Glasfryn, Raikes Lane, Sychdyn, Mold, Flintshire
Tel: 01352 750500
Web: www.glasfryn-mold.co.uk
The Glasfryn in Mold has views that truly showcase the beauty of North Wales, but how about the food?
On a rare beautiful day in North Wales with seething hot temperatures (of anything above 18 degrees) a beer garden seems the only logical choice.
As a belated engagement celebration for a friend, with high hopes and no reservation, we arrived at the Glasfryn.
The restaurant has a huge array of al fresco and indoor seating available.
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We were pleasantly surprised that, despite the restaurant being a buzz with locals also embracing the summer weather before inevitable downpours later in the week, we managed to secure a table in the sun on the terrace.
Whilst the picnic seating on the lawn does not scream luxury glamour it serves as a perfect setting for catching up in the sun with friends over a beer.
Luckily for myself and my friend who were there for an occasion the seating on the terrace, matched with the stunning views of the rolling hills of Mold, was a better fit.
We were pleasantly surprised with the vast range of choices on the menu, although it did make the choice of what to eat a little more challenging.
Overall the menu had an impressive range of choices letting us choose the cuisine we fancied from burgers, steaks, fish and chips or as we chose; tapas.
We chose the king prawn and chorizo bruschetta which was £8.95.
This was delicious and the prawns were very well seasoned with saffron which paired perfectly alongside the chorizo and the aoili dip.
Despite the excellent taste this dish was priced higher than the other starters available and I felt the size was relatively small in comparison to the other dishes.
Next we chose the Muhammara dip, griddled sourdough (vg) for £5.25.
The Syrian dip packs a punch of flavour made from red peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses.
I felt the bread to dip ratio was slightly skewed as we ended up having a lot of the dip leftover with nothing to dip into it.
When I saw Korean chicken wings on the menu for £6.95, it was an obvious choice for me and these didn't disappoint.
Chicken wings, especially fried chicken wings, can easily walk the line of being too greasy or potentially too dry.
However, these wings were cooked in a way that the meat inside stayed tender and they had been marinated in a spicy sweet sauce which gave them a lot of flavour.
They sat on a bed of kimchi salad which added a pleasing freshness to the dish and made it a firm favorite in my book.
Finally, we finished the meal with marinated chicken with orange and chilli glaze tzatziki salad, feta and apricot cous cous for £15.95
This provided the perfect summer main meal dish to enjoy as all components were light and refreshing.
The contrast of the tzaki with the orange and chilli glaze worked very well however, my friend and I felt the cous cous lacked a little flavour.
The service felt as though it was still semi-adapted for Covid-19 regulations and semi-back to pre-pandemic service.
Customers were invited to use a QR code to access the menu, and then go up to the bar to order the food and take your own drinks back to the table.
We found this fine as we were located very close to the indoor bar and it made the process smooth and efficient.
We did notice that for customers seated further away this could provide a lengthier distance to carry drinks and to have to go up to order.
The combination of being a pub with a large selection and classic pub staples, alongside a gastro restaurant means Glasfryn in Mold really brings something different to the North Wales food table.
In the words of my friend "North Wales really is so beautiful isn't it."
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I will definitely be looking for another hot summer day to enjoy more food on the terrace and lawn.
The restaurant is open Monday - Saturday 12-9.30pm and Sunday 12-8pm.
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