Dylan's Criccieth

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2,862 reviews

#4 of 23 Restaurants in CricciethRR - RRR, Pizza, Seafood, British

+44 1766 522773+ Add website

Hours

Sun

11:00 - 22:00

Mon

11:00 - 22:00

Tue

11:00 - 22:00

Wed

11:00 - 22:00

Thu

11:00 - 22:00

Fri

11:00 - 22:00

Sat

11:00 - 22:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

2,862 reviews

#4 of 23 Restaurants in Criccieth

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Seafood, Pizza, British, Welsh, Vegetarian friendly

“The linguini portion was generous and delicious and the aphrodite pizza also...”

“Staff were delightful and friendly and I really enjoyed the fish chowder.”

“... feel these prices are a bit much for what is, essentially, a bowl of salad.”

“Our second visit here , food is great, the seafood chowder is a must .”

Location and contact

Maes-y-Mor, Criccieth LL52 0HU Wales

+44 1766 522773

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Details

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About

We are a family of three award winning waterside restaurants in the beautiful towns of Menai Bridge, Criccieth & Llandudno, North Wales. Dylan's Criccieth is our second restaurant, found on the coast of Pen Llŷn | the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, a stone’s throw from the beach, within the iconic Art Deco styled Morannedd building. We count ourselves incredibly fortunate to be custodians of the building, welcoming our customers to this wonderful site every day. We have made this our mission, to celebrate the local produce, character & natural beauty of North Wales.

CUISINES

Pizza, Seafood, British, Welsh

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Waterfront, Gift Cards Available

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4.5

2,862 reviews

Excellent

1,725

Very good

603

Average

291

Poor

139

Terrible

105

BwydNeisNeis

Caernarfon33 contributions

Good Food in a Stunning Location

Aug 2020 • couples

The Art Deco venue is in a stunning location with panoramic views of the sea and the castle on the hill. The COVID-19 regulations are adhered to extremely well, and we were served professionally but unobtrusively by our waitress Dyddgu. The Porth Neigwl IPA is excellent, and my wife was very complimentary about her Rosé Cabernet Sauvignon. The food was good and served in a timely fashion. The trio of desserts to share was my personal highlight (despite not being particularly fond of puddings). I have not awarded 5/5 as I was planning on having muscles for starter and lobster as a main meal, only to be told on arrival that both were unavailable. Under normal circumstances this would have resulted in a 3/5 as Dylan’s is a specialist fish restaurant after all, but I am allowing for problems caused by the pandemic and compromising by awarding 4/5.

Written 26 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dylans_Restaurants

Helo BwydNeisNeis, diolch yn fawr am eich adolygiad! We're glad you enjoyed our location and the extensive measures we've taken to ensure your welcome is both warm, and safe. We're so glad you enjoyed both your food and drinks. It's lovely to hear we hit the spot, and you were able to enjoy your food without having been able to order what you had initially hoped for. Our suppliers have experienced such high demand since restaurants began reopening after the lockdown, and as you imply, we've all been waiting for supply to meet that demand at certain points. Stormy weather has created bottlenecks which has compacted the issue already created by the Coronavirus lockdown. Thank you once again, and we hope to welcome you for a 5 star seafood extravaganza in the future! -Dave

Written 1 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Yvonne P

Manchester8 contributions

Excellent visit

Mar 2020 • solo

Never having been to Criccieth before. This restaurant had been recommended by family. I was staying in a hotel in Criccieth on a two night Travelzoo deal, unfortunately the hotel and food were extremely poor. I visited Dylan’s on two separate days and on both occasions the service, food was excellent in both taste, atmosphere and the way I was greeted and dealt with being a solo visitor which at times the solo visitor is “alien” even in this day and age. So both these visits get five stars.

