+ cozy country pub + lovely staff with the most beautiful…read moreWelsh accent - pricey for no-frill pub food - limited selection on draught We had dinner at Carpenters Arms as it was close to the hotel in Pontypool where we were staying the same evening. The pub itself is spacious but decorated and set up in a way that gives off a warm, cozy country pub feel. The food was average pub grub and, although the portion size was decent, the dishes veered towards the pricey side for the quality we received. I was particularly disappointed that the only cider that evening it had on draught was Strongbow. For starter I had the chorizo and prawn which was swimming in a rather bland, reddish oil, lacking the flavour of even average quality chorizo from the local supermarket in Britain. My main of lamb henry (slow roasted lamb shank) was tender and fell off the bone, but the sauce looked and tasted like a thick Bisto gravy. For dessert I shared the spotted dick pudding with a friend and it was pretty tasty, although it did look like someone sneezed cocoa powder all over the plate. (I suppose presentation is a matter of subjectivity!) The atmosphere is great and I enjoyed the decor and setting, but food was average and filling but rather pricey for the quality.

This is a nice old pub with great food, beer and friendly staff. All the ingredients used in the…read moremeals are high quality and locally sourced where possible. I've been here twice and had lovely meals both times. Only thing is, both times they didn't have the open fire going and it was a bit chilly in the old part of the building (which is the most atmospheric bit). Other than the lack of fire, it's a great pub!

While visiting South Wales I was told this was a place to go and we were glad we did!…read more Pros: The pub had plenty of parking and was very cozy and warm inside. In addition it felt very much like an old authentic pub inside. We visited on a Monday during their 'steak supper night' which is a terrific deal. "A couple of prime rump steaks cooked just how you like them with a peppercorn sauce, hand cut chips and garnish and a bottle of our Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot Rosé wine for just £25". The steaks were cooked perfectly and the servers were attentive, prompt and polite. I also recommend the bread and olive appetizer. The bread had the most delicate and tender yet dense crumb and the butter was the perfect salty compliment. Cons/Suggestions: None, currently.

I've been twice for drinks, but never for food and I do hope that one day I'll get the chance to…read moreeat here... They are always busy when it comes to food, so I imagine it is pretty good. Plus the Welshman always has good things to say about it... afterall, he is a bit of a snob when it comes to food! It is a lovely place, nice and cosy on the inside and a nice patio outside where I have enjoyed my drinks. They have a nice selection of wine and ales. My tip: if you want to have dinner here, book well in advance.

Wonderful service from beginning to end. We were greeted at the door with welcoming smiling face…read more Our host Lauren made us feel like royalty. She took us to a nice spacious table, offered to get high chair right away. She was consistently friendly and inviting. The food was wonderful. My hisband had gammon and chips. He thoroughly enjoyed all of it! He said the chips were PERFECT! My daughter had cheese and leek soup with hot fresh bread- she thoroughly enjoyed her meal too. I had the cheese board with crackers and onion chutney. Again - perfect!! There was another lady there too, yhat was also very kind and friendly. It had a lovely feel to the place, and it was an all round EXCELLENT WELSH EXPERIENCE of hospitality and food!!!

Great old world pub on the lovely village that is usk. Would recommend if you're looking for a pub…read moreto have a meal in

Your typical UK hotel, pub and restaurant all in one. Our room was nice, the pub was friendly, and…read morethe lamb I had for dinner was to die for. Tender, near perfection.

Nice town pub with bar and separate small restaurant. Here for Sunday lunch. Reasonable price…read more Staff friendly but a bit dotty. More attention to detail for table setting required. Two glasses with lipstick marks and cutlery laid without polishing off fingerprints. Simple mistakes which are easily rectified if more attention paid to the little things! For example, Sunday lunch table has a bottle of vinegar but no salt or pepper; the table cloths have not been changed between guests, the plates have not been pre warmed therefore tends to go cold quickly. Food very nice and good value for money. For starters the duck pate was good and for main course the beef was excellent and a lot of it (not skimpy portions!). Loads of vegetables and really good homemade Yorkshire puddings. Sticky toffee pudding was still frozen when served though! With a little more attention I am sure this could be an excellent Inn. Will return soon to see if improvements have been made.

The Gradon has always been very popular pub, it is warm and friendly and has many regulars, but by…read morefar the best thing about the Gradon is the food. I have never been disappointed with anything I have eaten here and if you want sunday lunch then I suggest you book it, because people travel from far and wide just to eat here on a sunday. I have also attended a few works Christmas parties here, and they really do themselves proud. The food is good as is the entertainment and the atmosphere. Happy eating.

Food at the Gradon is lovely, if you can look past the smoky pub entrance you have to walk past…read morefirst. The decor isn't great, but despite that, the pub itself is lovely and friendly and has a great local feel about it. Drinks are cheap, food is good and the barstaff usually make jokes with you, so not a bad night out at all!

