Menai Bridge (Porthaethwy) sits where Thomas Telford’s suspension bridge lands on the Anglesey side, and over the last decade it has quietly become the island’s food capital. For a town of a few thousand people it has a genuinely strong line-up — a destination restaurant, a buzzing waterfront brasserie, an artisan bakery, and good coffee — all within a short walk. If you care about eating well on Ynys Môn, base a meal or two here.
The destination restaurant: Sosban & The Old Butchers
Sosban & The Old Butchers is the island’s most ambitious kitchen — a tiny, no-choice tasting-menu restaurant in a former butcher’s shop, cooking whatever the day’s catch and the kitchen garden deliver. It has carried serious critical acclaim for years. There’s no à la carte, no choosing; you eat what they cook. Book well ahead — covers are limited and it’s not an everyday drop-in.
The waterfront: Dylan’s
Dylan’s is the opposite energy and just as good at what it does — a big, light, glass-fronted restaurant right on the Strait, doing local seafood, wood-fired pizza, and moules with a view straight across to the mountains. It’s relaxed, family-friendly, and reliably busy, so book in summer. Few tables on the island beat it for setting.
Bakery, coffee and casual
The town’s everyday eating is strong too. There are good independent cafés and an artisan bakery for a morning coffee and pastry, and The Black Prince covers the pub end of things — see the best pubs on Anglesey. For a sweet stop, the island’s Red Boat gelato is never far away.
Why Menai Bridge?
A few things came together: the town sits at the island’s gateway, minutes from Bangor and the bridge; it has a working harbour and access to superb local seafood, shellfish, and salt (Anglesey’s own Halen Môn sea salt is made just down the coast); and a cluster of ambitious cooks set up here and raised the whole town’s game.
Practical notes
- Book ahead for Sosban (essential, often weeks out) and Dylan’s (especially weekends and school holidays).
- Parking: there’s parking in the town and near the waterfront; it’s busy at peak meal times.
- Car-free: Menai Bridge is well connected by bus from Bangor and across the island — see Anglesey without a car.
- Combine with: a walk across the Menai Suspension Bridge and the Belgian Promenade along the shore.
For the broader picture across the island, see our food lover’s guide to Anglesey — but for the highest concentration of good tables in one walkable spot, Menai Bridge is where to eat.