The Ferry Inn is a very popular gastropub in an enviable position on the River Teifi. (The views…read moreare fantastic.) It has a cosy bar area, three inside eating areas with river views, two outside eating areas and a terrace to really enjoy the view.
They are happy to accommodate diners with dogs (there are also dog-free areas) and it's very child-friendly (there's a children's menu, and some tables seat eight).
The menu offers starters at £7.50-£7.95, mains around £18 (except fish and seafood at £24 and steak at £29), desserts at £7.50, as well as a choice of ice creams and sorbets (£3.50-£7.50). They offer a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
We chose Sea Bass served with Lemon Parsley Caper Butter, Herb Roasted New Potatoes,
Garden Salad with Buckwheat & Broad Beans
with Honey Mustard Sauce & New Leaf Microgreens (£24); and the one of the vegetarian options: Glamorgan Crumble a tower of Leeks, Carrot, Breadcrumbs & Mature Cheddar Cheese, Garlic & Herb Roasted New Potatoes, Glebelands Salad, Quinoa, Bean, Vegetable Salad & Fresh Herb White Sauce (£19.95). We followed this with Dark Cherry & Marzipan Bake Vanilla Ice Cream £7.50.
Overall, the food was very good, except that the seabass was (disappointingly) over done and therefore falling apart. I always think it's a little odd serving a cold side salad on the side (or in my case underneath) a hot dish, although overall the flavours did work well together. The Glamorgan Crumble was very tasty.
Service was a little manic: some staff seemed to run around all evening, and we were served by four different people during the evening. (One was very nice, two were a bit brusque.)
They were busy, but we had booked (and were expecting) a table in the downstairs area with a river view, but were shown to a different part of the restaurant area. There were, however, a number of reserved tables which remained empty through the evening, so it seems like they had a few no-shows.
Overall we had a nice evening: with two glasses of wine, the bill came to £75 for two, excluding service. It's firmly worth four stars, and of course you're paying for the location, but at these prices, getting the fish right and calmer service would land a five.