Written 3 March 2020

muddyoldengr

Perth260 contributions

Lockdown Lush

Sept 2020 • none

First visit to this delightful establishment. Housed in a classic Art Deco building on the beachfront, the light airy interior and welcoming staff pave the way to excellent food and wine. The sea food, was, as one might hope, excellent and we had a pretty much faultless evening. A 1700hrs booking was all ghat was available ( due to lockdown limitations) and I don't think we could have done better as our drinks became sundowners. Reminiscent of a favourite restaurant (Portofinos) in Perth WA. Will defo be back/

Written 28 September 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Happily I know Portofinos in Perth and it's a great compliment to be compared to such a lovely restaurant. I'm guessing that this wasn't a 5 star review because of our table availability which is limited at the moment as we do our best to keep everyone safe. Come and see us again soon for sundowners on the 'Welsh Riviera' Maria

Written 30 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ivoryslee

Teddington105 contributions

We visited Dylans in Bangor

Mar 2020 • none

We visited Dylans in Bangor the day before and liked it . I'm afraid the Dylans in Cricketh was not quite as good. The building was designed by Webb Ellis of Portmeirion fame and is situated right on the sea front and looks spectacular. There is ample parking near by but only for disabled in the restaurant grounds.. Now I have been to two of these establishments I can see that I get the feeling that they are not sure about being a seafood or a general restaurant. I had the fisherman's platter. If you are thinking of a sea food platter that you can get any where in France forget it.......only two oysters no shrimps or langoustines and lots of plain sour dough bread accompanied by some Japanese elements and a bit of lettuce and that's it. The roasted Hake was a bit soft and the sea food pasta was not quite up to speed. The the waiters when they came eventually were pleasant enough but one felt that you had to put the energy into the System rather than the other way round. The specials board was difficult to see. We would have thought that a restaurant on the sea front would have some more individuality from its neighbours in Bangor Ivory S

Written 5 March 2020

Pixie

Pwllheli1 contribution

We have called in for Takeaway

Mar 2020 • none

We have called in for Takeaway Coffee a number of times, and apart from our first visit, service and availability has been atrocious. You are supposed to receive an expensive coffee in a takeaway cup and a chocolate, but after our first visit, we have been repeatedly told either “the chocolates have melted” and or “we have run out of cups”! In a Tourist Hot Spot with the main season fast approaching, it is clear that the staff are eating the chocolates themselves, and as for running out of cups (which are unbranded), it takes one phone call to our local wholesaler to resolve it! Their Laissez Fair attitude, and obvious lack of Management is especially galling, as they have relied on huge amounts of Grant Funding, but do not seem to have the service standards to justify it. We also have experience of their Colwyn Bay Grant Funded Restaurant where the word “Vegan” is alien to them.

Written 1 March 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Hi 'Pixiestays'. We are incredibly disappointed to read your review - what you write doesn't reflect our quality of service or our business. We must state that many of your assertions and accusations are incorrect. If we are at fault in any way, we must apologise sincerely, however we must point out that your review was previously removed by TripAdvisor due to its factual inaccuracies, but has subsequently has returned to our feed. We give our chocolate coins away with coffees as a little token extra. We have done this since 2012, when we opened our Menai Bridge restaurant, and we continue to do it today. If for any reason we are experiencing a shortage or lack, it is a temporary shortage and most likely due to the fact that our order is with our supplier, and we are awaiting delivery. Our team do not unwrap and eat these coins - they are for you, the customer. As a team we eat during set lunch breaks only, with choices from our staff menu. We operate a 'refill' policy on all our sites. For anyone bringing in water bottles, we will refill with water and ice if desired. If customers bring in their own coffee cups, we are happy to fill them instead of our takeaway cups or restaurant mugs, which are branded. As we all make changes to decrease our personal wastage, we encourage the use of personal reusable cups. If we run out of cardboard takeaway cups, the same applies - we are awaiting a delivery from our supplier. Due to the anonymity of your profile, and lack of any other reviews, we don't know how close together your visits were; you may well have been unlucky. As a business we have restored two separate Grade 2 listed buildings to full use, one at this site in Criccieth, and the other in Llandudno, the former Washington Hotel. We are proud to be custodians of these buildings, and as a business we have invested considerably in their restoration and upkeep. We also have our flagship restaurant in Menai Bridge, where we first opened. We do not have a restaurant in Colwyn Bay, so you might understand that we doubt your experience there. Our restaurants all serve the same menu - this is to ensure consistency of local offering across all the sites. We serve a specific Vegan menu on all sites, and on our main menu all Vegan dishes are clearly marked, as are Gluten Free & Vegetarian dishes. Our teams are well experienced in catering to a variety of diets and dietary intolerances and allergies, as you may see from other reviews on this site, and others. If you have any further comments or constructive feedback, we would be happy to address your concerns, 'Pixiestays'. Please feel free to contact us directly to discuss.

