This weekend with the last Royal Mail Posting day behind us, a free day in our calendar led us to Betws Y Coed for a much-needed Christmas Shopping trip.

As it was the Saturday before Christmas, we fully anticipated Betws Y Coed to be busy. Dreary weather and icy conditions meant it was surprisingly quiet and perfect for organising the last Christmas gifts.

It also meant that we could make an impromptu lunch stop at Olif, a Welsh tapas restaurant with Welsh/Mediterranean fusion menu. We had wanted to visit for a long time after hearing numerous rave reviews.

We were warmly welcomed in and taken to a table in the window.

The restaurant has two intimate front rooms with a lovely ambiance and festive fairy lights adorning the windows.

The bar is well-stocked, with an excellent selection of Welsh drinks.

The menu proudly emphasises the locally sourced produce used to create an excellent selection of small plates inspired by Spanish tapas and traditional Welsh dishes.

We chose bread, oil, and olives, followed by patatas bravas, slow-cooked chorizo, and Andalusian-style squid (coated in seasoned Welsh beer batter). Not forgetting the toffee popcorn and salted caramel cheesecake!

Each dish was delicious and excellently cooked. The squid rings were quite possibly the best we’ve ever tasted.

Our drinks, the Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’ Pale and Lime & Soda complimented the food perfectly.

We will return to try the rest of the menu!

Sourcing produce and drink from local Welsh producers is central to Olif’s ethos. We tasted: bread from Scilicorns (an artisan bakery in Llanwrst), delicious Blodyn Aur rapeseed oil, Cwrw Llyn beer (in the batter), South Caernarfon creamery cream (in the cheesecake), and perfectly Halen Mon sea salted dishes.

A dedicated page on Olif’s website highlights the local Welsh suppliers and producers they use. Never has there been a time when it has felt more important to shop local and support local businesses. Olif epitomises a small business investing in its locality, community, and local people.

The service we received was exceptional. Warm, friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. We couldn’t have asked for more. Food and drink arrived promptly, were piping hot, and cooked perfectly.

We can’t believe we left it so long before we finally visited! We left smiling, and we’ll certainly be back again soon.

Diolch yn Fawr!

Sara Griffiths