A BAR with a Welsh dragon mascot, named after Brecon, is probably the last thing you would expect to find in a South American port.

But holidaymaker Matthew Stevens was stopped dead in his tracks as he strolled around Valparaiso in Chile and spotted Brecon’s Restaurant.

He quickly took a photograph of the bar, which was closed at the time, after spotting its red dragon on a green and white background sign, above its shuttered door, and underneath a Chilean flag.

After sharing it on Facebook an old friend, also named Matthew, got in touch after being taken by surprise that a bar on the other side of the world had been named after his hometown.

"I just took a quick photo and put it up on Facebook with a caption about enjoying exotic food on holiday," said Matthew, who isn’t Welsh but whose grandfather was from Ebbw Vale.

"That’s when my old mate Matt Hawes got in touch to say Brecon was his home town, and he shared the image."

Matthew said the pub is in a "nice area of Valparaiso surrounded by hostels" and though he said he couldn’t see a menu it appeared to have established a reputation.

"I think it’s more of a pub than a restaurant. I heard an American guy walking past with a friend point it out and say ’That’s our Welsh pub’."

After seeing the Facebook post Matthew Hawes, who left Brecon aged 18 in 1990 and now lives in London, shared his friend’s photograph on Twitter and suggested Brecon should return the compliment.

But the mystery of why a bar on the Pacific coast bares the name of Brecon has been solved by its owner Guilermo Mackay.

The former soldier was dispatched on an officer’s training course to Brecon with the Chilean army in 2003 and when he was finally able to open his own bar, in 2014, he wanted a name that evoked all the best qualities of a pub.

Via email, Guillermo, who is nicknamed Willy, said: "I needed a name with a meaning and remembered Brecon for its hospitality. Therefore, Brecon’s means ’shelter, friendship, home away from home, aid, help’ and many other things. Our motto is ’The extension of your living room’ and we try as hard as we can to provide help for our friends (we don’t have costumers), because every one that comes in, is a friend and not just a client."

The soldier turned landlord also thinks his bar is only the second Welsh themed pub in the entire Southern Hemisphere.

"As far as I know there are only two Welsh pubs in the Southern Hemisphere. There is one in Wellington, New Zealand and ourselves, the only one in South America, which is something that makes us really proud."

Guillermo says he promises a welcome for any Welsh traveller in Chile.