Traditional Welsh Food We Love in Wales and What to Try!

Eating local food is an essential part of travelling so you’ve come to the right place if you’re in Wales and want to find some traditional Welsh food.

Read on for popular Welsh foods and drinks, food festivals in Wales to attend, food tours in Wales and honourable mentions for food loved in the UK as a whole!

Disclosure: This blog post may contain affiliate links, meaning, at no extra cost to you, I may earn commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. When you see a link or banner, this could take you to that product/service website. For more information, see my Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Don’t forget that Wales is its own country within the United Kingdom and although we share lots of the same as our British counterparts, we do have our own culture, language, flag and cuisine.

Pick up your copy of Wales Lonely Planet 2021 edition.

Traditional Welsh Food

This is the list of Welsh traditional food and below will go into more detail about what they are, where they came from and where you can find the best food and drink Wales has to offer!

List of Wales Food:

Cawl
Welsh Rarebit
Welsh Cakes
Bara Brith
Leeks
Laverbread
Glamorgan Sausage

Welsh Food Facts

Wales is very old country and the cuisine goes back to the 11th century!
Traditional food of Wales is made with love.
Welsh recipes have been passed down through generations including specific ways to cook/equipment to use/ingredients to include.
Lots of the foods below hold homely attachments and nostalgia.
Most of the Welsh dishes were made from cupboard staples and, as it’s been proven time and time again all the world over, these humble meals always become the nation’s dish.

Now you’ve learned a few facts about Welsh food history, learn the lingo heard in South Wales to fit right in!

Image of Welsh flag flying outside pub in Cardiff

Image of 6 cupcakes decorate with Welsh flag and colours

Wales Traditional Food

Cawl

Cawl is the national food of Wales and nothing feels more warm and homely than a bowl of hot Cawl made by Mam. Also known as stew, this dish uses lots of vegetables (including Leeks, of course), stock and the finest Welsh lamb in the land. After all, the English don’t call us a rude word relating to sheep for nothing, we do have proper lamb.

Cawl must be eaten with fresh crusty bread (my aunty from Merthyr would cut the perfect, thin slices of bread on her arm). Cheese sprinkled on top is optional (but recommended).

Where to Eat Cawl: Any cafe in Saundersfoot, West Wales

Note: North Wales food name for Cawl is ‘Lobscows’.

Welsh Rarebit

Exterior of The Plwmp Tart cafe entrance in West Wales

Welsh Rarebit is one of the most famous Welsh foods and there’s actually a lot more to it than just cheese on toast. The ingredients, including mustard and beer, are mixed into a paste and sprinkled with both pepper and Welsh love to make the best blend. And no, there is no rabbit in this Welsh national food!

See more on the Welsh Cheese you must use below.

Where to Eat Welsh Rarebit: The Plwmp Tart, West Wales

Welsh Cakes

Image shows Shireen's left thumb holding up a Welsh Cake on a white paper bag with Conwy Castle in the background

Possibly the best food in Wales is the Welsh Cake and is the food I miss most when I’m travelling. Not really a cake, more of a biscuit but doesn’t taste like a biscuit, the Welshcake is a hard treat to describe but a treat in the hearts of Welsh people home and away!

They should be eaten soft, warm, with sultanas/raisins, lightly dusted with sugar and just off the bake stone. MUST be cooked on a bake stone!

Where to Eat Welshcakes: Rogue Welsh Cakes in Cardiff, South Wales

Find the BBC good food Welsh cakes recipe here.

Bara Brith

Bara Brith (pronounced ba-ra breeth), a popular food in Wales that consists of mixed, dried fruit soaking overnight in strong tea then mixed with ingredients to make a loaf the following day. It’s more of a cake than bread although it’s very common to have butter served with your warm Bara Brith. See here for a Bara Brith recipe and other Welsh food recipes.

Bara Brith is a very traditional food in Wales that even travelled with the Welsh people who settled in Argentina in the 1800s and remain there today.

Bara translates in English to ‘bread’ and brith translates to ‘speckled’ which makes sense for the appearance of this famous food in Wales.

Where to Eat Bara Brith: Baked by Mel in South Wales or Caban in North Wales.

Learn More Welsh: The Longest Welsh Word!

Leeks

There is one common answer for what food is Wales famous for and it’s none other than Leeks. For the most traditional welsh foods, Leeks are associated with as the national symbol of Wales along with the Daffodil and on special occasions in Wales like St. David’s Day, they can be seen everywhere.

It goes back almost 400 years because the Welsh symbol of wearing the Leek is referred to in William Shakespeare’s play Henry V.

Where to Eat Leek: Local fruit and veg shops / Cardiff Indoor Market

Related Post: 13 Things to Do in Cardiff

Laverbread

Exterior of The Deli in Criccieth North Wales

Deli counter inside The Deli in Criccieth North Wales

Despite its name, this is not a bread but a pureed food made in Wales from laver seaweed into a paste. This was a traditional breakfast food in Wales with eggs and bacon. Found on the Welsh coast, the local, green seaweed is boiled, minced and then fried. See here to make your own Laverbread.

Where to Eat Laverbread: Local Delicatessens like Fforc Welsh Deli in Narberth or Wallys in Cardiff

Glamorgan Sausage

Take two things from this list of Welsh food (Caerphilly Cheese and Leeks), coat them in breadcrumbs with a few extra essentials and voila, you have a Glamorgan Sausage. This is a superb option for vegetarians visiting Wales who wants to try a mix of foods in Welsh cuisine.

Where to Eat Glamorgan sausage: Local Welsh pubs (as a hot dog or burger)!