Written 6 March 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

CLCWales

North Wales106 contributions

Nice

Feb 2020 • friends

Great location. Felt a bit like eating in a school canteen. Our table was a large one people and staff were hanging about a the end of our table to sit people. Most meals were lovely in a group but quiet over priced especially the sea bass for a tiny plate of food.

Written 9 February 2020

Lynda L

Prescot244 contributions

Identity crises

Sept 2020 • none

As a couple we eat out regularly and appreciate good food. We were excited to try this place as it looked fab from the outside and the website builds it up to be of a high standard. However, On first impression although the staff were lovely and friendly it instantly felt that it wasn’t going to live up to expectations. We ordered a bottle of wine and our food and the wine and starters arrived within five minutes of ordering giving the impression the food didn’t take long to prepare. Pros- staff were pleasant , location and bar area was nice. Cons- Chardonnay was only sold by the bottle not a glass as requested staff dressed very casual in jeans and trainers and I would have expected more from this chain. Nandos style comes to mind. The chicken wing starter sounded good but was vastly overpriced for what it was. Calamari was average . Mains were ok but again overpriced for what they were. Salt, vinegar had to be asked for and brought in small pots probably due to covid. Although it seemed a popular place we feel it needs to find its identity. Is it a high end seafood Resturant , if so it needs to up its game or is it a diner style restaurant in a good location? In that case it needs to lower its prices and not try to set itself up as something it can’t live up to. This isn’t meant as an assassination of the place just an honest opinion from two people who eat out a lot and appreciate good food. Would I return. Sorry no.

Written 7 September 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Hi there Lynda. We are interested to hear your thoughts and feedback, as we are with every review. There's a lot to consider here, and there are several things we would like to explain. We are surprised to hear that our website built up your expectations so significantly. Our mission statement is very simple, to Celebrate the Local Produce, Character & Natural Beauty of North Wales. We are a family run group of family restaurants, and we offer relaxed service and dining. We must say we are so glad to hear that the whole team made you feel welcome, were speedy, efficient, and friendly. As a team we all work hard to achieve this standard, and it's lovely when it is noticed. The two starters you ordered are two of our quickest to prepare. All our starters are intended to be delivered speedily, without an unnecessary wait, which as you will know, is a common complaint of many customers when dining out. The cooking process, for confit wings and fried calamari, as you can imagine, does not take very long outside of preparation, which happens at the start of every service. We are sad that your mains weren't to your taste. We are always happy to provide condiments, which as you note, are slightly different at present due to our extensive COVID-19 safety measures. We have an extensive wine list, with wines by both the glass and bottle. As stated on our drinks menu, we offer Chardonnay by the bottle, not the glass. Our team all wear uniform as provided by the company. Dark blue chino style trousers, uniform branded t-shirts, polo shirts or shirts according to their position, and denim aprons. The only (maternity) jeans you will have seen, would have been worn by one of our managers, who is 6 months pregnant. For all our dishes we pay a premium for the most local produce we can lay our hands on. Our producers and suppliers are found within the three counties in which we serve from our restaurants, and as a result our prices reflect both this, and the time taken to prepare the dish. Our menus have always been created to provide both value for money, and the option of eating at a higher price point, whilst still balancing the offering and diversity of our dishes across the whole. Believe us, we do not attempt to rise above what we offer - we will have a think about where we can make this clearer, though admittedly it is incredibly rare that this comment is raised. We hope that should you one day change your mind and choose to return in future, you will come with expectations level with our offering, and enjoy your experience with us.

