But you don’t really go to Baravin for the decor - you go for the food, drink and service. So let’s dive into exactly what that’s like.
We’ll go into each area separately, but expect lots of locally sourced food and drink.
If you’re expecting to head into Baravin and grab a pint of draught, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. At the time of writing, there are no beer or cider taps at the restaurant. Please correct me if this changes in between my visits!
The lack of draught beer or cider shouldn’t be a major dealbreaker though. The drinks selection at Baravin is absolutely excellent. I’m partial to beer or cider, and I’m always excited to head in and see what they have on offer each time I visit. One thing that I love about the drinks they stock is that a lot of them are Welsh. I had my first Geipel (a North Wales brewery) beer here - it’s been a favourite ever since. Geipel was a staple of the menu the last time I was there, but they also have a blackboard full of guest beers which are fun to get stuck into.
Cocktails are also a highlight of Baravin. They serve a bit of a mix of classic cocktails as well as a few of their own. They have a cocktail of the week as well which is always worth considering.
If you prefer wine, there’s a pretty extensive wine list on offer. I can’t say I’ve sampled any of it but my opinion on wine would be useless to you - if it isn’t a super chilled, extremely sweet white then I’m not interested.
Finally, there’s the spirits. If you’re looking for a standard house vodka, gin or rum, you’re in the wrong place. Baravin are big on their premium spirits - Absolut vodka, Hendricks gin and Havana rum. You’ll also find more locally sourced/Welsh options here - for my last visit they were selling Barti rum which is a rare treat.
Away from the alcohol, there’s a pretty solid selection of soft drinks ranging from fizzy (eg Coca Cola, lemonade, ginger beer) to fruit juices and water/tonic water. On top of that, they do a mean hot chocolate and serve some pretty excellent coffee in various guises.
To sum up, you can tell that whoever puts together the drinks selection knows what they’re doing. Behind the bar you’ll find boards containing info on the different beers they currently have in stock.
The food at Baravin is absolutely out of this world. It’s not just one dish, either - they’re consistently brilliant across the board.
I’m not usually big on starters, but the selection at Baravin is a little bit different. I’ve not tried them all but I am partial to their garlic mushrooms and serrano on sourdough.
On to the mains - a favourite of mine (and the dish I always recommend to newcomers) is the chicken burger with Katsu curry sauce and chips. The flavour is exceptional and it delivers just the right amount of heat. However if you’re fancying something a little closer to a traditional burger, I can also recommend the Baravin cheese burger. It’s exactly everything that a proper cheeseburger should be, and a lot more.
I’ve also sampled a few of the pizzas which I would probably say are the nicest pizzas I’ve ever had at a restaurant. They’re fresh, full of flavour and leagues above your average Dominos or Papa John’s. My current favourite is their chicken and sunblushed tomato - highly recommend.
During my last visit, a few of my group had the fish and chips, smashed avo/eggs/smoked salmon on sourdough and the wild mushroom ragu. Unsurprisingly they all received rave reviews so definitely worth a try if you’re not obsessed with burgers and pizza like I am.
Sadly I’ve not managed to make as much of a dent in the desserts list as I would have liked but can thoroughly recommend their lemon meringue cheesecake. I’m obsessed with lemon based desserts and this one absolutely hit the spot.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in this review breaking down the food and drink available at Baravin, but I’d be doing the team a disservice if I didn’t create some space to acknowledge the effort that they put in.
I have eaten at Baravin multiple times. Those have been across different times of day and different times of the year. I can pretty confidently say that I have never had bad service here. From the moment I book, to walking in, to wrapping up my visits - the team have been consistently brilliant.
A lot of effort clearly goes into getting the menu and drinks selection right, and you can tell that there’s a clear directive to make sure that all of that effort isn’t wasted when it comes to the experience.
So, would I recommend Baravin?
Absolutely.
For me, it sits within a bracket of Aberystwyth restaurants that are incredibly hard to beat. Good food, excellent drinks selection and great service. If I’m being really, really picky, a local draught beer/cider would be a great addition, but I think that they do more than enough to please most people with the setup that they have.
If you want to book a table, you can do so on their website. Or you can be old school and give them a call - they’re a friendly bunch!