Get the best recipe books for Welsh cooking here:

You May Like: The Best Street Food in South East Asia

Other Welsh Food and Drink to Try

Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)

Image of Shireen's left hand holding a box of Paned Gymreig (Welsh Brew)

I won’t lie to you, the water in Wales is deliciously soft. I never realised how fortunate we were until trying tap water in London and noticed the difference! Welsh water is very pure and in South Wales we have the luck of Brecon Beacons water and all houses are sourced by Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water). When you come to Wales, grab a bottle from the nearest shop to try and you’ll believe me.

While you’re in town, have a Paned Gymreig (Welsh Brew) cup of tea using Welsh water because the tea is made to be paired with the local h2o!

Spirits

There’s not a corner you can turn in Wales without stumbling upon a local spirit. Try some of these:

Gin: Barry Island Gin in Barry Island, South Wales
Whiskey: Penderyn Welsh Malt Whiskey in Brecon Beacons, South Wales
Rum: Mor Ladron Spiced Rum in Gower, South Wales
Vodka: Brecon Five Vodka in Brecon Beacons, South Wales
Mead: Afon Mel in West Wales
Beer: Brains is the biggest brewery in Wales with lots of pubs around the country
Cider: Gwynt y Ddraig in Pontypridd, South Wales
Liqueurs: Aber Falls in North Wales (and Whiskey)!

Welsh Cheese

Wales knows cheese. Produced in Caerphilly, Hafon, Blaenafon and Snowdonia, you can find a range of types, ages and flavours.

Top tip: Look out for Perl Wen, a local favourite in South Wales and used by Pizza Boys as seen in this BBC documentary.

Honey in Wales

Image of Snowdonia Honey shop in Llanberis. Shop keeper with large selection of honey on a table in background and Shireen holding up stick of sample Honey in front

There’s lots of apiaries and Honey farms in Wales so don’t leave Wales without taking home a food of Wales souvenir. Places for honey in Wales can be found from the Black Mountains in Powys, on Anglesey at Gwenyn Mon where you can have a taster bee-keeping experience, Hilltop Honey, Cardigan Bay Honey and, my favourite, Llanberis’s Snowdon Honey Farm and Winery at the foot of Mount Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park.

Buy Your Welsh Honey Here:

Welsh Ice Cream

Image of The Hive, honey ice cream van in Aberystwyth

Exterior of the original Cadwaladers ice cream shop in Criccieth, North Wales

On of the most famous Welsh ice cream seller is Cadwaladers which originates from Criccieth on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales (original shop is still there today to enjoy an ice cream by the beach). Another famous name in Wales is Sidoli’s, an ice cream company that originated in Ebbw Vale in South Wales Valleys and started by Benedetto Sidoli who came to Wales from Italy and made his mark. Head to Aberystwyth for special honey ice cream (Hufen Ia Mel).

Get the inside scoop from the local Welsh chefs:

Food Festivals in Wales

The best place to enjoy these delights and local cooking is at a Wales food festival. Or check out the digital food festival Wales here.

Food Festivals South Wales

Head to the south for a food festival Wales is holding throughout the year:

The Great Welsh Beer Festival, Cardiff, April
Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival, Cowbridge, May
Swansea Street Food Festival, Swansea, May
Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival, Cardiff Bay, July
The Big Cheese, Caerphilly, July
Bite, Cardiff, July
Neath Food and Drink Festival, Neath, October
Newport Food Festival, Newport, October
Cardiff Christmas Market, Cardiff, December

There’s also lots of places to enjoy national and international street food like Sticky Fingers or the Depot in Cardiff or Goodsheds in Barry.

Food Festivals West Wales / Mid Wales

See the following list of food festivals Wales holds in the West and Middle!

Cardigan River and Food Festival, Cardigan Bay, August
Newton Food Festival, Newton, September
Abergavenny Food Festival, Abergavenny, September
Narberth Food Festival, Narberth, September

Image of entrance of Street Food Festival in West Wales

Food Festivals North Wales

For some of the best food North Wales has to offer, check out these food festivals name, place and month:

Wales Prosecco, Gin & Rum Festival, Wrexham, May
Anglesey Food Festival, Anglesey, May
Conwy Honey Fair, Conwy, September
Mold Food and Drink Festival, Mold, September
Llangollen Food Festival, Llangollen, October
Portmeirion Food and Craft Fair, Portmeirion, December

Wales Food and Drink Tour & Classes

Take this popular, virtual, interactive Welsh cook-along with famous Welsh TV cook, Nerys Howell and Loving Welsh Food host Sian Roberts! Get a deeper insight into Welsh cuisine, food heritage and culture, Welsh recipes and take part in a competition to win a prize at the end!

Popular Food in UK

This is a quick list of food we love in Wales but it isn’t Welsh. This is where we are part of the British culture.

Full Breakfast – Nowhere in the world does breakfast like in Britain!
Roast Dinner – The most popular food in the UK on a Sunday. Fact.
Fish and Chips – We love a chippy for tea.
Scotch Egg – If you haven’t yet, you must try this masterpiece.

Image of two halves of a large scotch egg on a white plate

Curry Takeaway – A staple weekend takeaway or Curry Club in Wetherspoons.
Pork Pie – Another masterpiece for picnics and party buffets.
Cornish Pasty – One of the favourite food in UK!
Omelette made like Gwen from Gavin and Stacey (Omelettes are from all over but only in Wales can you have one like Gwen’s).

More Food Guides For You:

Thanks for reading about Wales famous food!

like this post? pin it!