The story
Yr Hen Printworks serves modern British small plates on Carrier's Lane, Cardigan (SA43 1FA), and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026, the guide's mark for good quality, good value cooking.
The building dates to 1837, when it was Hope Chapel, and the original gates still stand. The local paper, the Tivyside, was printed here for 30 years. The family who own it began renovating in 2017 and opened the restaurant on 16 June 2021. A slab of chapel slate now forms the fire base, chimney bricks make up the bar, and Welsh oak beams sit alongside tables and lights from salvage yards.
The kitchen suggests three or four plates each to begin, then following the flavours from there. Recent menus have listed a curried haddock fritter with raita and sea bream with cider and salsify. The Good Food Guide's 2026 entry mentions a fishcake with curried mayo and a terrine of pork, prune and pistachio. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are on the menu.
Ingredients come from small producers around Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Puddings run to crumbles, mousses and brûlées. For something savoury, there is a Welsh cheese board with Black Bomber and Perl Wen.
Recognition
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Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
Before it was a printworks, it was a chapel, dating back to the dawn of the Victorian age. The present incarnation retains something of every aspect of the building's past, from the chapel gates to displays of the local newspaper that was once produced here. Repurposed and salvaged materials have been used to create a welcoming cocoon of Welsh oak and stone, and a venue that feels like a home from home to its many devotees. The small-plates approach works well here: take two or three to begin with, and see where they lead. A fishcake with curried mayo and pickled cucumber might sit very prettily alongside a slab of pork, prune and pistachio terrine, with perhaps a veg dish such as roast carrot dressed in satay, radish and soy to round things out. The more substantial offerings might see haddock matched with cauliflower, hazelnuts and grapes, or a serving of peppered beef with onion pickled in beer. Dishes are artfully constructed to release layers of complementary flavour. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free variations will be appreciated, and desserts wrap things up with crumbles, mousses and brûlées, as alternatives to a Welsh cheese selection.
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