A Machynlleth restaurant has been named best in Wales - and in the top ten of a prestigious national food award.

Ynyshir, based at Eglwys Fach near Machynlleth, has been named 9th in the Estrella National Restaurant Awards, which represent the largest annual gathering of top chefs and restaurateurs in the UK.

It also took the award for Best Restaurant in Wales.

The restaurant, run by Gareth Ward, is described as the "antithesis of a boring country house hotel," with reviewers praising the "uncompromisingly edgy, Asian-influenced food."

The awards use a panel of over 200 experts drawn from across the industry including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs, with members of the academy voting for the top seven restaurants that they have dined at in the last 12 months, weighted in order of preference. The results are compiled, and the top 100 list of the best restaurants is created.

"Surrounded by rhododendron bushes and undulating yet carefully trimmed lawns, Ynyshir looks like a typical country house hotel," the awards review says.

"But all is not quite as it seems at this remote property, located just south of Snowdonia National Park on the western edge of mid Wales.

"The food itself is described as ‘ingredient led, flavour driven, fat fuelled and meat obsessed’. This is an entirely accurate description, but one that doesn’t quite do justice to Ward’s explosive cooking. His approach is strikingly different to the norm – a peculiar but effective marriage of top-quality produce, Asian flavours and unusual technique served in a succession of tiny bites," it adds.

In 2018, Ynyshir was rated the number one rated Restaurant in Wales, boasting one Michelin star and five AA rosettes.