The Hardwick

The menu options are impeccable. I chose the black mountain smoked salmon which was delicious.
For main course I had the rabbit, which consisted of a rabbit fagot, bunny burger, rabbit pasty and a rabbit sausage. Amazing!
Desert I had quince and pear custard crumble. Out of the three deserts ordered it was everyone’s favourite. To add the cherry to the cake, the welcome at the door is very nice; the service is very good. All the waiters and waitresses are all enthusiastic to do their best. They even go that extra step which is always a nice bonus.
All on all a very good night for all of us.

After several days’ toil in the garden, in the rain, the present Mrs Dan and myself decided to reward ourselves with a trip to sunny Monmouthshire for luncheon.

Aperitifs were a Mother’s Ruin for the lady and a cheeky half of Rumney Hobby Horse Bitter pour moi. A good start. We chose from the set lunch menu. At £19.50 each it’s tremendous value.
Some lovely bread, butter and olive oil preceded a brace of terrific starters. Mrs A polished off a delicious smoked haddock risotto cake and poached egg whilst I devoured a sensational Carpaccio of beef with an anchovy dressing.
Main courses consisted of a perfectly cooked ribeye steak sandwich and chips cooked three times (twice is not enough any more, it would seem), which the better half pronounced to be «lovely», and a Pasta Rotolo containing butternut squash, goat’s cheese and spinach which I will attempt to recreate myself very soon as it was cowing lush.
Mrs A couldn’t manage a dessert but I ploughed on and struck gold with the Amalfi Lemon Fool, which was accompanied by a shortbread biscuit the butteriness of which was indescribably marvellous.
Friendly service and a relaxing ambience topped it off. We’ll be going back, but next time will stay in the Angel in town and get a taxi.
£60 all in, including service for one of the best lunches I’ve had for ages.

I’ve been here a couple of times now, but the first time whilst the food was excellent, the service was so slow I thought we were approaching a black hole. This visit everything was perfect. Excellent service and great food. I skipped having a starter, to save room for my salmon steak, which they (not too happily) served with their excellent triple cooked chips, my personal favourites, which having travelled from the land of the pommes, I asked for instead of the sautéed new potatoes. Everyone in the party enjoyed their meals, the fresh crab with deep fried avocado starter being a particular hit, and there was just one gripe about the rib-​eye steak being a bit too chewy. Be warned though, the treacle tart ice-​cream is a sugar induced coma in a glass.

Taken here to eat by my Welsh relatives during a visit.
It is located in a good spot, no other properties around and a nice view of the mountains. (Ok, hills!)
My initial impression on looking at the menu posted outside was expensive for the area. Starters around £6−8 and many of the mains around £16−18.
Nice atmosphere inside and I was amazed to see it so full on a Tuesday evening. Service was friendly but slow, I later learned they were short-​staffed and were unexpectedly busier than normal.
Food was excellent. I skipped the starter, although after checking with the kitchen they accommodated a request from one of the party to have the carpaccio starter as a larger portion for the main course. Welsh Black Mountain pork with creamed haricot beans and greens was superb, the best pork I have eaten since a meal with Gloucester Old Spot some years ago.
This pork was cooked simply but brilliantly and all the sides complemented it excellently. On the insistence of others in the party, I also sampled the triple-​cooked chips — excellent!
I couldn’t resist trying the home-​made ice creams with the crazy flavours, 3 scoops being peanut butter and jelly, treacle tart and vanilla for safety. All were excellent the treacle tart a star, how they even get the consistency of a treacle tart into ice cream I have no idea.
A dessert of lemon meringue was highly recommended by another of the party, who scraped it all from the kilner jar it was served in.
With no starter apart from some bread, a bottle of wine and coffees the meal came to around £30 per head. Not the cheapest but in my opinion you get value for money, a good meal.

th an excellent chef and a promising location my first visit lived up to expectations, however the head waitress has now moved to the Angel Hotel nearby and the service is left to a charming young man in a dirty suit!
Not that I want to nit pick, but a lack of attention to detail can leave you feeling that you’re having the wool pulled when it comes to paying the bill! Luckily the food never disappoints and everything I have eaten here has surpassed my high expectations. My great pleasure here is to choose between the many flavours of home-​made ice cream! Next time you’re passing through, take time to visit the Hardwick.