled cabbage, or beetroot.

Wyau ynys mon, also known as Anglesey eggs, is a traditional Welsh egg specialty originating from Anglesey, the largest island off the northwest coast of Wales.

This dish revolves around baking hard-boiled eggs over a bed of mashed potatoes and leeks. Ideally, the base for an Anglesey egg needs to have a thick consistency for serving with a creamy sauce.

The final dish is served with the sauce poured over halved boiled eggs, often accompanied by cheese, bread, or a meat dish.

Gwledd y cybydd, or Miser’s feast in Welsh, is a Welsh fare that calls for boiled potatoes, bacon or pork chops, and pepper. These components are either baked or simmered in a pot until tender.

Gwledd y cybydd serves as an ideal dinner option, offering a quick and easy solution. Commonly, the dish is enjoyed with mashed potatoes combined with the liquid of gwledd y cybydd.

Salt marsh lamb is a distinctive Welsh delicacy, deriving its unique flavor from sheep grazing on the country’s salt marshes. These ecosystems impart a superb and memorable taste to the meat.

Welsh salt marsh lamb, often butchered at a more mature age, allows for fuller flavor development. The finest examples of this lamb can be sourced from Harlech in North Wales and the Gower Peninsula in the Southwest.

Ideally, the best time to purchase this tender and flavorful lamb is during the summer and autumn months, particularly from July to October. Its sweet, succulent taste is best appreciated when simply roasted with minimal seasoning.

Tatws popty, or “oven potatoes,” is a fare in Wales consisting of large potato chunks, with the local Pembrokeshire variety being highly preferred.

These potatoes are roasted or baked alongside a selection of vegetables, including essential leeks, onions, and parsley.

Once the potatoes turn golden, tender, and fragrant, tatws popty can be served as a main dish with various sauces, or as a complement to meat or soup.

Picau ar y maen, translating to “cakes on the stone,” is a traditional Welsh cake. Originally cooked on a bakestone, this snack gets its name from this method.

Commonly, Welsh cake includes basic baking ingredients mixed to form a smooth dough, which is then divided into small, circular portions. While traditionally baked on a sandstone bakestone, using a frying pan is now a common alternative.

Once prepared, these cakes are typically served with tea or sweet beverages.

Teisennau tatws is a savory, potato-based cake of Welsh cuisine. This fritter is prepared by blending mashed potatoes with flour, butter, milk, and various spices.

The mixture is then shaped into small rounds, which can be either fried in butter or baked in the oven. The flavor of teisennau tatws can vary, ranging from very sweet to slightly salty, depending on the seasoning used.

While primarily served as a savory snack, it can also be paired with fruit jam, fried eggs, or bacon.

Crempog is a pancake, often featured in celebrations such as birthdays and large parties in Wales. Usually, crempog is made by cooking it on a griddle.

Its key ingredients include flour, eggs, butter, and, notably, vinegar, which are combined to create a soft, smooth batter. This batter is then shaped into circular forms and fried on both sides until golden.

Typically served with butter or jam, these pancakes are thicker and smaller than common variations.

Teisen nionod is a Welsh onion cake that highlights the strong aroma of onions.

This dish typically features two distinct layers, with the bottom one being made of seasoned potato slices, while the top layer consists of a combination of chopped onions and butter.

In some variations, white Caerphilly cheese is added, enhancing the creamy texture and a depth of flavor.