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It is a dangerous thing when a restaurant becomes an Institution. It implies a certain hardening of arteries and petrification of style, not to mention a perilous access of pomposity. No such hazard, however, attends The Walnut Tree at Llandewi Skirrid, which is an institution indeed, but is insuperably young of spirit, flexible of response and unpretentious. Among all the great restaurants I spend too much of my money frequenting, The Walnut Tree is the most fun.

This is partly because of its location. It is an old pub on a country road a few miles out of Abergavenny (Y Fenni to Welsh-speakers), in the lovely border country where Wales meets England. The wild Black Mountains stand behind it, comfortable pasture-lands stand in front, and not far to the south is the famously high-spirited country known generically as the Valleys, where the coal used to be mined, and where the Welsh are at their most ebullient. Such a combination of landscapes and environments certainly helps, when it comes to giving a restaurant character.