Written 10 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Forestwalker

Wales290 contributions

Very little to eat for lunch

Oct 2020 • family

We dropped into Dylan's yesterday hoping for a light lunch and a drink. As one of our party is gluten intollerant we started with asking what GF options they had and we're told ice cream or fruit! 😲 😂 We then looked for sandwiches, there were non. Salads? Nope. Cakes? Nope. We could have a steak, an expensive seafood chowder or a pizza, which we discovered could be made GF despite the waitresses apathetic response. We finished our drinks and went elsewhere for lunch.

Written 2 October 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Hi there Forestwalker, we are sorry to hear you left without lunch, feeling that there was nothing on the menu for you. We were very happy to have provided you with a table on a busy day, when we were fully booked. Please note that booking ahead for an indoor table is essential, especially given the current COVID-19 climate. Our manager's response on the topic of Gluten Free options was in reply to a question you asked about GF desserts. You omit to mention the offer of our Messy Mon (Eton Mess) dessert, alongside the sorbets, ice cream & fruit. As a restaurant that specialises in family friendly options with a strong emphasis on local seafood options, we do not serve sandwiches, however, we have a wide range of smaller dishes and small plates suitable for a lunchtime meal. Our gluten free options range from our three variations of tacos, gluten free pizzas, soup, chowder with gluten free bread, any of our burgers with gluten free bread, our lobster, Welsh rump steak. The list goes on. The former few are perhaps more suitable for a lunchtime meal, however we also have our three salads on this current menu which are all gluten free without the croutons. We would not describe the attitude of our manager, or any of our staff, as apathetic, and hope you did not misconstrue our intent. We always hope to be able to offer a memorable and happy experience, and we hope you will return in future and enjoy a full meal with us. -Dave

Written 8 October 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

mary186220

Bristol45 contributions

Reasonably pleasurable experience but overpriced and mediocre food

Oct 2020 • none

Dined here yesterday evening. The Art Deco building is gorgeous. Considering it was a Monday evening, quite a few tables were taken so the ambience was good. Covid-19 guidelines were observed and the service was prompt. Enjoyed the banter with our waitress but therein my positivity ends. I had seafood linguine which was basically a bowl of pasta with three mussels and a few tiny shrimps. Admittedly, it was the small portion but........... My husband had chicken goujons with skinny chips which was fairly tasteless and dry. As he was still hungry he ordered churros with chocolate sauce. We waited quite some time for this until the waitress realised it hadn’t arrived. She chased it up and he was told the kitchen had forgotten about it. I then asked for an adjustment on the bill which was initially wrong with an extra glass of wine added on so we sent it back twice. However, they did comply but it left a sour taste. Such a pity as could have been so good. Perhaps we just chose the wrong items on the menu.

Written 20 October 2020

AshleyRedfern

Hi Mary, Thanks for taking the time to leave a review of your visit. It is our hope that all our guests leave having had a great experience, and we were sorry to read that you felt this was not the case for yourselves. We do encourage our customers to notify us if they are not enjoying certain aspects of their meal, affording us the opportunity to hopefully rectify any issues. We are therefore disappointed that you felt you could not let us know that you were not happy with your main courses on the day itself. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the service, and look forward to welcoming you back in the future. ~ Ashley

Written 1 November 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mawie10

Chester72 contributions

Fantastic venue

Aug 2020 • family

We had a gorgeous meal here while we visited Porthmadog last week. The staff were incredibly polite and helpful and we managed to get a last minute booking during the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme. The staff were lovely with our little girl, the food was amazing and the service was fantastic. It was made even better that we paid a fraction of the price, so we all had an incredible 2 course meal for less than £30 altogether! We would definitely recommend to everyone visiting the area and would love to come back again!

Written 15 August 2020

KatieG80

Manchester52 contributions

Always enjoyable!

Sept 2020 • family

Have visited a number of times while holidaying in the area and never disappointed. Most recently we were there for lunch with my two children, the staff are great and very accommodating of little ones. The atmosphere was obviously quite different this time as capacity is reduced due to COVID but they are taking their responsibility very seriously to keep customers and staff safe. Enjoyed our food although the S&P chicken wings starter is pretty stingy for almost £8, should be twice the size!! Overall another very enjoyable visit, you really can’t beat the seaside setting and beautiful art deco building!

