Throughout our time at the Huntsman, we have received many commendations and awards for food and service. Further down the page are some of the quotes and awards we have been proud to receive.

Bronze Welsh Food Hygiene Award

Following an unexpected visit from a Health Inspector, we were very pleased to be given this award. This is one of only 50 Bronze Awards to be achieved in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Out of the 1200 food and catering outlets in the Vale there are only 3 Gold Awards, 19 Silver and 50 Bronze.

Diners are always welcome to see our tiny kitchen - but don't linger as you may be asked to help with the washing up !!!

South Wales Echo

For the second year running the Huntsman was a finalist in the SOUTH WALES ECHO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR.

"Really tucked away but well worth seeking out, the Huntsman offers a wide choice of food efficiently served in a calm unhurried atmosphere. This is the place for those who love rich sauces with the likes of port, brandy and cream, definitely a night to ditch the diet.

The hot spinach pancake with ham, Stilton and cream and the mushroom and red onion tart made two appetising first courses and both the Welsh fillet steak and rack of Welsh lamb were perfect.

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Cardiff Guide 2010 - Food and Drink

Peter and Hilary Rice have been running The Huntsman since 1993, and their experience and dedication really shows. The restaurant is stylish and comfortable with modern original canvas artwork as well as an intriguing collection of stoneware hot water bottles around the dining room. This charming barn conversion can be found in old Dinas Powys, tucked away behind The Star Inn, sharing the ample car parking facilities.

The restaurant has recently been refurbished to give a crisp fresh look with modern original canvass artwork, but leaving the popular stoneware hot water bottle collection in place around the exposed black beams.

Chef Hilary changes the menu every two months and always features Welsh meat and game, simply prepared with a variety of sauces, all freshly cooked to order. Starters are tempting and tasty – expect such delicious treats as laverbread tart with red onion marmalade (£5.75), Welsh rarebit fondue (£5.50) and pork and liver terrine (£6.25). Among the main-course offerings you’ll find classic 8oz Welsh fillet steak with various freshly made sauces (£19.95) and roast breast of Gressingham duck with Cumberland sauce. All mains are served with duck-fat roast potatoes, garlic and cream potatoes and a selection of vegetables or crisp salad.

Two current starters are chicken and pork terrine with marinated oilives and red current jelly (£5.50), and flat mushrooms topped with spinach, garlic, Brie and cream (£4.95). Amongst the main course offerings, you'll find Welsh 9oz fillet steak with various freshly made sauces (£17.95) and Welsh venison casserole with chestnut, mushrooms and port (£15.50). All mains are served with potatoes and a selection of fresh vegetables or crisp salad.

To follow, there are such delights as creme brulée, traditional bread and butter pudding and rich indulgent chocolate mousse, all made by Hilary. A visit to The Huntsman wouldn’t be complete without sampling her signature dish, a heavenly chocolate fondue – a blend of rich dark chocolate, ginger, brandy and double cream, accompanied by fresh fruits, marshmallows and meringues. At just £6 per person, a minimum of two guests is required to delight in this confectionary ecstasy, but you’ll find it hard to share. Visit on a Sunday and take your time over the mouth-watering shorter set-price lunch menu featuring roast sirloin of Welsh beef with Yorkshire puddings and traditional gravy

The Huntsman stocks good-quality French and New World wines to accompany your meal, all served by young and helpful staff in a semi-formal yet elegant and unhurried atmosphere. You will leave here pleasantly full, relaxed and wishing to return.

Chef Profile - (Cardiff Guide 2010 - Food and Drink)

The Huntsman's longevity and success speaks for itself - you don't run a thriving restaurant in a hard-to-find place for nearly seventeen years unless you're doing a lot of things right. Much of the credit must indeed go to Hilary's spectacular country house cooking.

'...delighting diners with her classic British cuisine... '

Originally inspired by her cookery teacher and by a love of eating out, and after some training at Blackpool College, Hilary started work at Wolf's Castle Country Hotel in West Wales under the tutelage of Rose Lloyd, who went on to cook for a certain Mr. and Mrs. Windsor or high grove house in Gloucestershire. Now, having been at the helm of the kitchen at The Huntsman since 1993, Hilary is still delighting diners on a daily basis with her classic British cuisine with a modern twist.

'...famous for her chocolate fondue... '

Hilary is famous for her chocolate fondue, and rightly so, but thinks a good business head is as important in running a succesful restaurant as anything that goes on in a kitchen. Making customers' special occasions enjoyable and memorable is also high on her list of priorities. And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Food and Drink Guides website

Flash in the Pan Cookery Competition

Hilary Rice of the Huntsman Restaurant in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales celebrated recently when she won the Welsh Lunch Snack category of the Flash in the Pan Cookery Competition, run by Flavour of Wales (the information and training programme backed by the South East Wales Tec). The competition was designed to allow keen chefs from the smallest cafe to the largest hotel or restaurant to pitch their wits and talents against others on an equal basis.

Entrants from more than 150 establishments entered the competition, competing in four special categories. They were asked to come up with a recipe using local Welsh ingredients for Welsh Breakfast, Welsh Lunch Snack, Welsh Tea and Welsh Lamb and Beef Celebration Dish.

Vale Life - The Huntsman becomes the hunted

I’d heard good things about The Huntman Restaurant from several friends and business associates who had become fans over recent years but had just never got around to booking a table. Now, after eating there, I wish I’d done so earlier.

Tucked away behind The Star pub in Dinas Powys, this really is a wonderful little find. So good, in fact, that I’m almost reluctant to share it.

When I say little, it’s a fair description. The restaurant is ‘compact and bijou’ as Delboy would say in Only Fools and Horses but the welcome is bigger - warm, friendly and inviting. This, I have to say, is a welcome relief from many establishments where the slick waiting can be a little cold and stand-offish.

Peter Rice, who owns The Huntsman with wife and chef, Hilary took our drinks order and ran through the menu. As we browsed, several diners arrived and it was clear, because of the happy banter, that these were regulars which I think is always a good sign – people generally don’t return unless they’ve had a good experience. We made our choices and were then shown to our table.

The ambience was perfect, low light, soft music - not stuffy in any way - just relaxing. It seemed quieter too – so many places we go to these days seem to be loud to the point where you can’t hear yourselves think. In this respect, The Huntsman was a welcome change. The kind of place that you could go for a romantic dinner or just to get away from the crowds....

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