2 years had passed since we last eaten here !! Is this visit was well long overdue, having really enjoyed travelling to the restaurant with all the great countryside views and having expertly executed dishes. This time we arrived in Hay-on-Wye a few hours earlier,...which was a blessing that they had the local farmers market on. Having done some market shopping and a few drinks in the pubs, it was time again to see what Chapters has to offer. Seed Cracker got the party started with dots of Caerphilly & pickle. This some brilliantly banging Malted Wholewheat Flatbread comes out ! That was ever so fluffy, which we used to eat with the roast Carrot Hummus & Dandelion Honey! Eating both at the same time we just right and just flavoursome. Next was Heritage Tomatoes and Lobster 🦞 Tomatoes were so succulent and refreshingly juicy, Lobster works extremely well with the tomatoes. Summer Herb Creme Fraiche with garden lettuce & Broad Beans with peas ! This was as fresh as you could get for a dish ! Main was some dam good Welsh Lamb 👌 roast aubergine, Res-el-Hanout and yoghurt. All 3 lamb elements and delicious and finely cooked! Res-el-Hanout didn't overpower the meat ! This was a worthy Lamb dish. The cheese course was this brilliant cheese called Caws Cenarth Caerffili! So good gotta say it's a favourite now of mine, along side the cheese we had some nettle crackers and a rhubarb Chutney. Then we end the night with Herefordshire Strawberries, which was packed full of strawberry flavour, meadowsweet style cream and a delightful refreshing strawberry Sorbet and a tuile for a bit of texture.. It was yet again worth travelling to Hay-on-Wye for this experience! Excellent food and the views travelling to is excellent as well..More

Finding a parking spot is the most stressful part of the evening. When we walked through the door we were promptly greeted and seated. The server explained the menu, and then gave us time to plan the optional parts. We are from America, and there...they push you to eat fast so they can turn the table a couple of times an evening. No rush here. We ordered two glasses of the Sparkling Wine from Powys to start. Appreciated the time to taste the courses at a leisurely pace and have time to talk about the experience. To us all the food was excellent! We flew 4000+ miles to come to Wales, and on this night, I had one of best fish dishes I have ever tasted, the monkfish course. Sadly, will probably not be on the menu when you come because of the focus on what is freshest at that time. We routinely get fresh Alaskan Seafood, but this was to die for. Avery enjoyable, slow-paced meal. Enjoyed our dinner very much.More

Food was incredible, would highly recommend. We enjoyed every course and opted for one of the extra optional courses. Every dish was presented beautifully and tasted wonderful. Charmaine talked us through each dish and was very personable. A relaxed atmosphere which made for an enjoyable...evening. One of us is gluten free, we mentioned when booking and it wasn't a problem at all.More

Best eatery in Hay. Fine dining at its best, with a great ambience as well as refined food. Great that now there are further fixes menu options - fish and veggie as well as meat. All dishes superb

Lovely food, beautifully presented. Cosy atmosphere and pace of service was perfect. Can’t wait to visit again, I imagine in winter the atmosphere is very Dickensian. Chef came out to deliver some of the dishes which was a nice touch. All the dishes complemented each...other.More

The food is fantastic, service welcoming and for the quality and environment a good price. We would totally recommend.

Had a family meal here for my dad’s 80th birthday. The meal was fantastic, different and unique tastes. The service was excellent and friendly. I’ve been luck to eat at some very nice restaurants and this was definitely up there. We would all highly recommend.

I always feel guilty when picking holes in a restaurant of this calibre as I am very aware that it's a privilege to be able to eat so well whilst others are not so lucky. However, I deeply value reviews that help me to get...a relative perspective on places I visit and so it is in that spirit that I start by saying Chapters is a very good but not great restaurant. The dishes are undoubtedly of a very high standard, both refined and replete with interesting ingredients. However, several were quite forgettable (such as the carrot humus/malted wheat pitta bread and the Yakitori chicken which was truly a nothing dish) and others, such as the strawberry dessert, were relatively ordinary by contemporary fine dining standards. Presentation was not an outstanding feature of the meal and in the case of the spruce cured monkfish was decidedly misjudged given the overall washed out looked of the dish. That said, this was probably the most interesting and accomplished dish. The dining room is interesting and intimate but I found the dingy illumination and limited natural light somewhat oppressive and helped diminish any visual interest on the plate. I also found the music selection ill-judged and the volume intrusive, meaning that when the waitress explained the construction of each dish, I missed around 50% of what she said. The wine list was varied and offered multiple options to drink by the glass. Delighted that the selection included an orange wine but disappointed that this was not offered by the glass. The purchase of a coravin gizmo should address any concern over unfinished bottles. Given the extreme variability of orange wine, even a fan like myself is unlikely to risk over £40 on a bottle. We were not at all happy when the response to my question of what my pescatarian companion was being offered to shadow my optional dish of the Yakitori chicken was 'nothing', though delighted when they returned with a perfectly good and, as it turned out, better non-meat option. Clearly, this should have been planned better. Service was very professional though, as it was delivered by just one person, was a little stressed. This might partly account for the somewhat slow pacing of the dishes. 2 hours 45 seemed a long time for a relatively short menu and as a result, we found ourselves a little bit bored between courses. Overall, Chapters falls neatly into that category of restaurant that doesn't yet deserve a Michelin star though, it has to be said, we have visited many Michelin star restaurants that are not as accomplished as Chapters. However, not to be overlooked is that Chapters offers very good value for money and so should certainly be considered if in the area.More

Our first experience of fine dining and we were mot disappointed. Lovely relaxed atmosphere and fantastic food. All at a reasonable price for the quality.

What can I add to what's already been said. This is a delightful small restaurant. The attention to detail made each course a little work of art and tasted wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and would recommend Chapters to anyone visiting Hay. It was...expensive but good things don't come cheap.More

It’s expensive and for that you get a succession of small portions which is fine in principle. Yes they are very tasty. But I’d say these portions are tasty but not exquisite, which, at this price and presentation you might expect, and which I’ve experienced...elsewhere.More

I hadn't done any homework on this restaurant. My wife had booked it for a special occasion, and we are not from Hay. I was expecting a reasonable meal, perhaps on the level of Brasserie Blanc. I was in for a pleasant surprise. It's probably...foolish to say that this was the best meal I ever had. I can't honestly remember them all with sufficient clarity. But it was certainly one of the best. They offer a set menu for £60, and you can add on a couple of courses, if you wish. I did, because when the cooking is this good you would be foolish not to. That meant that the cost of my food was £79 before I added any drinks. But it was more than worth it. I won't describe the food in detail, but I have posted a picture of the menu, which changes for every sitting. Each mouthful was a delight. It started with the amuse bouche that was a cracker with some goats cheese concoction. I don't even like goats cheese, but I could have eaten this all night. It was wonderful. I spent the rest of the evening smiling and even giggling at times, because the food was so delicious. On top of that, the service was attentive and with a good sense of humour.More