Owners of the 300-year-old Hare & Hounds pub in Aberthin, near Cowbridge, have issued an update two months after a fire forced the historic venue to close. Tom and Sarah Watts-Jones, who lead the pub's team, shared the news in an Instagram post, thanking regulars and customers for their support.
Fire damage and rescue efforts
Fire crews were called to the pub on Thursday, June 11 at 8.30am after it was reported to be alight. The blaze destroyed the dining room and the space above it. The pub, which has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for nine years and been named in the Good Food Guide's best 100 pubs list, was left without its dining area.
In their update, the owners said they managed to rescue all of the bar memorabilia - which has been synonymous with the pub's bar room for decades - and more furniture than initially thought. However, they noted that insurance is taking longer than expected.
Restoration hopes and team efforts
The post read: "A little update from us… We are aware that we’ve been a bit quiet with what’s going on here at the pub. We managed to rescue all of the bar memorabilia, and a lot more furniture than we initially thought, which is positive, but unfortunately insurance is taking a lot longer than we were initially led to believe."
"We’re still pushing, and hopefully we’ll be able to start work restoring our beautiful pub in the coming months. In the meantime some of our lovely team are working hard in our other sites. Thankyou all so much for the support, we very much hope that we will be back soon!"
At the time of the fire, owner and director Sarah said: "Thursday was horrible; just watching somewhere that we’d all worked so hard on smoking, with no idea of how bad the damage had been until much later in the day when we were allowed in. It’s almost been a grieving process, as we’ve realised sentimental things that we’ve lost that can never been replaced."
Alternative venues and next steps
While the pub is closed, the nearby Hare & Hounds Bakery is opening on Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner. Their sister pub and bakery, the Heathcock in Cardiff, are serving their usual mix of fine dining pub food, small plates and summer BBQs, as well as the cocktail bar upstairs.
Heathcock Bakery has also taken up the Cowbridge spot's rotisserie chicken nights, a one-dish menu that has been running in Hare & Hounds Bakery since late 2025.