A really nice country pub beside the canal, very olde worlde with lots of natural wood. Lots of…read morespace indoors and out, with tables and chairs set next to the tow path (although you can't take meals up there). Great for Brains beer (amongst others) and lots of great meals; there are about six vegetarian meals on offer in addition to the meaty ones! Friendly bar staff. There's a car park to one side.

We stayed at the Bunkhouse here and we found the pub to be great. All the staff were very friendly…read moreand the food was great. We had breakfast here too which was a good size portion and very tasty. Great seats at the back up by the canal too.

Great branch of Wetherspoons in a superbly renovated old cinema building. The same wonderful meal…read moredeals (special curry and drink offers on Thursdays, Sunday lunch plus drink etc). Quite a few steps up from street level although there is a stair lift for those who can't manage them. A couple of steps down to the toilets too. A spacious interior with plenty of places to sit and a pleasant bar staff. The toilets were clean and everything looked after well. The food was up to the usual high standard and a good range of drinks on offer, including Guinness, John Smiths, Ruddles, lagers and wine (the house wine is a delicious Merlot). The nearest car park is only a few paces away (Tiverton Place). All in all, a very welcome pub to visit when in Abergavenny and one we'll revisit.

You cannot beat a good value meal at a Wetherspoons and the Coliseum in Abergavenny is one of the…read morebest,it is in an old cinema and still retains some lovely features. Inside there are a lot of places to sit and apart from a Tuesday which is market day,you can usually find a table pretty much straightaway.They do the usual meal deals and some local specials like welsh faggots and mash which is my favourite!! The only down points are that staff do not clear the tables quick enough,so you often have to do this yourself and queues are fairly long at the bar. Plus points are that the foods very reasonable,meals are always hot,the beers nice and toilets clean!!

I've been a local regular to this pub for a number of years. The ownership has recently changed and…read moresince the food is still very good I feel sad that I no longer feel welcome. I have just experienced the worst possible customer service and I am still in shock at how I have been treated. I arrived a few minutes before 12, another local regular was before me and opened the door. A member of staff came to the door and told us that since it was 11:55 we had to wait outside until they open. Both myself and the person in front of me have walking aids and clearly have disabilities. When they let us inside I explained that I was not happy that they had made two people with disabilities wait standing outside, as it is painful to stand and I felt they could have let us come in and sit down on the chairs by the door until they were ready for service (i.e. the pubs inside waiting area). The lady apologised and said she would take this on board. I excepted her apology but asked if I could talk to the manager. I wanted to talk to the manager as I felt it was important for the establishment to understand the need to make adaptations for disabled people and so wanted an assurance from management that they would let people with disabilities sit in the waiting area. She showed me the manager and I approached him and explained that the people told to wait had disabilities and that they should have let us sit down by the door to wait. The manger completely blanked me, he completely ignored me as I was talking to him, he did not say a word and acted like I was invisible. The poor waitress had to come over and tell me that she would pass on the message to the owner and sat us down at our table. I could not believe how badly I had been treated by the manager. When the manger came over to take payment from me I told him that I was unhappy with the way he had treated me, that he should not have ignored me and should have responded to me when I spoke to him. He rolled his eyes at me then smirked at me and said "what are you talking about you never came over to talk to me" and walked off. The owner then came out and apologised and offered us a free meal next time we visit, but I did not complain in order to get free food so I explained that the behaviour of the manager was not acceptable and therefore it should be the manager that apologises to me. He eventually came over to me, rolled his eyes, smirked at me and in a very unprofessional and antagonistic tone said "sorry but I did not have to deal with you because the woman at the desk was dealing with you". He stated arguing with me, at which point I decided to leave as I did not want an argument. There was no professionalism and his conduct fell very short from what is expected in hospitality. The reason for me wanting to talk to the manger was not to get the waitress into trouble, I just wanted the mangers to understand the impact of not allowing people with disabilities to sit down whilst waiting a few minutes for service to start, as something like that has a big impact on disabled people and the previous owners always used to let us wait inside. Incidentally the manger put a bottle of wine and two beers that I had not ordered on my bill a few weeks ago and he did not apologise for that at the time either, he just walked away without talking to me and got others to deal with it. Treating customers like this is not acceptable, I was not difficult or rude to anyone, I was polite and well mannered, did not raise my voice and was raising a legitimate concern. I payed my bill in full, I was not trying to get money off or a free meal, first I just wanted the establishment to have more disability awareness and then after the conduct of the manager I wanted an apology for the shocking way he treated me. Although the food is good, it's not acceptable to be treated this way, I felt that his behaviour towards me was aggressive and unprofessional, I'm still in shock that this has happened

Great food and service. Over the year's my family and I have visited the Abercrave Inn regularly…read more it has something for everyone in my family which is great as we can all pick something we can agree on! There's always great variety from Sunday carvery to quick eats. We have always tended to go at a lunch time as my grandma often accompanies us but noticed this time around that they have offers on for the evening too. There's also a loyalty card for regulars with a 20% off the bill which makes it even better value for money.