Written 26 September 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Great to see you all again and thanks for your kind comments. We are doing our utmost to keep all of our customers and team members safe during these difficult times. Our Salt and Pepper Chicken wings are one of our most popular starters and there is a tonne of work that goes into the preparation including an overnight confit and the removal of the bones, but it does make them delicious. We hope to see you soon, Maria

Written 30 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jo R

Wirral270 contributions

Great Restaurant in a perfect location

Jun 2021 • none

We booked here for lunch , booking is a must due to covid limits on numbers or you will be disappointed. They had to turn a few customers away, but they do have a fantastic decking area with a mobile Dylan's van , were you can purchase drinks and food and you can order takeaways too. This restaurant is very popular and with the standard of food and location you can see why. Very good covid precautions to make you feel safe too. Excellent service and very welcoming staff, nothing was too much trouble . We had drinks, beef taco's & amazing pizza , so much choice , excellent menu, and then we shared the churro's for dessert. Perfect lunch on a lovely sunny day in Criccieth. Highly recommend Dylans

Written 24 June 2021

MIKE No1

Oxford243 contributions

Delicious Food and the Sea View makes this Restaurant Stand Out

Dec 2021 • none

This was our second visit here and it was every bit as good as the first. The service was friendly and caring as well as efficient. The food was beautifully presented and delicious. A number of reviews have commented about the cost but I believe that you get what you pay for and the service, location and food served is worth the money. Just to emphasise my previous statement, we booked a dinner reservation in advance and travelled 149 miles to dine by the sea at Dylan's and we were not in anyway disappointed. We will definitely return in the future.

Written 1 January 2022

Dylans_Restaurants

Michael, this is an outstanding review, we are blown away - thank you! We're so thrilled that you enjoyed every aspect of your visit so much, and that our second time welcoming you, matched the all important first impression. It's wonderful to read what you say about the price of our dishes. Thank you for your support and your understanding there. The current climate is not an easy one to navigate, and when we're buying local and paying a premium, amidst all time high produce costs, we're absorbing literally as much as we can ourselves, whilst maintaining a viable business and a wonderful team of 200 people. Thank you for travelling so far, and for taking the time to leave this thoughtful review after your visit. We'll look forward to the third! Happy New Year, and stay safe. -Dave

Written 3 January 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Vixster

Nantwich3 contributions

Always pleasant but staff need to be more attentive

Jan 2020 • none

We have been to Dylan's numerous times and the food / atmosphere is always good. We have not yet had anything that was under par, however despite there only being 3 tables occupied in the restaurant on this occasion the staff preferred to be standing behind the bar chatting rather than checking on customers and removing plates for the meal that was finished. After desserts were ordered only a spoon was given so I had to request a fork. Always good however simple attentive improvements would make the experience better.

Written 26 January 2020

Dylans_Restaurants

Hello Vixster Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and it is great to here that you have revisited Dylans more than once and have been a returning customer. I am disappointed to hear that you did not feel that we offered the best service we possibly could, at Dylans our service is something we pride ourselves on. Sometimes staff may require to discuss relevant topics concerning the workplace however this should not effect the service we provide to our customers, therefore I will highlight this to the team to ensure going forward they are more aware of customers present in the restaurant. Thank you so much for providing the feedback regarding forks with desserts, this isn't something we have done before however may be an improvement we can make, it is with our customers feedback that we can continue to make these improvement. We look forward to welcoming you back to Dylans. Kind Regards Rhianne

Written 29 January 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

peanut5353

Orpington76 contributions

Go now!

Aug 2020 • family

Amazing to see great restaurants back up and running so well. Dylan’s have taken on the challenge of coronavirus and risen above it - the service, food, ambience and setting all made for an exceptional evening. The kitchen are masters - a wide selection of food expertly cooked, from crisp calamari with great garlic mayonnaise, through their exquisite barbecue sauce with fried chicken, to some exceptional desserts. The waiters were all really friendly despite the masks and visors - we felt really looked after. Great evening.